Dear Olive, I love your new column. I met you a few months ago but had no idea you did this. My impression of you then and now is a woman positive about life and able to make things better. I admire that. I used to be that way, but lately, I feel discouraged a lot, even depressed, what with the daily news and how distant and rude people have become. I try not to listen all day, but with social media, it seems every hour some awful thing takes place in the world. When I was little, I had [ Read More ]
Dear Olive, My girlfriend just cancelled her marriage at the last minute, and it’s made me nervous about my own situation. I know several girls who married even though they knew there were problems. They all ended up divorced. I don’t want to make that mistake. I’ve dated Paul for three years. We’ve lived together eighteen months and he’s a great guy, but I want to get married. I’m thirty and it’s time. Even though Paul tells me he loves me, he gets weird whenever I mention anything that suggests commitment. If we get flack from friends who want to [ Read More ]
In the past week, at least three clients have said to me, “I’m so ready to start taking things apart and clean out the clutter. It always makes me feel better.” Spring cleaning. http://is.gd/nTZUQA Simplifying. Organizing. Music to my ears. As well as a prompt for the sun to come out and show me the way to those ever-present smudges on the windows that are invisible when it’s raining and gloomy. Now I recognize for some that the mere idea of straightening anything is depressing, even unnecessary. But for a much greater percentage of us, there seems to be an [ Read More ]
If you are a part of any culture that celebrates St. Valentine’s Day in one form or another , this is a question as old as time. It’s one that most of us, in some secret part of our heart, dreams of being asked for real at least once in our life. And it’s one that’s going to be echoed over and over again during the next few days – on the air, in social media, and on the street. Along with advice about what to give your loved one, what to wear for that special night, where to dine [ Read More ]
Last Saturday, I arose in the dark, dressed quickly, gathered up a small suitcase and carry-on, placed my sleepy puppy in the car for the short ride to my daughter’s where she once again snuggled under the covers and returned to her endless, happy dream, and with the help of my darling daughter, headed to Portland’s airport and an early Alaska Airlines flight to Los Angles. The trip was delightful and easy filled by an unexpected conversation with my seatmate who turned out to be a smart, kind mom of three as well as a fifth-grade teacher. By the time [ Read More ]
During this season of gift-giving, we tend to get so caught up in the packaging we sometimes overlook the importance of real value. I found this touching dilemma a sad but accurate reflection of how easy it is for us to get caught up in the fantasy and overlook the truth until it’s unavoidable, often painful. Dear Olive, I’ve just returned from a disappointing, frustrating trip to meet someone I only knew through letters and the phone. We didn’t meet online but were introduced by mutual friends over the phone. Since that first chat, when things seemed to just click, [ Read More ]
July 1, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julia Botts (503) 908-7842 [email protected] PERSONAL BEST® ANNOUNCES OPENING OF PRIVATE EXECUTIVE COACHING PRACTICE IN PORTLAND, OREGON Lake Oswego, OR – Olive Gallagher, founder and CEO of Personal Best, a creative marketing and ethics consultancy specializing in consistent, accountable brand messages and delivery, announced the relocation and opening of its private executive coaching practice in Portland, Oregon. “While Personal Best started off offering unique creative consulting services to large corporations like Toyota, Avon, PG&E and IDG,” Gallagher explains, “I’ve always worked in private session with clients who ranged from major CEO’s to small [ Read More ]
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, many folks are feeling the pressure to illustrate their devotion with their pocketbook and plan the perfect gift, evening out or surprise. My preference might be a lovely little box of salted dark chocolate caramels. But billions of dollars are spent each year in an attempt, often unsuccessfully, to fulfill expectations of loved ones. And therein lies the rub. One such reader wrote to me last week in distress about the pressure and expectations, a word on The Inner Bottom Line that spells trouble, because all expectations ever do is set us up for [ Read More ]
Perhaps many of you don’t know that The Inner Bottom Line® was created in 1988 as the first television series on family values in the US. We aired from Los Angeles monthly and from the very first one, I was blessed with the presence of guests who were all, in their unique ways, incredibly accomplished individuals; people like Joe Jacobs, who identified both Vitamin C and penicillin prior to founding Jacobs Engineering, and talents like Theodore Bikel, gifted actor and musician, who I invited on the show to honor and discuss his work and legacy with Amnesty International. Because of [ Read More ]