Uncategorized Archives - Page 4 of 17 - Kathleen Hassan

Mothers and Daughters: What Happened to My Little Girl?

In my 15 plus years of working with girls and coaching mothers and daughters, I have observed, and have seen it played out over and over again, this deep desire to be acknowledged and to be heard. This morning, while listening to Deepak Chopra's 21 day Meditation Challenge, Oprah, in her introduction to the meditation, gave her #! lesson that she has learned in life. I hit the pause button, grabbed my pen and jotted down her quote (below) because when I heard it, I knew it in my core to be the truth. I started thinking about all the mothers and daughters that I've coached over the years, and felt a nudge from the Universe to write about this deep need to be noticed and appreciated. “If there is one lesson I have to say I’ve learned during my time on this planet it is this: the number one [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:43:00-05:00 August 18th, 2013|

Camera Shy: Don’t Look At Me vs. Selfies: Like Me

Let's face it. We live in a mixed up world of extremes. We want to stand out and fit in. We want to be part of the crowd and yet we isolate and feel all alone. We want to be loved and yet we hate ourselves. We yell, "Don't look at me" and we post selfies all over social media and encourage the world to "like" us, subscribe and share. All of this can reek havoc on self-esteem and can cause all kinds of issues that stem from getting validation externally instead of finding power and worth from within. Self-esteem is basically how we perceive ourselves. It is based on our self-worth, competency or how well we achieve. In part, we get a sense of how successful, talented and proficient we are by comparing ourselves to others. In today’s digital world, the playground on which we make that comparison is [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:45:50-05:00 August 10th, 2013|

Ask Kat: Can Anybody Hear Me?

I feel like I'm standing in a crowded room, screaming at the top of my lungs, and no one even looks up..but that's only because nobody cares unless you have extraordinary beauty or you're famous:/ Thx for listening I hear you. I have felt this way many times. I think we all have. Even the so-called extraordinary beauties and celebrities pay publicists a ton of money to keep their name and face out there. It's a noisy world filled with so many people posting and tweeting and desperately trying to be "somebody" and be the next big thing. Our culture and society places so much value on celebrity and fame. However, we can focus on that and feel miserable - OR - we can turn our attention inward and get our sense of self from the Source of all love and power. That is the truth and when you take [...]

By Kathleen| 2013-08-07T08:41:55-05:00 August 7th, 2013|

Asking the Right Questions

Many years ago, at the beginning of my speaking career, I created and delivered a workshop on creativity at a Toastmasters International Conference. In my research on the topic, I read a book called Five Star Mind by Tom Wujek, and it talked about the power of questions to give your mind focus. This story is an excerpt from the book: When the Rembrandt painting "The Night Watch" was restored and returned to Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, the curators performed a simple yet remarkable experiment. They asked visitors to submit questions about the painting. The curators then prepared answers to over fifty questions according to popularity... In a room next to the gallery which held the painting, the curators papered the walls with these questions (and answers). Visitors had to pass through this room before entering the gallery. The curious outcome was that the average length of time people spent viewing the [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:48:03-05:00 August 5th, 2013|

Ask Kat: Does “Fake It Till You Make It” Work?

I received an email the other day from a girl who wrote: Dear Kathleen, I love your YouTube channel and all your videos about how to be more confident. I’ve never really been very confident and want to know if you think “fake it till you make it” really works? thx Sara Dear Sara, Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me. I’m so glad my videos have helped you and that is a great question. I’ve never liked the expression “fake it till you make it” because I never want to encourage anyone to be fake - ever. I’m all about being who you really are and daring to express your thoughts and feelings even when they’re messy. This can be especially challenging if it goes against the “norm” and what everyone else is doing, but that's what builds character and what makes you - [...]

By Kathleen| 2013-07-22T20:56:53-05:00 July 22nd, 2013|

Crawling to the Finish Line: I think I can… I think I can

I am so close. I can see the ribbon. You might imagine that I'd be sprinting full on with my goal in sight. I am almost finished writing my book. And I am crawling to the finish line. Since gearing up to come back to Boston for the summer, I have come up with a million excuses why I haven't been able to write. First it was closing up my condo in Naples. Next, figuring out what to clothes to pack for an entire summer (I kid you not, this kept me up several nights!) Arranging to have my car shipped up here was also on my to do list - I mean what's the point of driving a BMW convertible in Florida all winter if not to show off to all your friends up North in the summah? Then making the move up here and getting settled into a [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:51:01-05:00 July 12th, 2013|

Where’s the Freaking Rainbow: Getting Through the Storms of Life

I got a message yesterday from a "friend" and he wrote "I see from Facebook you are doing well and are happy. That's so great." I responded, "Don't believe everything you see on FB!" For the most part, I am doing great and life is good. However, that doesn't mean that I don't go through my storms. I have done so much inner work to be where I am today, but every now and then, more comes up to be healed. My first response to that is "Are you shitting me? I'm fifty-freaking-seven years old and I still have work to do?" Although I've heard it a million times before (and have come to hate this expression); healing and awakening is like peeling the layers of an onion. Love it or hate it, it still rings true and can be helpful in understanding each new level. If our power was [...]

By Kathleen| 2013-06-27T22:07:39-05:00 June 27th, 2013|

All the Books I’ve Never Written

I have started and then stopped writing more books than I can count. Years ago, I was a member of the National Speakers Association and some of my speaker friends used to tease me and say “Why don’t you write a book called All the Books I’ve Never Written?” At one particular NSA meeting, the topic was on book writing. After raising my hand and sharing the fact that my problem was that I just had too many ideas and titles in my head, the woman sitting next to me, passed me a note that said “No, your problem is that you’re afraid of letting people see the real you.” “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.” ~ Muriel Rukeyser I’m sorry in advance if I split the world wide open, but here goes nothin’... Seeing the Real Me I’m [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:52:56-05:00 May 7th, 2013|

Finding the Beauty Within

Real Self-Confidence Comes From Within There is nothing more beautiful than a confident woman! You can have perfect face, body, car, house and still not feel confident. It's easy to focus on everything that's wrong in the world and even easier to list all the things we don't like about ourselves. Remember - confidence and high self-esteem don’t come from false praise or taking the easy way out. Real confidence comes from hard work and from learning how to deal with life’s challenges. As a Bostonian, the horrific events at the Boston Marathon hit me hard. I knew friends and family members who had been running or watching the race and one of my son’s friends was injured in the blast. It’s been two weeks since the bombings, but the images of the blast and the media frenzy of the ensuing manhunt left so many people feeling scared and vulnerable. [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:54:09-05:00 May 1st, 2013|

Rape, Bullying and Another Victim of a Society Crumbling

My heart is so heavy and I am beyond sad today to learn about the tragic death of Rehtaeh Parsons. A 17 year old girl who was raped by 4 boys - who were never charged for this heinous crime. One of the boys took photos during the rape and distributed them and they went viral. Rehtaeh became the victim twice as her peers and so-called friends turned on her and labeled her a slut. She was mercilessly bullied until she couldn't take it any longer. As an advocate of teen girls and young women and as a mother of two sons, I am even more deeply committed to my work and outreach. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Rehteah's mother, Leah in the article Who Failed Rehteah Parsons? There are things to be learned from the girl’s death, Parsons said in the interview. That is why [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:56:44-05:00 April 10th, 2013|