In the memorable words of author Brene Brown, "Empathy fuels connection while sympathy drives disconnection".  In this episode we explore the difference between sympathy and empathy, and discuss the three types of empathy that Dave learned about in a recent training course.  With so many social issues present in our country, it can be hard to know how to show someone the empathy they need in a given situation.  Listen in to hear what we've learned.

Showing Empathy in Tough Times

This is Middle Aged Wisdom: where we talk about mistakes we've made, lessons we've learned, and share things we think are super cool! We want to help YOU lead YOUR best life.

Nancy is a dentist, an entrepreneur, and a minimalist.

Dave is an author, an engineer, an advocate for urban waterways, and a storyteller.  

Dave and Nancy are the parents of their beautiful daughter, Ceci, who loves arts and crafts and making "to do" lists.

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Self-Improvement

In this episode we talk about the difference between chronic and acute.  Acute events get all the publicity - these are dramatic and rare occurences where we usually have a story to tell afterwards.  In Nancy's field of dentistry, this is akin to a child getting his front teeth knocked out from a nasty fall.  In Dave's field of engineering, this would be akin to a flood event because floods are rare, dramatic,  and newsworthy.  But the real pain, the real damage, comes from chronic and slow moving degradation, not the rare but dramatic events.  The same holds true for relationships, be they marriages or friendships.  Years can go by and you can find yourself in a place and wonder how they heck you got there?  Listen in as we talk about how this relates to our work, our relationships, and our health.

Don't Let Little Things Become Big Things

It's been so easy to lose at least some of our motivation during this pandemic.  Just look at a typical person's work from home wardrobe.  It might be business on top, but it's probably sweatpants or pajamas on the bottom.  This lack of motivation to dress for success is symbolic of all of us having our sense of motivation down a notch or two compared to pre-pandemic.  In this episode we talk about getting back to your "why", your source of motivation for work, parenting, and health.  Hint:  make it about something (or someone) other than yourself.

Find Your Why

One of the most important decisions any business leader can make involves who to hire and who to let go.  As Jim Collins said in his book, Good to Great, "It is better to first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, then figure out where to drive."  Over 15 years of business ownership, we've learned some hard lessons about finding the right team members and parting ways with the wrong team members.  Listen in so you can learn some tips for getting the right people on YOUR bus.

Adventures in Hiring

As COVID infection rates are on a downward trend and vaccination rates are on an updward trend, it's starting to feel like the post-COVID world is around the corner.  In this episode we talk about our recent experience with the vaccine, how some aspects of our work lives have changed forever, and what we've learned about exciting new communication mediums like Clubhouse that have popped up during the pandemic.

Transitioning to a New Normal

Wisdom is not a place we can arrive at, it's not a mountain we can climb.  In fact, the older we get the more we realize we don't know.  While academics laid the foundation for our professional success, our post academic learning has probably been the most profound and the most sastifying.  That's because we get to choose our own adventures.  Join us as we talk about one of the keys to success in life - being life long learners.

Showing Empathy in Tough Times

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