Change – Page 11 – Melissa Schlies

Spring Cleaning & Telling Stories P. 2

For the first part of this post, click here. I remember the feeling of the cold medal chair frame in my hands. I was holding onto the sides of the chair as if to keep me from running out of the room. I had just told my life story. People I barely knew were weighing in. They were told to. It was part of an exercise for our counseling class; each of us had to tell our story, then share what we observed in each other’s. Not a big deal. I didn’t have a tragic or sordid past. I had gone [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T00:31:20+00:00March 12th, 2018|Categories: Change, Courage, Freedom, Health, Hope, Mental Health, Story|3 Comments

Spring Cleaning & Telling Stories P. 1

Though as I write these words winter is still heavy upon us, today I want to talk about spring cleaning. Despite the fact that it snowed yesterday, beautifully covering cars, trees, and grass— then rained, turning everything to slush—I want to think about warm weather. I want to think about opening windows to let fresh air and sunshine pour in. And I want to talk about the surprising things you find, when you’re cleaning for the first time in a while. Like when I used to find twenty dollar bills neatly folded in my coat pockets. Hasn’t happened in more [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-04-13T18:54:20+00:00March 5th, 2018|Categories: Change, Courage, Health, Mental Health, Story|1 Comment

Friendships Don’t Come Easy

One of my favorite authors, Shauna Niequist, says friendships are like breakfast. We think we can skip them; only if we do, we feel depleted and cranky without them. Friendships have a way of feeding our souls that other relationships can’t. They make us feel seen and understood. And in a world where it’s easy to feel lonely, they keep us company. Only good friendships don’t come easy. When I decided to spend this month talking about more than just romantic relationships, friendship seemed like an obvious topic. But I wanted to avoid it. Because the truth is, I feel [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:06:37+00:00February 12th, 2018|Categories: Change, Friendship|16 Comments

Learn: How to Find a Mentor

On Monday, I shared that mentors have made a big impact on my journey as a person and as a leader. But often, when I talk about having mentors, people express wanting to be mentored but not knowing how to get one. Or, they are under the impression that a mentor usually pursues you, which is rarely the case. The good news though, is that finding a mentor, is really not as difficult as it seems. Yes, it does involve putting ourselves out there. And it requires asking another person for help—often, a person we don’t know well. But its [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:09:12+00:00February 8th, 2018|Categories: Change, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Mentoring, Success|Comments Off

Love: Podcasts to Help Start 2018 Strong

One of my favorite things to do when I am doing the dishes, cleaning, or even running, is listening to podcasts. Over the past few years, they have opened up a whole other world of possibility to me. Through listening to people’s stories of success and even failures, I have been able to change my mindset regarding the future. And I have learned some incredible things from some pretty smart people. For this reason, today, I want to share with you a few of my favorite episodes from different podcasts—all shows that I think may help you as you think [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:19:54+00:00January 25th, 2018|Categories: Change, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, podcasts I love, Purpose, Routines|Comments Off

Got to Start Somewhere

“Never compare your beginning to someone else's middle. Comparison is poison.” —Jon Acuff, Start Every now and then, I wonder what success was like before the internet. As it began to really take off as I was getting out of school, and starting my first career, its hard for me to remember a time when famous people weren’t just on TV or in magazines. It’s hard to remember when success didn’t look like going viral or blowing up our social media feeds. The internet has culturally changed our definition of success. But it has also muddled our view of what [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:22:34+00:00January 22nd, 2018|Categories: Change, Courage, Success|Comments Off

Learn: How I’m approaching change in 2018

On Monday, I shared that there are some years when making a strict New Year’s Resolution (NYR), just doesn’t work. When making a drastic change isn’t possible or perhaps, helpful. And when killing ourselves at the gym in January, isn’t the answer. For me, this year, is one of those times. If I am honest, part of the reason for this is because after the holidays, I didn’t have the mental energy to think up the best NYR for me. But also, I have a few dreams for 2018 that make it hard to set one “all in” goal, to [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:24:30+00:00January 18th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Change, discipline, Food, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Routines|Comments Off

New Year, New You–Or, Keep Fighting the Good Fight

Every year around this time, the story is always the same. “New Year, New You.” All of a sudden gym parking lots are full. We buy vegetables in bulk, and sigh at the numbers on our scales. We try to figure out how much kale we can hide in a smoothie, and feel the pressure to be different. And some years, this is good. There are January’s where we need to do something drastic to help get us back on course. To give us perspective. Or, to make a real change. But then there are January’s where striving to achieve [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:27:21+00:00January 15th, 2018|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, Change, Health, Routines|Comments Off

Love Learn Lead January 4, 2018

Ok, I admit it. I did it. When writing the date for today’s post, I typed 2017. It is going to take a few times of writing dates down to solidify in my mind that it is indeed 2018. But here we are, having entered another year. This past Monday, Tony and I left the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin, where we were visiting family, and are now back at home in Pennsylvania. Though where we live has yet to fully feel like home, we are eternally grateful the winters here are a little milder than where we grew up. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:36:44+00:00January 4th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Change, Food, Good Books, Lead, Leadership Tip, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead|Comments Off

Peace on (our bleeding) Earth

Our country is bleeding. The first time I realized this, I was twenty. Two planes had just torn through the twin towers in New York City. I had come out of a class at college, and was walking through the student center, when I passed a classmate who looked like he had seen a ghost. He couldn’t tell me what had happened. I walked a little further down the hall and into a lounge where people had gathered around a TV. My sheltered belief that I lived in a safe country in a relatively safe world, was shattered. The news [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T00:24:45+00:00December 11th, 2017|Categories: Change, Christmas, Courage, Freedom, Hope|Comments Off

Spring Cleaning & Telling Stories P. 2

Spring Cleaning & Telling Stories P. 1

Friendships Don’t Come Easy

Learn: How to Find a Mentor

Love: Podcasts to Help Start 2018 Strong

Got to Start Somewhere

Learn: How I’m approaching change in 2018

New Year, New You–Or, Keep Fighting the Good Fight

Love Learn Lead January 4, 2018

Peace on (our bleeding) Earth

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