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Lately I have so many close friends dealing with difficult situations – losing a family member, illness, divorce, children in trouble and the list goes on. Not a day goes by that I don’t have a conversation where I feel I am comforting someone in their time of trouble. Thankfully, at this moment in my life, I am not experiencing a major issue. I have the energy and focus to devote to others who are in need.

In my roles as corporate consultant, executive coach and college professor, and as a friend to many, I often see people struggling to move out of painful patterns and reach a more satisfying place in their lives. It could be relationship issues, career issues, health issues or the general “blah” of life, but oftentimes there is something that someone wants to change – but they just can’t seem to get out of the rut.

These two simple words are on one of my favorite T-shirts. It’s from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (www.bestfriends.org), and it has a cartoon drawing of a dog and a cat together with these two words underneath. It is so simple and yet so powerful. I was wearing this T-shirt at the workout club the other day and a woman said to me, “So easy to say, but not so easy to do.”

Do you think about changes that you’d like to make? Do you have days where you vow you will never do (or say) something to someone again, like you did today? Do you wish you could change your outlook or your attitude?

Most of us do. We do the things we don’t want to do, and don’t often do the things we know we should (and want to!) do. How come? Why does each day go by when we set out with the best of intentions but end up frustrated that we haven’t met our desired state?

I released my newest book this week – it was an exciting time. I had over 90 expert partners who participated in the launch with me, and the book successfully hit the bestseller list. In the midst of it, I kept receiving notes from friends and colleagues saying, “How do you do it?” They were asking how do I raise a family, work my full-time consultant job, teach, travel and write books. I do it because it matters to me to be able to help others. My passion is to bring ideas and resources to other people so they can be all they want to be.

I was driving a different route to a meeting and found myself in a long line of traffic trying to merge onto a busy roadway. The cars were very slowly moving into the lane of traffic, and it was taking a great deal longer than I had anticipated for my drive. I normally go another route to this area of the city, and would have been in the line of cars letting others in, not waiting to get in – if I had gone my normal route.