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"If you want to make a significant impact," I recently read, "burnout is inevitable."

The writer went on to suggest that burnout is not only inevitable, it is a badge of honor.

This is a potentially fatal and false equivalence.

It was a warm May evening in Rome.

The breeze was blowing my hair back. I was laughing.

Only a couple of days earlier, I'd met the man whom I now held onto.

I caught him in the act. 

He was right in front of me, getting situated on a chair, when he did it.

I was jettisoned down the hospital corridor on a gurney.

As though on a magic carpet, masked surgeons flew along side me.

I was pregnant, just 10 days away from the due date.

Something was wrong.

What if you had more time to...

1. Pursue activities you love.

2. Engage in more fulfilling relationships.

3. Prioritize your self-care.

My client was preparing for a second interview.

It was for a leadership position for which he was well-qualified.

He had a beautiful presentation: pretty slides with lots of graphics to highlight his approach to leadership. 

But something was missing.

Do you have a drug dealer in your life?

You know the one.

She shows up dressed to kill.

She's so -- perfect.

I had no idea what was coming.

But I was running a race of my own making. If I kept going, I just might win.

I was a high-achiever. This was my identity through and through.

To say he was pestering me would be an understatement.

He barraged me. Pleaded with me.

It doesn't matter who it was. It doesn't even really matter what it was that he needed.

What matters is that I was hooked.

There's a new kid in town.

It's a superpower called Being Yourself.

This super-hero of business and interpersonal relationships is all the rage.

"Burnout is linked with physical health impediments such as muscle pain, headache, insomnia, respiratory illnesses and gastrointestinal disorders," according to a 2018 study by the National Institutes of Health's.

Freedom is knowing that no matter what decision you make, you will still be loved.

This is the birthplace of courage.

The truth about "authentic" is that there're no two alike.

Some leaders have more self-doubt and are more forward with vulnerability and transparency.

Isn't is funny that our self-care is the first to go when we need it the most?

Authenticity is a bit like pornography.

It’s everywhere, but we don’t quite know how to define it.

But we know it when we see it.

1. Disaffection. "Other people's comments about me might be true, but it didn't affect me."
2. Revenge. "What they say about me is true, but I'll show them!"

Lately, the back seat of my car has becoming cluttered with these things I carry.

"My path was laid out for me," a high-achiever recently told me. "I worked hard and then I found myself plopped down in the middle of adulting with very few tools."

Have you had the experience of sharing something with a partner, friend or colleague only to have them hop in with advice or a story about themselves?

What effect did this have on you?

Admitting this might throw into doubt my "seriousness" as a person.