In our final episode for 2025, First Year Harvard student Nicholas McCullough shares how he maintained presence, calm, stoicism, and all those great things amidst a pressured first semester at Harvard University as a footballer and Economics student. He and other student athletes averaged 65+ hour weeks.

In this interview, Nicholas (my oldest son) shares the power of camaraderie with his fellow Harvard athletes (his fellow footballers and other athletes across campus). He shares the importance of managing our time well, choosing quiet places to focus, and managing others' expectations of us when time affluence becomes low.

And we hear of the gifts and opportunities of taking a chance and moving far away from all we know to pursue our dreams. There's some real excitement that comes from being truly anonymous and having no history whatsoever, aside from the new story we create.

My dear listeners of this small but growing show, thank you for following me. This is our last episode until the New Year. Happy Holidays. May you rest, be calm, and merry.

If you're a coach following my documentary on my MCC submission efforts, until I hear otherwise, the ICF will alert me of my pass or fail January 15. I have an essay to write and read on how daunting that feels.

If you'd like to follow Nicholas and support him in his endeavors, you can find his LinkedIn profile here.

Your show host, D G McCullough, is a communications coach for Google PMs through Fortune 100 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Find her on LinkedIn. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her communications and active listening workshops on Maven here and here.

A simple daily flow of coaching questions helps me feel happier, but also more focused, ambitious, and committed to my work and life goals.

My goals typically seem to come true, in part of this vital practice grounded in maintaining presence in the wake of not knowing. And slowing down long enough to see all that's going great, right now, without wanting nor needing to change a thing.

You can read my Substack post on how and why I pause to applause here.

Your show host, D G McCullough, is a communications coach for Google PMs through Fortune 100 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Find her on LinkedIn. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her communications and active listening workshops on Maven here and here.

When customer operations manager Jeanette Bernard lost her husband Matt four years ago, the flippant comments from others on her need to rebound fast upset her as much as the grief.

“People would say: You’ll be back out there in a couple of months. You’ll be fine,” she recalls of awful comments at her husband’s funeral. “I was so mad. I will never forget Matt. Nor does he want me to.”

Now four years later, and the anniversary of Matt’s death on Thanksgiving week, Jeanette still communicates with her childhood sweetheart in her own special way. She finds talking with him, asking for signs of his presence, and remembering him coming to her in her dreams (and one very powerful time when awake) helps her feel comforted. She still feels his presence and his love. And keeping connected with him also helps her function at work and in life.

In a touching episode, we hear Jeanette’s encounters with seeing her husband, how she asks for signs, and how those signs appear, often within 1-2 days. We hear on this upcoming Thanksgiving week her appeal to us all to continue communicating with those we love who have passed away. “They want to hear from us. They want us to remember them,” she says. “So talk to them.”

Your show host, D G McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Find her on LinkedIn. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here.

Join her communications and active listening workshops on Maven here and here.