I just finished reading the book The Slow Professor. As with many of the books I’ve been reading, the main focus was the idea that in today’s world too much is expected of us in a short amount of time, efficiency is valued over depth and reflection, and we’re all just a bit overwhelmed. When…
Happy September (and almost officially Fall)! As promised, here is part two of my takeaways from the book The Happiness Advantage. As I sat out on my patio, notebook in hand, The Happiness Advantage in the other, I started realizing I had highlighted way too many significant quotes and insights in Achor’s book to make for a concise…
The first time I read The Happiness Advantage, I was a new teacher, newly married, and diving deep into positive psychology (which was exploding in popularity at the time). I was reading blogs, listening to podcasts, and really enjoying this new perspective on life. I had just started my blog and was working on my…
The first time I read The Miracle Morning was about 10 years ago, and something that makes it so special is that it is one of the easiest and fastest books you can read for surprisingly powerful, productive results. I read it again for the second time this summer, and it really holds up. The…
As someone who has taught public speaking classes for many years, I know how much negative self talk, self doubt, anxiety, and other ‘monsters’ can hold students back. It’s one thing for many students to wonder if they can handle college, life, family, and a job all at the same time, but to put yourself…
Back when I taught in the physical college classroom every day, I always carried two Carmine Gallo books around in my oversized ‘teacher bag’: The Presentation Secrets of Steve Job and How to Talk Like TED. I would occasionally flip through them for inspiration, and I offered students the chance to look through these books…
Welcome to month three of my 2026 reading challenge! As I said with the last post, if you’re an instructor and would like to borrow the following insights for your students, feel free to copy and paste the following as a class announcement. Enjoy! — We all feel it. The shorter attention spans, wasted time…
It’s the second month of my reading challenge, and so far so good! If you’re an instructor and would like to borrow the following insights for your students, feel free to copy and paste the following as a class announcement. Enjoy! __ This month’s book is the 12 Week Year (if you’ve ever read Atomic…
I’m challenging myself in 2026 to revisit (and read some new) books that I genuinely believe can help students (or anyone) thrive. About once a month, I’ll be sharing an announcement in my online classes highlighting a few key takeaways from a book that’s worth the read (and if you just want to read my…
Here we are at the beginning of another semester! I’m not sure if other online instructors get that familiar ‘back to school’ excitement during the first week, but I’m definitely feeling it. I’m excited to use my new planner, pens, and Post Its, and I’m ready to start ‘meeting’ my students as each college starts…