Plus, a behind-the-scenes look at Scott’s current jam sessions + livestreams from Duke’s Garage in Westminster, Colorado
HBR: You’ve worked with Mariah Carey, Carly Simon, and singers from the bands Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire. Done tours with Broadway’s Jersey Boys. What do you most recall from those experiences?
SM: “Coming Around Again” was the the best and most high-profile song recording I did. I’ve been writing a music memoir for a year now, and I’ve written the preface about a recording session with Carly Simon. Thinking back to these things, your memory gets activated. You start to remember and the details start coming over a period of time — like what was she wearing. She…
3 Principles of Pivoting that Life has Taught Me
Looking back, there’ve been at least seven major purpose-driven changes in my life, and five more times where I felt change was foisted upon me. It was always less pleasant when not my choice (hello, coronavirus), but I always seek to find the lessons in change. Perhaps you do the same.
These three principles guide me in times of change.
1. Goals.
A mentor once told me, when life intervenes between you and your plans, keep your goals the same, but be flexible in the “how.”
You can likely envision your…
Sort out what really matters to you.
by Amy Norton and Heather Bowen Ray
With the changing weather, fall brings exciting occasions and holidays many of us love. However, all the extra activities that pack these months— like cooking, baking, gift shopping, and holiday parties — can leave us feeling spent and stressed.
According to the American Psychological Association, women are more likely to experience high stress during the holiday season and use unhealthy coping mechanisms. The American Psychological Association found that 41% of women turn to food to cope and 28% of women turn to alcohol to cope with holiday stress.
As we know, these typical…
It’s everything you may imagine… and more.
It’s not just me — Boulder inspires. It’s widely known as a health mecca, a playground for outdoor recreation, and a training field for endurance athletes. A combination of the fresh mountain air, the visually arresting flatirons, and its unique history have made it a beautiful and refreshing place to base “The Habits Whisperer,” my healthy habits coaching practice.
I recently drove 10 hours across another state, never spotting a single exerciser until I reached the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, where scores of people were running, cycling, and otherwise propelling themselves through space and time. …
Reach your goals and objectives faster with partners that fill these key criteria
A new era of mentorship is upon us. High achievers have specific goals, and they know they can reach goals much faster alongside experienced collaborators.
Today we are actively seeking out therapists, personal trainers, life coaches, and skill-specific mentors like never before. It’s a wonderful trend, but to generate results, it helps to know what you want.
Save time and money by hiring a great coach who can help you reach your goals faster. Check out this list of potential hiring criteria as a start.
COACH SELECTION CRITERIA
1. DEPTH OF INTEREST. You want your coach to have deep personal…
After sitting long hours in front of a computer, do you have the feeling that aches and pains are “inevitable”? You don’t have to feel that way, and here’s what you can do instead.
Some relatively young people accept “aches and pains” as a normal part of aging with resignation that nothing can be done about them. However, there is no age “too old” to improve the way you feel in your body. It is possible — in fact, advisable — to build resilience against discomfort and tightness caused by a sedentary life.
Before embarking on any program, Boulder-based personal…
Consciously Create a Healthy-At-Work Culture
At many workplaces, employees consider the “healthy” time of day to be after work when they know they can finally hit the gym and sit down for a decent meal. However, Lynn Rossy, Ph.D., President of The Center for Mindful Eating and Executive Director of Tasting Mindfulness says we need to shift our thinking around wellness and the workday.
Rossy offered this reality check: “No! We spend half of our lives at work! If we’re not healthy there, we can’t make up for it after work.”
Given our current food environment, employers and workers have to make a conscious effort…
Going the distance.
Many forms of movement — walking, hiking, skiing, yoga — are enjoyable to me, but I’ve had a long-term, love/hate relationship with running. After at one point running a lovely marathon in Ireland, I stopped running for oh, about a decade. Then I would dabble in running again from time to time but soon stop. When I at long last began to run again regularly, about a year ago, I jotted down a list of “reasons why I run.” These reasons still ring true now, and serve as a great reminder for why I do any kind of exercise.
MOTIVATION…
Examining the mix of influences on health behavior change.
The Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference, which annually convenes practitioners and academics from disparate scientific fields related to health promotion, has begun focusing on a concept called “AMSO” to spark healthier lifestyles. AMSO stands for “Awareness, Motivation, Skills, and Opportunity.”
The AMSO concept was developed by conference program chairperson Dr. Michael O’Donnell, who served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion from 1986-2016 and coauthored all five editions of the book Health Promotion in The Workplace. …
Comedians, authors, and mindfulness gurus explore its potential
Maybe it is just a frequency illusion (Baader-Meinhof phenomenon?), but it seems that the concept of “mindfulness” is cropping up everywhere. Articles online, magazine covers, TV programs, podcasts, conversations… you name it. Anti-mindfulness opinion pieces and comedy sketches have also appeared in the media this past year, so you know it is really enjoying a moment. As two examples, Comedian Jen Kirkman and Author Ruth Whippman have publicly questioned the value of mindfulness in their lives.
Long-time meditation instructors Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield have suggested, however, that meditation isn’t something oppressive that bars you from planning, thinking, or enjoying…
