Let’s get real. Your childhood was maybe less than ideal. Do you feel resigned to your past? Debra has created a coaching practice out of her journey turning chaos into joy and freedom. Debra Valentina, founder of Creativing (Cre-A-tiving), is a holistic intuitive coach for female entrepreneurs and executives, as well as an international speaker and author. Her memoir Beyond Chaos: Journey to Freedom and Joy was published in March by Write Path Publishing. One of her greatest delights is to empower women to get beyond their doubts and fears to fully express their unique talents, experience f ..read more

In partnership with BOK Financial, 360º Life Strategies completed a workshop series called, “Be the Boss of your Business” just before the COVID-19 crisis hit us square in the strategy. We pivoted quickly from the beautiful Milan conference room at the Coutura Design Center to a zoom conference room with children crawling on our backs, dogs asking to be walked and cats walking across computer screens. It was beautiful. Spring of 2020 will be one of those marks in history that has a before and an after, or as my colleague Adam says, “B.C. and A.C. — before COVID and after COVID.” I used to wond ..read more

I’m always trying to blow the lid off of conventional wisdom. One of the conventions I respectfully disagree with is the advice to use my retreats to showcase my own stuff.  I can’t help but tell the stories of women who are doing so much more than me…and this is where it’s at. My superpower is providing platforms and people strategies to help transformational coaches, counselors and consultants access the lives that have been lost in living. This is harmony at it’s best — all of us working together to build bigger, more curious minds, greater happiness and quantum impact. What a great start ..read more

You might have heard in this week’s podcast that I’ll forever remember Christmas 2019, the last Christmas of a decade, as the year we lost two children to adulthood. Don’t get me wrong. This is what we are trained to do! The whole purpose of our lives as parents is to raise children to thrive as adults contributing to society, but nobody told me how quiet the house would be. When they both came home for Thanksgiving, nobody was happier than our youngest daughter, who never wanted to be an only child. For weeks she talked about all the things she’d do “when my sisters get home.” We usually spen ..read more

Last year I wrote about being single, driving around at night near the holidays, peering into every home with the lights on and wondering what life was like at that dinner table. I dreamed that mothers were helping daughters figure out life and fathers were telling funny stories, that sisters were sharing shopping secrets and brothers were…what do boys talk about? I don’t know. I’ve never had one, except for my dog. He speaks two words: walk and bacon! (Well, actually he likes waffles even more than bacon.) Many of you I know would say the same of your brothers. I don’t have to dream about bei ..read more

Breed is the term used to describe wines that achieve classical proportions. The quality is usually elusive to describe, but you’ll know it the moment you experience it. When I arrived the next morning, I walked straight to the Managing Director office. Brenda met me there with my French Press. I paused to observe the sight of my name posted on the door. Brenda had already ordered the nameplate before Bryson came to town. Actually, under any other circumstances, I’d wonder if I’d earned the right to have my name on that door. Yes! I have. The view from the managing director’s desk was serene ..read more

Wines with breed and fitness are those rare newborns in which all elements of structure, flavor, and complexity combined to a peak of almost indescribable perfection. The blackout shades were drawn, so I had no idea what time it was when the phone rang. I didn’t so much answer as grunt. It was Brenda. “Hey, sleepyhead, get this. Fifteen people walked out behind you, including your whole food and beverage team. They know your clients will follow you, so you need to take action now and contact your accounts before Bryon does.” The news brought a smile to my face. “I’m not starting a new firm, B ..read more

Racking is a method in wine production of moving wine from one barrel to another using gravity rather than a pump, which can be disruptive to a wine. … Wines with certain flavors may receive a heavy centrifuging, which will strip them of all character, but salvage an otherwise unusable wine. The next morning, I found Don in the barn monitoring the centrifuge. I saw the wine racks we looked at two days ago were empty. He acknowledged my approach with a half nod. “So they go from the racks to the centrifuge?” I implored. “Only if necessary,” Don said, not looking up from his iPad. “Racking rids ..read more

The best way to enjoy wine is with a friend, along with the stories that are the fragrance of life. Dinner was being served in the barrel room. I love the barrel room. I would like to live in the barrel room. The aroma of wine permeates the room, saturates the air. I can almost taste the wine as I inhale it. In my dreams, I would take a nap in the barrel room… or better yet, in the wine caves. But Noble doesn’t have wine caves, so this will have to do. If my battle plan is not secure, I might be asking the Noble family if I can move in. I’m planning where I’ll put my bed when they arrive. Don ..read more

Handpicking is still practiced by the highest quality producer Matt didn’t stay long. After I told him about lunch and the limo and my call to HR, he excused himself. I wasn’t sure how to read his response. I wasn’t sure if I still had my job and Matt clearly had no influence in the matter, so I placated my anxiety by focusing on the work at hand. While I wait for dinner, I studied up for day three by reading Wine For Dummies. I love to drink wine, that doesn’t mean I’m an expert on writing about wine. After a few days following the winemakers, I feel like I’m enrolled in a sommelier school. I ..read more