I was on my pool deck in Miami Beach this morning, working through my deep focus block, when the birds decided to lose their minds. Loud. Swooping. Completely chaotic. Flying within feet of me. Landing, squawking, puffing themselves up, then doing it all over again. I...

February 19, 2026 @ 11:29 AMFrom the desk of Carmen Ohling —  February is almost over. Your vision is clear.Your goals are set.Your plans are in motion. But here’s the question most leaders don’t stop long enough to ask: Where are your energy, enthusiasm, and focus...

In 1992, the U.S. men’s basketball team walked into the Barcelona Olympics not just to win, but to redefine what team greatness looked like. They were called the Dream Team for a reason. Michael Jordan. Magic Johnson. Larry Bird. Charles Barkley. All in one locker...

January Deposits: Carmen with Case Kenny Attended Miami Made on January 6th, connecting with other change makers and listening and learning from Case Kenny.  Case challenged my thinking around the stages of growth (to me, for me, through me, by me) and also dropped...

A Peek Into My January… It’s Sunday morning, and Joal and I are all packed up and ready to leave on the annual planning and dreaming trip we do each year as a couple. We are headed to one of our favorite places, Tulum. We have one bag to check and one carry-on. I...

In 2018, a business partner and I bootstrapped a ready-to-eat food company called Authentic Meals. We were scrappy. We bartered, leaned on our past skills, and made things work any way we could. We shared kitchen space, piggybacked on bigger companies’ deliveries, and...

Going into the 1988 Summer Olympics, the USA men’s basketball team was a favorite. Winning a gold medal was almost a given, with the USA team winning the gold medal 9 out of the last 11 Olympics prior to it becoming an official Olympic sport in 1936.   The two gold...

You once wanted what you now have. Take a breath and let that thought settle in. Most days, we wake up and start moving before we’ve even checked in with ourselves. We’re already thinking about what’s next, what’s unfinished, what’s urgent, what’s missing. But what if...

Read this quote and let it sink in for a moment, then keep reading: “One of the most difficult problems in modern life: how to get everything done you need to do and still have time for creativity, family, and yourself.”  – Gay Hendrick Two weeks ago, I was sitting in...

Have you ever felt resistance in your work?   When everything feels like you’re pushing through. And then when you finally finish something, you know it’s not your best work, yet there’s no expansion, no innovation, no creativity left to give, so you settle.   Writing...