I’m running late, I break into a run, I must catch my train at 6:23 with a 2-minute window to board the vessel from this small train station in the middle of the countryside. I throw my stuff in the car,  it’s 5:51 when I finally turn on the engine.

I was so close to surrendering right away because I wasn’t able to honor my sacred “20 min ahead before every departure”. Indeed, the ride is about 15-20 min to get to the train station, not to mention the extra time to park.  

5:51 I hit the gas and flirt with the speed limit, I pass 2 cars, my adrenaline is rising. 

I never miss a train in my life, and this can’t be the first time. Especially not on a quiet sunny Sunday, with no good reason other than my inability to anticipate the expected-unexpected last minute things.

Almost there… the train station comes into view, this is the home stretch.

The stars align and I somehow manage to park in the very...

“Tell me the truth” I said.
Next time I’ll remember to ask myself first, “aAm I truly able to welcome the truth that I am asking for?”

And the answer to this genuine question is “probably never enough”. In fact, it may be not completely—humanly—possible to prepare oneself to hear that truth, the one we are searching for.

When you ask for the truth, it requires;

1. Courage. Be brave to face what you may not want to see/hear/feel.
   
   
2. Responsibility. Not blaming others for offering what you asked for.
   
   
3. Wisdom. Trust that you’ll eventually grow from this experience, especially if you remind yourself that no matter how much you disagree with their perception, there is almost always 2% of real truth in any “truth” you are faced with. Focus on that 2%.
   
   
4. Time. The worst move would be to answer outright and react. Unlike what you think, you are not ready yet. Process it. Sleep on it. Re-sleep on it. Go back to them only when...

Fresh starts are like magic.
Tabula rasa. A clean sweep.
Those times when we believe in possibilities that we used to scoff at, deny or doubt entirely.

I recently wanted so badly to implement a daily athletic routine. This desire for hygiène du sport was nothing new, and yet, I’ve never managed to implement it and to commit to it in the long term. Since my last unsuccessful attempt I have been thinking (no, dreaming) of starting again.

The fresh start happened four days ago. And for the last four days, I’ve showed up to practice. Yay me!
But the real satisfaction lies in my knowing that this time is the time, the perfect shot. How can I be so sure? 

Here are the 6 reasons why this time I will sustain this momentum in the long run.

1. I told a good friend that I would start my routine the following Monday. This friend, who takes me for my word, quickly replied: “Wow… I admire your decisiveness. I wish I could be like this.”
   Oops. Now I really...

A few weeks ago in my garden I noticed that plums and apples have started to fall. I eventually took the time to save some of them from inevitably rotting away in the grass. While doing so I decided to stop blaming myself for having waited so long to pick them up, and comforted myself with the pleasant idea of the delicious homemade marmalade and pies that my harvest would surely become. Sweet relief and satisfaction!
But the story doesn’t end there.
I placed the basket on the porch just steps from my door and let it sit there for nearly a week. Don’t ask me why.
When I finally made the time to deal with the basket, the fruit was overripe, crushed and rotten.
They didn’t wait for me.

And yet, I've already missed the rendez-vous with cherries a couple of months ago.
This time, I was looking forward to the abundant and gorgeous Napoleonic cherries that would soon ripen.
This time, I came (too) early.
I walked around the tree every day for more than a week before...

- Jeanne, would you kill someone if I offered you 100 million dollars to do it?

This is a real question I’ve been asked the other day.
Don’t worry! This request didn’t come from a client.
I am certainly a “cleaner”, but not this kind.

So the other night, I was at a friend’s place for dinner. Very early in the evening, still on our first beer, he suddenly brought up this question out of nowhere.
Even I, self-proclaimed queen of reading people, didn’t see it coming!
He is one of the most benevolent and caring people I know. But here it is; I also love this friend because he and I always have great conversations and debates since he is a brilliant mind who enjoys philosophical/conceptual/ethical dilemmas.

So here we are.

Now that this disturbing question has infiltrated your mind too, play it out with me for the sake of the soul-searching it offers. 
Ask yourself the same question, and see (the more spontaneously, the better) what your...