Walking through a building of scientists one day, I noticed a sign taped to a door that reminded me of a handmade “Keep Out” message hanging from a child’s treehouse. The words said something about “Writing Time” and “Please Do Not Disturb.” At first glance, the sign felt harsh and almost rude, but then I realized the archaeologists behind the closed door were trying to set boundaries and carve out some uninterrupted space where they could think and document their research. I noticed I was … [Read more...] about Are You Hiding in the Conference Room with Noise-Canceling Headphones?
Bonnie Stevens
Over the Moon with Soft Skills
Jessica Watkins is a 31-year-old, unassuming, small-framed geologist with an easy smile and former member of a Division I national champion rugby team. She is many things, including an astronaut-in-training, but she’s not a pilot…yet. When NASA selected her from a field of 1,800 applicants to be one of 13 individuals being trained for possible space travel to destinations like the Moon and Mars, how well she could handle a jet did not top the list of preferred competencies. She was chosen for … [Read more...] about Over the Moon with Soft Skills
Bringing Your 2020 Vision into Focus
Many of us consider the stroke of midnight into the New Year to be some sort of magical reset button that comes with snow flurries and a kiss. I happen to be one of them. However, turning that magical moment into everyday life usually takes a little more than fairy dust, like a bold decision, courage, perseverance and a pathologically unshakeable belief that what you want to achieve is not only possible, it’s inevitable, and it’s already here. Clean Up That Lens It’s hard to have 20/20 … [Read more...] about Bringing Your 2020 Vision into Focus
Harnessing the Superpower of Visibility
Leading up to the annual Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, the town is truly overrun by triathletes. These swimmers, cyclists and runners do not need to don a t-shirt or tattoo that says they are elite athletes – although some of them do. Everything about them already shouts, “I’m a superior human specimen.” It is in their walk, their confidence, their gear, their clothes, their shoulders, their friends, their vitamin drinks…there is no mistaking what they are about. In business, it … [Read more...] about Harnessing the Superpower of Visibility
Leaders Don’t Waffle When Waffles aren’t the Right Decision
If you’ve ever gone to lunch with someone who couldn’t decide what to order, you know the pain of indecision. While you, everyone else at the table and the server are quietly on standby, that individual is thoughtfully considering whether it’s a quinoa-bowl kind of day or a full-on loaded burger event. President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is … [Read more...] about Leaders Don’t Waffle When Waffles aren’t the Right Decision
Everything Has a Life: Knowing When to Leave What was Once Good
Waterbeds. These were pretty “far out” in the ‘70s. By the late 1980s, one in every four or five mattresses sold in the United States was a waterbed. But almost as fast you could say “Tempur-Pedic,” waterbeds in the ‘90s floated out of sight, man. And this is why your dream job may eventually keep you up at night. Everything has a life. If you think of yourself as a product, let’s say a fax machine, it’s easy to understand why your first week, month, even years on the job were amazing. You … [Read more...] about Everything Has a Life: Knowing When to Leave What was Once Good
Volunteers are Not Free
It’s been said that time is our most valuable asset. So, it’s an incredibly precious gift when someone volunteers to give it away. It may be providing labor for a project, like building a home in a developing nation; or offering expertise, like when retired business people volunteer for organizations like SCORE to mentor budding entrepreneurs; or serving people in need, like dishing up meals at the Flagstaff Family Foodbank. Volunteers are found in non-profit organizations and for-profit … [Read more...] about Volunteers are Not Free
ERAU Astrophysicists Listening as Black Holes Collide
Cataclysmic events, like the merger of two massively dense black holes, result in vibrations or ripples in the universe that eventually reach Earth. That is how Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University astrophysicists describe gravitational waves that stretch and compress the fabric of space. “The metaphor that we like to use is that gravitational waves let us hear the universe,” said ERAU physicist Dr. Brennan Hughey. “Most astronomy is done through photons in one way or another – everything … [Read more...] about ERAU Astrophysicists Listening as Black Holes Collide
Science Festival Book Captures Spirit of Discovery
Whether they are walking on the moon, chasing lava, racing toward tornadoes, tracking comets, battling superbugs, landing robots or discovering dinosaurs, world-class scientists have participated in the Flagstaff Festival of Science since it began a quarter of a century ago. A new book, Flagstaff Festival of Science: The First 25 Years, captures the essence of the nation’s longest running, free science festival, traces the scientific roots of the “Skylight City” and shares stories and quotes … [Read more...] about Science Festival Book Captures Spirit of Discovery