Dearest Friends and Esteemed Colleagues,

It is wonderful to be back from sabbatical to share our September edition of VAST Original Thinking^® News.

It was great fortune to spend this summer with my favorite people, in some of my favorite places on the planet. Got to travel, mix it up with fellow humans a bit and gain perspective on important truths; like how moments of awe at the beauty in front of us, even during difficulty or derision, is vital to our personal and collective growth and sanity.

Refreshed from a sweet summer of playing, grounding and growing, it is my pleasure to share the replenishing energy and a few, insightful moments-in-time.

During my recent journeys to the three distinct locals of the Big Island, Seattle and Santa Fe, I witnessed a condensed version of how magical life can be, if I can muster the courage to focus on what is already wondrous in your world.

The VAST team has been simmering with creativity all summer long, preparing fresh, engaging content, podcasts and workshops, sure to delight and inspire - Our event calendar is filled with uplifting guidance and brainstorms to shift the close of 2021 to be more encouraging, within and without. Let the adventure unfold.

This month’s issue of Original Thinking News will explore:

1)  Leadership Genius: The Benefits of Being Happy, even during the rough times

2)  Sound and Light 
podcast series
with Jim Cohen and Michelle Sherman
 
The focus is life and music; the stories are profound. 

Jim Cohen and Michelle Sherman, two cool New York kids, who befriended music - recount how it influenced their lives. Enjoy this unscripted, and poignant dialogue about our music as a life influencer, sustainer and compass.

They begin on the streets of New York in the 50’s and bring us forward to their vision for today and how music brings us so much more than just noise.

Please welcome Michelle Purnell Hepburn, to the Taste of Original Thinking podcast series. as she riffs with us on The Curly Girls Guide to Belonging.  Michelle brings great warmth, humor, cross industry wisdom and insight to our discussion, rant and rave about making room for every curly girl or honorary curly girl at the table.

And please take a moment to review our VAST Fall 2021 online class schedule thoughtfully crafted to support your growth as lifelong leaders and learners.
 
Join us to refresh as a Leader, with our weekly Leadership Genius Roundtable, as a Person, with our Practical Optimists Book Club and, as a Lover of Life ready to Welcome the Belove, during a two-part healthy relationship event in October.

In the midst of change and chaos let us see the beauty around as a reminder of where we want to go, together. As designer Christian Dior so clearly expressed, “Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty without happiness”.
 
See and cultivate beauty in the midst of the bleak, and you will shift your perspective finding support, ingenuity and untapped treasure among your team.

Let us hear your story.

~ Michelle