E2C_Travel
Not all travel is into the great unknown... some takes you 'home', to your people. I found my roots again after the pandemic with an aluminum love child named Bella and the 50 aunts and uncles who just can't seem to get enough of her. The Airstream community took me completely by surprise, but it's not the campers that create the connection -- it's the love of outdoors and nature, working hard to prepare an obscenely over-the-top family meal "just because", and genuine affinity for the stories that brought each of us here.
Any experience where you have an opportunity to learn the stories of others, try new foods, see how people live differently - each of those moments changes your life just a little. If you're lucky, your worldview becomes a patchwork of all those experiences. Mine has.
#mycuprunnethover
ABOUT ME
Part journal, part treasure map, part petri dish of thoughts about the future – this website is the synthesis of years of informal (and informed) study of the human condition… coupled with an unyielding need to explore every old tree trunk, breathe in as many back alley spice markets as I can find, admire the monarchs in every protected estuary along the coast, and climb the hillsides on gas-powered mules those few precious days the poppies raise their gorgeous orange faces to the sun. I'll do it all - every single mile - while my hands can still manage the camera.
The more time passes, the more I understand Thoreau's beloved Walden and his need to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." With Bella and an increasingly more amazing collection of people in my life... my physical footprint has been smaller these past few pandemic-impacted years, but my "heart-print" has never experienced more reach. To those who are with me, you are everything to me. To those who will join our treasure hunt, I promise we're going to see the world... and see it differently, #together.
E2C_Connection
So many amazing people come into my life and teach me unexpected things. They make my life fuller and more interesting in more ways than I imagined. These connections are what drive me - they’re my secret sauce, my signature strength. Every success in my life is, quite simply, based on my love of people and bringing people together to do wonderful things.
This summer I joined the Board of a publishing company that enables people to publish their personal stories online (here’s mine if you’re curious: Tonya's Cues & Views). Working with this commitment, I’m even more convinced of the importance of sharing our journey to connect with others. I see firsthand the difference connections make when people recognize how much we are alike… not different. With that as my goal, I look forward to sharing my journey and story - sharing my connections and creating new ones on the way. Exploring2Connect. Join me.#onwardandupward
Winter NorCal 2023 Airstream Rally at Pinnacles National Park. Always beautiful. New friend Alicia joined for the day; she’s the sister of my good friend Laurea — a Chief in New York that I’ve never met in person, but now…
We came for fellowship (and wine). We got freezing temperatures (and more fellowship). We holed up in single Airstreams all weekend and it was divine. I’ve always said we act like little kids away at camp. This time we went…
Anyone who knows me well is aware that the gap created by the loss of my parents almost seven years ago is still an ache I can’t heal. So it was with deep admiration when I read what a fellow…
One of our Airstream famiglia caught eight crabs from a kayak… while three of us caught an expensive charter boat to get ten crabs each and a ride around the Bay. That’s just one of many fun differences this group…
There was so much good in this. A father set his family priorities ahead of his own. A celebrity coach didn’t forget his “team” went beyond the court… and in the process honored his heritage and the hard-working community around…
Maya Angelou famously said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Clearly, she was talking about Stephen Botte. We met at a Rose Garden Orangetheory class. …
Seems like common sense — or at least common courtesy — but many leaders fail to get personal buy-in before moving forward with their plan. We can do better. When we invest in our teams, they’ll be invested in us.
It took 20 years to figure out that I couldn’t independently solve the crisis of chaos in corporate America. But it took less than 20 days to realize that resilient teams empowered with self-governed operating rhythms would creatively manage chaos…
