Blog Posts
When my daughter, Abby, was in pre-school she used to carry on about my “pointy nose” and draw pictures of me with a “Pinocchio-like” stick nose. I admit: I have ski-jump shaped nose, but it’s never bothered me. In fact, I sort of like my nose! As parents, my husband and I would laugh at…
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Stepping onto the cobblestone streets of Vilnius, I felt like I’d entered a storybook. This charming medieval city is the home to 500,000 Lithuanians, who bustle around the tangled streets in fashion-forward attire with a sense of purpose and belonging. Doug Carter (another speaker), Claire, and I settled into our hotel and met Diana Garlytska,…
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Once upon a time … I didn’t “do” social media. But when I started Storlietelling LLC, many colleagues urged me to venture into this virtual world. For a few months, I forced myself to spend 10-20 min/day with social media. I focused on LinkedIn—customized my newsfeed, joined Discussion Groups, and commented on intriguing content. Eventually,…
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“Lost my phone!” I shrieked silently to myself, reaching for the “flight attendant” button overhead. The announcement that the doors were closing had just broadcast as I searched my belongings to find my phone. A friendly face appeared within a few minutes, asking me what I needed. I blurted out, “I left my iPhone at…
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When I was in graduate school, I worked as the Nutrition Coordinator for an Adult Fitness/Cardiac Rehab program associated with the university I attended. It was a fairly new position in the organization without a lot of structure and process in place. Bright-eyed, naïve, and optimistic, I brought forward a lot of new ideas to…
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Early in my career as a dietitian, I answered a panicky phone call from a participant in my weight loss program. Pat (not her real name) said, “Jean, I have a problem and really need to talk to you.” She had been a “perfect” participant: never missed class, her food diaries and exercise log showed stellar…
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After herding my three rambunctious and exhausted kids out of the ski chalet, I discovered that my skis were missing. In a panic, I alerted my husband, and we searched high and low … to no avail. As I went inside to report the (probable) theft, he did some sleuthing and noticed that close to…
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In my first professional job, I was charged with building a nutrition capability for an adult fitness/cardiac rehabilitation program. Passionate and naively optimistic, I would develop 1-page proposals for new offerings. I was particularly excited about a proposal for a new weight management course, but when the executive director, Phil, red-lined my proposal, I was…
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People frequently ask me about my last name, “Storlie,” and my company name, “Storlietelling.” I guess it starts in grade school . . . As I set off for school with my older sister, Cindy, I heard the neighborhood kids shouting, “There’s Cindy Big Meadow!” and chanting, “Jean Big Meadow!” I shrunk away, confused and…
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Anxious to hear from my kids who were at a summer camp, I was excited to open the mailbox and see two letters from Camp Iduhapi. We had dropped them off at this charming YMCA camp on the shores of a Minnesota lake four days earlier. The first letter I opened was from Eleanor (10…
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