Last week I was at a conference for entrepreneurs (look at this beautiful background!)… …and the topic of “balance” came up on the panel. One person said they prefer swapping in the word “harmony” instead of balance. This made me think of a symphony: some notes are louder or last longer; different instruments add their […]

Like it or not, you already have a personal brand. Maybe you’ve been intentional about shaping yours, or maybe it’s something you’ve never even thought about—but either way, people are making up their own story about who you are. (Today’s Tea Time was inspired by this article: “Having a Personal Brand at Work is Key for Introverts.” […]

I asked ChatGPT to write an obituary based on what it knows about me from our conversations. It’s long, but here’s exactly what it said: Nicole Bensen—beloved mother, devoted partner, cherished friend, and spirited mentor—left this world having lived it to the fullest. Known for her magnetic blend of warmth, humor, and grace, Nicole had […]

The woman sitting next to me at a networking event last week shared this story, and I can’t stop thinking about it. When someone died in ancient Egypt, their soul entered the Hall of Two Truths. There, they were asked two questions: That’s it. Not “Did you make your bed every day?” or “Did you hit […]

If you’ve seen my stories on Instagram the past few days, you know I’m in Vegas on a girls’ trip to see the Backstreet Boys at The Sphere. 🎉 (Raise your hand if you grew up in the boy band era!) So, while I’m OOO, I wanted to share something from my friend, Sam Sheppard. Sam’s mission is […]

I just counted 49 networking meetings and events on my calendar that I’ve attended in the past six months. Forty. Nine. (!!!) That’s a lot for me, and I’ve met a lot of people—a few gems, but most of them I’ll probably never talk to again. Maybe we didn’t align on values, or didn’t get past small talk. […]

Last week’s OOO packing list included ruffles and hiking boots: I used to think my dream life was this hazy, sometime-in-the-future milestone. Like I had to quit my job, move countries, totally burn down my current life and rebuild something extraordinary—one luxury vacation, purchase, or experience brick at a time—and then, one day, voilà: “dream […]

Have you heard of WIIFM? Last week I led two sessions of my Crafting Your Strengths-Based Personal Brand workshop for Google, with nearly 250 people attending across the sessions. Participants created a polished elevator pitch they can use in places like LinkedIn, at a networking event, in an interview, or with their manager. One of the takeaways […]

Are you feeling as steamrolled as I am right now? With all the end-of-school-year stuff and summer chaos layered on top of real life, I’ve been feeling stretched way too thin. Teacher gifts, graduations, birthday parties, snack duty, travel planning—not to mention democracy being at stake and doing my best to run a one-woman business—it’s […]

I posted this on Instagram a few days ago, and based on the comments and private messages, I thought you’d want to see it too. Here’s an excerpt: Despite these execs having bigger titles and more zeroes in their paycheck, we were all telling ourselves and our families the same lie—likely naively—believing it to be true. And […]