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Playground Chatter

Playground Chatter Featuring Our Intern…Lychelle Kime!

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the most interesting people in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time on the playground of life!

Today, we get to introduce you to our rock star intern, Lychelle!!

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Your Name: Laura Lychelle Kime

Your nickname: I go by my middle name, Lychelle

What is your grown up job?  I’m a senior at High Tech High International, and an intern at The Henley Co!. Soon, I’ll be a first year student at Sonoma State University.

 

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Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most? I spent my childhood sitting by a campfire in many national parks, biking around on different trails leading to secret ponds only us kids knew about. I spent my childhood swimming in pools and oceans, always in the sun keeping my skin nice and tan. My most memorable experience as a child was when I went to Costa Rica while I was in the 3rd grade. It was my first vacation to a Spanish speaking country, and I could not have been more excited. We enjoyed crazy excursions like zip-lining, surfing, and going to a natural hot springs. This was the highlight of my elementary years.

Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? I loved playing on the swing set, it was an activity that I could do alone but also with others.

Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch? I was/still am a lunch pail kind of gal. But I did get hot lunch occasionally.

What would be your ideal recess today? I would love to have recess during my school day where I could go outside for 15 minutes to just lay down on the grass, close my eyes and breath in the fresh air. It would give me a little break from the worries and stress of school/life.

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If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in? I would choose a game like red light green light or sharks and minnows, two classic games that are fun and easy to manage with a large group.

What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today? Listening to the rules and knowing people’s boundaries

When does time disappear for you? When I’m with the people I love, hanging out at the beach, walking my dog, playing tennis, or watching my favorite program.

What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there? As of now I am trying to maintain a positive mindset while I am transitioning out of high school and into college. I am doing so by thinking positively and surrounding myself with uplifting people who love and support me with everything that I do.

In her book Permission: Stop Competing & Start Creating the Life You Want to Live, Nicole Matthews, Founder of The Henley Company, talks about giving yourself permission to design your best life. Which area of your life needs a little more attention? What are you willing to give yourself permission to do? I need to focus more on living in the now rather than worrying and feeling anxious about the future. I have been known to get too worked up about the unknowns of the future and have allowed the fear to stop me from enjoying the current moment. I try and think of this quote I read online “worrying won’t stop bad stuff from happening, it just keeps you from enjoying the good.” I need to give myself permission to let go of the anxiety and worries of what the future has to offer and enjoy the now.

Define happiness in less than 140 characters. Happiness is being able to love and let others love you.

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Grab your colored chalk and write a motto on the asphalt of the playground for all the kids to see. What’s your message? Everything will be okay.

What will you do from this day forward to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear). I will make sure that I am aware of my mind and body and know when I need a break. I will not be afraid to take that few minute break to clear my mind and body. In the end it will help me be more productive and give me the clarity I need to take on whatever I have thrown my way.

 

Thanks Lychelle! We are happy to have you on the Henley Co. team! We adore you and wish you the best on the playground of life!

 

 

Playground Chatter with Bobby Umar, Leadership Speaker

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time on the playground of life!

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Your Name: Bobby Umar

Your nickname? Fun Bobby

What is your grown up job? Leadership Speaker

How can we find you?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bobby-Umar-Leadership-and-Development/192417474125739

          Instagram: @raehanbobby/

       Pinterest: /raehanbobby

     Twitter: @raehanbobby

 

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Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most?  I grew up on the east coast of Canada, in New Brunswick. I had a pretty awesome childhood and most of the years were great. We spent our entire days outside, playing street hockey, exploring the forest, biking through sand dunes. I also remember starting our camping years with my family. But I really loved the first few years of school, especially grade 3, when we had an exchange teacher from England, Miss Scott who really was amazing. I was also at the peak of my academic skills and athletic skills. Aside from doing well is school, I remember being a strong long distance runner and the dodgeball champ. But soon, my athletic skills would go down big time. Finally in grade 5, I was honoured to skip a grade, which as pretty cool.

Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? I was either playing hockey or baseball on one side, or on the other side with the girls playing jump rope. Even back then, I was mixing up and not caring about any stereotypical gender roles.

Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch? I was the guy who had his mom make soup and toast once a week in my lunch pail. That was a treat, as was my mom’s famous curried ground beef sandwiches. But my staple lunch, and I can’t believe I’m sharing this with you, was actually ketchup and lettuce sandwiches.

 

What would be your ideal recess today? Hmm…ideal recess would be hanging with the girls talking about boys, then playing different team sports. I would have a nice bagel for a snack.

 

If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in? I get us all to play a combination of my favourite teambuilding games, including Big Booty, Zip-Zap-Bop and Take and Stand. Big Booty and Zip-Zap-Bop are improve games. Take a Stand is where we take an issue or situation and get people to choose one side over the other and then say why they chose that side.

 

What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today? I moved around from location to location. Learning about the diversity of the playground is also how I live my life with connecting. I believe the diversity of my network leads to diversity of thought, experiences and action.  I did learn that kids can be cruel sometimes to one another and teaching my own children to believe in themselves and stand up for themselves will be key. I also learned about playing fair and playing inclusively. Finally I learned that men and women can play anything they want, regardless of what people tell you what you should and should not do.

When does time disappear for you? Vacation time is a good one. Play time is another big one. When I was a kid, playing hockey, snow sledding or going rock climbing, I never noticed how late it got until the sun started setting. Nowadays, only on vacation do I feel time disappear. It is a hard feeling to capture again.

 

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What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there? My big intention is to help one million hearts find their authentic path of passion and purpose. I seek to inspire and teach these ‘lost leaders’ as a world-class speaker, author and coach. I want to tell them that it’s okay to feel lost personally, professionally and academically because I have too. But it’s not okay to do little about it.

I am getting there more now by having my first speaker agent, coming out with my first books on ‘How to Network Anytime’, and I just created a 12-week modular coaching program called Networking Mastery.

In her book Permission: Stop Competing & Start Creating the Life You Want to Live, Nicole Matthews, Founder of The Henley Company, talks about giving yourself permission to design your best life. Which area of your life needs a little more attention? What are you willing to give yourself permission to do? The biggest area is my health. I recently started a movement called #FitInMyLife because initially I wanted to get fit in my life, after a lifetime of just ignoring it or letting things get worse. I now realize that this movement and hashtag is two-fold because, I am also trying to make everything fit in my life – my kids, my wife, my business, my health, my friends and everything else I want to do in this world. I am willing to give myself permission to spend some time during the weekdays to do healthy things and focus my attention on my young children whenever they are home. Then I am Super Daddy. But it takes some toll on my ability to spend on my business. This is one of the reasons why I am looking now at ways to scale and automate revenue systems.

 

Define happiness in less than 140 characters. The feeling, creation or manifestation of authentic joy, fulfillment, purpose and peace, whether for yourself, others or the world.

 

Grab your colored chalk and write a motto on the asphalt of the playground for all the kids to see. What’s your message? Fight for your life: the one you truly want to live, with success defined by you and supported by those who love you.

 

What will you do from this day forward to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear). I will try to incorporate more recess where time can disappear and gratitude can create monuments of every moment.

I will look at my life more holistically and find the balance between planning for my purpose, impact and legacy while also exploring all the joy and happiness that this world has to offer.

I will continue my path of love, gratitude and leadership to serve every lost leader in my story and role as a father, brother, son, partner, friend and business person.

Thanks Bobby! You are awesome!!

 

Playground Chatter with Brett Culp, Award Winning Filmmaker, Brett Culp Films

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time on the playground of life!

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Your Name: Brett Culp

Your nickname? N/A

What is your grown up job? I produce inspirational films

How can we find you?

Facebook: facebook.com/brettculp

Twitter: twitter.com/batmanfilm

Instagram: instragram.com/brettculpfilms

Pinterest: N/A

 

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Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most? I remember spending most of my childhood in imaginary worlds. I loved cartoons – mostly involving superheroes – and if I wasn’t watching these stories, I was re-enacting them or creating new heroic stories of my own.

Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? Definitely the slide. It goes fast and makes me smile.

Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch? Plastic lunch box with a superhero on it. I had a new one each year.

What would be your ideal recess today? I try to take an outdoor walk in the middle of every day to listen to uplifting music & clear my head. It helps me process the events of the morning and stay focused on the goals for the day. So, I guess I am still having recess as a grown up.

Does your company encourage recess for their employees? I encourage everyone I work with to find time for the things they are passionate about. The things I love most about my working life came from pursuing an idea that was outside of the flow of my normal work… then we found a way to incorporate it into our business. Our most recent film is connected with Batman. Four years ago, nothing in my filmmaking world was superhero focused, but it sounded like something fun to pursue. And it ultimately changed my professional life, for the better. For me, personal passion has consistently driven me to find ideas that keep my work fresh.

If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in? I’m very much about building personal, emotional connection between people. I believe that creating an environment of trust & safely gives people the freedom to bring their best, most unique ideas to the table. Because they aren’t afraid. So, I’d probably organize some version of Show-And-Tell.

What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today? Be nice. Although doing great work and sharing it with lots of people are both essential in business, I think kindness it the cornerstone of my professional life.

When does time disappear for you? Talk about your hobbies. I am blessed to have a profession that is also my hobby. At my core, I am a filmmaker and a storyteller. I am producing films for my clients, and I am also always creating separate projects for myself… something that expresses my heart. Not only does this personal work help energize my client projects, it also leads to opportunities that are aligned with my passions. By continually putting in the world the work and messages that are close to my heart, I attract the greatest clients on the planet and find myself continually falling more in love with the art of film making.

Culp-99-crop3-1What is one area of your life where you need more recess? Because my work is my passion, sometimes I don’t see realize when I am pushing myself too hard. My personal drive keeps me from taking a few days off to clear my head & reset my nerves. But I am getting better at this.

What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there? I believe that stories have the power to change us. And I think that uplifting stories have the ability to inspire greatness in us. My most important intention is to capture and share stories that bring out the most heroic part of each person. Each of us have a hero inside… I think compelling stories can be a key to unlock it.

Over the past 3 years, we have shifted our company significantly to allow more opportunity for this. Our recent film Legends of the Knight (www.WEareBATMAN.com) was a gigantic labor of love that screened theatrically in 90 cities around the world, raising over $60,000 for charitable organizations. The film is now on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more. The encouraging message of this film – and the community-focused distribution strategy that went with it – is a true expression of my heart and my beliefs.

To continue moving this journey forward, we started a not-for-profit called The Rising Heroes Project (www.RisingHero.org). We are currently working on our next film, and we will launch it through this new organization.

What can you do to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear). I have 2 boys. I love watching them play at the park, imagining themselves as superheroes. If you break down the word “recreation”, you find “re” and “creation”. Our playtime is an opportunity to create ourselves again… perhaps by re-imagining ourselves as heroes in the world. I want to continue to spend more time imagining myself as a hero in the world, and then using that story to motivate me to positive action. And I hope many others will pursue the same dream.

 

If you know of an executive, entrepreneur or all-around cool kid that we should feature in Playground Chatter, please email hello@thehenleycompany.com.

 

 

Playground Chatter with Steve Kemble, America's Sassiest Lifestyle Guru

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time on the playground of life! ______________________________________________________________________________ Your Name: Steve Kemble
Your nickname?  Sassy!
What is your grown up job? Grown Up Job- America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru Lifestyle work in Parties, Weddings, Fashion and Design
How can we find you?
Facebook: A Dose of Sass, by Steve Kemble (fan page); Steve Kemble (personal) Twitter:      @stevekemblechat
Instagram: Steve Kemble
Pinterest:   Steve Kemble
 Steve Kemble.
Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most?   I spent the majority of my childhood in my birthplace, Dallas, Texas. The year I remember most was when I was in junior high. We did a theatre production of the Wizard of Oz and I played the Tin Man! I was not very good a memorizing my lines (neither was anyone else for that matter, lol!) so it was truly a very customized version of the production. The first time I really watched it on TV years after our production, I told my parents….wow! they have really changed it since we did it! They replied, no- y’all really changed it when y’all did it! To this day, when I see a woman in ruby red heels, I get the biggest smile!
Favorite part of the playground to hang out in?  My favorite part of the playground to hang out in was the swings…I really thought one day I was actually going loop all the way over the top bar if I kept trying!
Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch?  My favorite lunch pail was aluminum and Land of the Lost.
What would be your ideal recess today?  My ideal recess today would be Happy Hour- 10, 2 and 4!
Does your company encourage recess for their employees?  YES!, I encourage recess for my employees, even power naps are fine- just no snoring!
If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in?   If I was the Playground Monitor I would have everyone grab a brightly colored hula hoop and we would have the most amazing fun energizing our bodies to Taylor Swifts mega-hit, Shake It Off’! Encouraging everyone to ‘Shake Off’ whatever is bothering them!
What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today? The most important rule I learned on the playground was to share, as everyone wanted time on certain playground items. Even today I use what I learned! For example, while at the airport and using a charging station, I charge my phone for a while and then even though sometimes not fully charged, I left others use the community charging station.
When does time disappear for you? Talk about your hobbies.  Time disappears for me when I escape to my backyard…away from my phone, computer, TV, and social media. One of my favorite hobbies is gardening. I have to admit, there have been times while frustrated over a certain individual or situation I have named a weed after them…you have no idea how amazing the feeling of pulling that weed and tossing it away is! It’s like I just ridded myself of the frustration!
Steve Kemble 2 What is one area of your life where you need more recess?  The one area of my life where I need more recess is on weekends! I tend to work on the weekend because I am able to accomplish so much without interruption. Yet doing this takes me away from family and friends on many occasions.
What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there?  I really want to get to a point where I can start taking from Fridays at Noon through Sunday for me and my loved ones. I am working hard to design my work week so that I can do just that. For now, it means my work day starts earlier- but that is ok, I am realizing how valuable ‘me time’ on the weekends is, to energize me for the coming week!
What can you do to design your life to better incorporate more recess?  I have learned that if you want me recess in your life, then you are the one person that can make that happen. And I have learned that by planning ahead it really can happen. I now block certain times and days on my schedule and I stick to it! I promise 99% of the time things work out. For example, you find out that meeting that just had to happen on Tuesday at 2pm, really is just fine happening Wednesday at 10am, etc.
If you have a CEO / entrepreneur / or all around cool kid we should profile, let us know at hello@thehenleycompany.com

Playground Chatter with Debra Marmion, CarpeDM Career Coaching

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time on the playground of life!

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Your Name: Debra Marmion

Your nickname? DebDog, Debbles and Turtle (don’t ask)

What is your grown up job? I own a recruiting and career coaching agency, CarpeDM Career Consulting, INC.

How can we find you? You can find me on Linked I(www.linkedin.com/pub/debra-marmion/5/248/b7) and I have a blog (mycarpedm.wordpress.com). I make business pretty simple. My kids keep pushing me!  Actually I do have Pinterest and Houzz. Addicted!

Facebook: One last thing for me to manage

Twitter: I am getting close but for business purposes.

Instagram: No way

Pinterest: Yes

 

Deb Marmion

 

Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most? I was a military Brat. I moved 11 different times in my first 15 years of life even overseas! Dad retired in Tucson, AZ and that is where I call “home”. When we lived in Tucson, we moved 5 times. Why??? We got bored!

Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? The swings..I am queen of “underdogs”.

Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch? Had a purple tin Donny Osmond lunch box.

What would be your ideal recess today? A great hike with family or friends and a nice cold beer afterwards. Spa will work too! But I like to get outdoors more…

Does your company encourage recess for their employees? Absolutely. CarpeDM has an incredible “flex” schedule. Lol! We are a small team that is made up of a team who are at the point in our lives where we thrive on work/life balance. It is great!

If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in? I would rally them by doing that JibJab video of my team to get their attention that it is time for Recess. I love the game “two truths and a lie”…Every time I play that game, I always learn something new about a person. Duck, Duck Goose would be another favorite.

What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today? Always share. 🙂

When does time disappear for you? Talk about your hobbies. A cup of Joe or glass of wine with my circle of trust…you know who you are. Time literally slips away even our phones. We are just present and talking about everything and nothing. Believe it or not, when I have everyone home for dinner. It is precious time for me. They are gathered around the kitchen bar as I cook and no one is on any deadline. The next one would be a great book. I read about three per month and at night when everyone is asleep…so nice.

What is one area of your life where you need more recess? Indulgence….I am learning to treat myself more but that has always been a hard one for me. The other day my daughter asked me, “Mom, it’s Saturday! What are you doing today?”. I said I had to do the laundry, clean the house, run some errands, and that was it (I was actually looking forward to it) Then she said, “what are you going to do for you?” Wow, brilliant…left me speechless. I am pretty practical, even when it comes down to my clothes. My 14 year is a fashionista and has been since she was in the womb. She is always dressing me. She says I am too matchy matchy. I him and haw too much when it comes to treating myself to something. Right now, I have been staring at this purse for three weeks and haven’t made a move yet. Again, do you have that Therapist handy? J

What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there? My mental intention – Mindfulness. I have been working really hard on this and it really lets the “what if’s” become more and more insignificant. It allows to capture moments and really experience them. My other intention, I will hike Mr. Whitney and then move on to Machu Picchu. With my husband and two kids.

What can you do to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear). I am a creature of habit so the first thing I visualize is me scheduling Recess in my Daytimer (oops…just dated myself) but my deep “Inner Deb” says to just be spontaneous and do it. I have already adjusted somewhat this year and the recess I have allowed myself has been fun, creative and spontaneous…not routine!

 

If you have a CEO / entrepreneur / or all around cool kid we should profile, let us know at hello@thehenleycompany.com

Playground Chatter featuring Rita Moore, Director of Sales & Marketing at La Valencia Hotel

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our new blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time on the playground of life!

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Your Name:   Rita Moore

Your nickname?   Dang, don’t have one – although I have been “affectionately” called many things from my team – mostly including a reference to my Lucy Ricardo moments or the multiple times I may have tripped, spilled or goofed.

What is your grown up job? Director of Sales & Marketing for La Valencia Hotel.

How can we find you?

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ritahorganmoore

Twitter: @ritamooreLaV

Instagram: ritamoorelav

Pinterest: Rita Moore www.pinterest.com/ritamoo/

For the La Valencia 🙂

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaValenciaHotel

Twitter: @lavalenciahotel

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lavalenciahotel

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lavalenciahotel/

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Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most?  I grew up in Wilmington, DE, no one year but just the summers which seemed always long and lazy. I lived next to a park and tennis courts and we bounced around the courts all day long, feeling so grown up and part of the crowd – my best friend and I, with our respective crushes on Bjorn Borg [me] and Jimmy Connors [ my girlfriend].

 Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? Kick ball ally

Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch? Always the brown bag – envied the lunch buyers!

What would be your ideal recess today?  I swing between me on a chaise lounge with a book or a blend of activities that challenge [ like a hard hike, spin class, bootcamp ] but still has moments in between motions to bond with friends. This happens all the time, steep wind-sucking climbs and then breathtaking beauty to share, killer spin but a song comes on we all get to sing, giggles on our mats as we grunt between ab crunches.

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Does your company encourage recess for their employees?  Absolutely, hospitality is built around a happy welcome – personal happiness in our staff carries through and touches our guests, definitely one of our human truths of connecting through shared stories.

If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in?  Laughter yoga – getting all differing staff to open their arms, stretch, break down any resistance to being silly and do a little laughter yoga.

What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today?  Rule #1, if you don’t try to do something you will always sit on the sideline and watch. You aren’t always invited to play, so you need to self invite and get in the game.

When does time disappear for you? Talk about your hobbies.  I have often said that I need longer days – more time to work, more time to play, more time to laze…….the waking part of the 24 hour day just zips by me. My current loves are being at the beach with my yellow lab Elvis Costello, pure joy and totally in the moment. My week is always revolving around how I can fit a Bikram yoga class in or connect with my spin gals whom I adore. I am an ex pastry chef so any chance I get to bake for friends and family = joy. I have had a great time doing some hikes such as part of the Appalachian Trail with my sister, and rim to rim day hike of the Grand Canyon – as well as the great San Diego trails with friends. I really need to plan events that I can challenge myself and train for, I love the anticipation as much as the event. When “at rest”, the true love for me is the hobby of quiet time, being with my husband and sweet dog, and a book – that is the most wonderful feeling.

1457735_10200483333200310_2084366740_nWhat is one area of your life where you need more recess?  Travel 🙂 life is so full, I wish that I could stop and have a month to travel to faraway places……just need more time!

What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there?  Hard to explain, my most expansive goal is to harness creative talents, ideas & thoughts and use that energy to leave a mark of who I am, my own personal legacies – with work success, or with a friend that I can be more open to, a team that I can mentor. Each day I write a sentence at the top of my to do list – “set my intentions”. This grounds me, my list needs to be the tasks of work I have promised to complete, connections I need to make, projects that are due or just inspire – but at the start of every day I need to set my intention to dive in with a fearless heart, no matter what the list. A few years ago when I needed to prepare for a professional challenge, instead of spending hours memorizing data I tripped across a TED talk with Shawn Achor on the Happiness Advantage. I immediately connected, bought the book and dove into what I knew all along – the power of positive thought /psychology. It dialed back my core knee jerk mantra of work harder work more hours to reach my goal, and pointed me in the direction of connect more, be more grateful, spend more time on social connections – it redirected my path and altered my course. Now my goal has flipped to being more present in practicing the Happiness Advantage, and what I find? It brings me more success……even when I don’t finish the list, I just get up the next day and do it again.

What can you do to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear).  The best way for me right now, is to continue to balance hours of work vs. work hours…………….finish work and treat my personal commitments as very important appointments. We live by our meeting schedules some days, I schedule my life happiness appointments – workout and yoga class schedules, dates with my loves , my friends…………you need to commit not to break appointments with yourself. We started the playground chat talking about the concept of time, how it disappears – to capture it with playtime, get it on the schedule as unbreakable. It’s fun!

Playground Chatter: Rachel Peniche, Executive Director, Friends of Vista Hill

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Welcome to Playground Chatter! Our new blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time!

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Your Name: Rachel Peniche

Your nickname? Mouse (only to really close friends and family) – it is because I am a bit sneaky and I LOVE cheese!

What is your grown up job? Executive Director, Friends of Vista Hill / President, Plan It San Diego

How can we find you?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachel.a.peniche

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rachelapeniche/Being charmed

Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most? I grew up in San Diego and went to St. Vincent’s Catholic School. I broke my finger, my middle finger, in the third grade trying to play catch (football) with the boys. That pretty much sums up my athletic ability for most my life.

Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? Swings although the slides are a very close second.

Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch? Strawberry Shortcake lunch box for me. Although in elementary school I did “forget” my lunch frequently so my father who worked down the street would bring me lunch from Canora’s Sandwich shop on India Street (they had the best potato salad that came in a little paper cup). I loved the California Sandwich with sprouts and avocado. So sad that shop isn’t still around.

What would be your ideal recess today? Spaahhh! Can’t get enough steam rooms and massages. Any day in a bathrobe seems like recess to me.

Does your company encourage recess for their employees? I personally encourage recess. We have done a few fun things as a group: Ice Skating at the Hotel Del, Sound of Music Sing-a-long at the Birch Theatre and my personal favorite BOWLING!

If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in? I would do a scavenger hunt. I love those. Great way for people to go outside their comfort zone and ask people for things.

What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today? Take turns, be safe, play nice and fair and say you’re sorry when you accidentally do something wrong. Flash Tattoos

When does time disappear for you? Time always seems to fly when I am in the kitchen cooking.

What is one area of your life where you need more recess? I feel fortunate that I am able to work hard and play harder. I do think I need to delegate more and as Idina Menzel would croon – “Let it Go…” Sometimes I try too hard to be perfect and be everything to everyone which leaves me exhausted in the end and not able to enjoy recess at all.

What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there? I really can’t think of anything. Honestly, I have all I want and then some. I get the great pleasure of giving back to my family, community and friends almost every day of my life and I feel if I died tomorrow my legacy would the lives I have touched in personal and meaningful ways. I am truly blessed.

What can you do to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear). I really want to set aside a couple of hours each week to doing something new and fun that is totally for me. I just started this year and so far so good – cheese 101 class, I am going to take a sailing class and maybe take up piano lessons or tennis. All just for fun.   Good witch

 

Playground Chatter: Sharon Mintz, Organic Elements

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Welcome to our first, Playground Chatter! Our new blog series, where we get to profile and chat with some of the best executives in town! Sure, we could ask about all their fancy business stuff but since we are fun monsters, we want to know how they spend their spare time!

Meet our first Playground Monitor: Sharon Mintz, Owner of Organic Elements

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Your nickname?    SmintzySharon Mintz

What is your grown up job?  I don’t know, I’ll decide when I grow up. Oh, you mean wedding florist :).

How can we find you?
Facebook:      organicelementsflorals
Twitter:          @organicelements
Instagram:      organicelements
Pinterest:         sdorganicelements
Website:           www.organicelements.com

 

1) Tell us where you spent your childhood years. Is there one year you remember most?
I grew up in Los Angeles in the 80-90’s so the usual, Beverly Center, Century City, 3rd Street…

2) Favorite part of the playground to hang out in? Swings

3) Lunch pail, brown bag or did you buy lunch?
Tupperware (due to my mother’s hobbies) lunchbox.

4) What would be your ideal recess today?
Snorkeling on the beach with breaks of cold drinks and absolute silence to listen to only the waves.

5) Does your company encourage recess for their employees?
Yes, paid for field trips included.

6) If I deemed you Playground Monitor for the next 15 minutes, how would you rally your employees? What activity would everyone participate in?
Team cheer, all hands in and a quick baton race.

7) What rules did you learn on the playground that you still utilize today?
Fair is fair, be kind to everyone-you never know who will grow larger than you later in life, you have to join in the activity to have fun with the group… but you can still make up your own games and lead the charge.

8) When does time disappear for you?
Talk about your hobbies. Currently my time disappears making sure my children have plenty of time for recess themselves, my time will come again soon enough.

9) What is one area of your life where you need more recess?
Sleep. I work in my dreams. Though I love what I do, I need to dream further away.

10) What is your authentic intention (that thing that you really, really want to do or accomplish?) What are you doing to get there?
I have a first child, it’s about 10 now and it’s name is Organic Elements. I work, everyday to make sure it is happy and healthy, surrounded both those that make it so. Everyday I focus on how it can be smarter, stronger and more beautiful to all it touches.

11) What can you do to design your life to better incorporate more recess? (Pinky Swear).
Declare some days off (even a few per year), and mean it!