Moana is the daughter of Chief Tui who expects his daughter to take control of the island in the future. However, she is the one chosen by the ocean to break a great curse that haunts her land. She is the first Disney Princess of Polynesian origin. Moana’s lessons inspire and guide us in [...]
Merida is actually a Pixar princess who lives in Medieval Scotland. She is a free-spirited and fiery young woman who dislikes her princess duties, loves to ride, an expert with the bow and arrow and is considered rebellious by her parents. Merida teaches us many lessons including independence as she values that for herself and is [...]
I am continuing the break from my Why I Love Disney series this week, but I promise that it will continue next week! So, let’s talk about the New Year and why we should be excited about it. Those of you who know me, know that I am not a fan of “resolutions” but [...]
So as a quick break from our Why I Love Disney series, I thought I would write about why I LOVE Christmas!! For me there are SO many reasons, so I am just going to hit a few of my most important/non-negotiable traditions! The whole “feeling” of Christmas means so much to me. Spending [...]
Rapunzel is a princess who is stuck in a tower for years, then escapes the tower against her mother’s wishes with the help of an outlaw Flynn to find the source of the lanterns that are released into the air every year on her birthday. After she escapes, she discovers she is the missing princess of the kingdom [...]
Tiana is an independent waitress living in New Orleans in the 1920s who ends up finding a frog that is said to be a cursed prince (The Princess and the Frog). Tiana is the first (and only) black princess and represents diversity and inclusivity which encourages pride in our background and culture. Tiana has [...]
There may be some debate if Mulan is really a princess, she is a Chinese warrior who goes to war to protect her father. But Disney considers her a princess and her actions are driven by her love for her family and her desire to honor them. There are so many takeaways when it [...]
Pocahontas is based on a royal legend and is a Native American “princess” which is not necessarily the typical royal family. This is story is based only partially on fact because Pocahontas was a real person, born around 1596. Pocahontas did play a role as an intermediary between the tribes and the English settlers. [...]
To me, Jasmine is a different kind of princess. Jasmine is the first to represent a non-Western culture as the Princess of the Agrabah and gives diversity to the typical Disney Princess. She is also one of the first to have a rebellious and independent personality along with great combat skills. Jasmine wants to [...]
Belle is the second princess of the Renaissance era. The story of the Belle (Beauty and the Beast) is adapted from a French fairy tale. Belle decides to be the prisoner of the Beast in order to free her father who was imprisoned by the Beast and then gradually befriends him despite his outward [...]
The first princess of the Disney Renaissance era, Ariel has also been part of the Disney Princess franchise officially since its creation. Ariel is the daughter of King Triton and is the Princess of Atlantica. Ariel is born a mermaid but falls in love with a human prince and needs to make some big [...]
Sleeping Beauty is how we all know her, but her real name is Aurora. Sleeping Beauty sleeps through most of the movie but is also a princess who was cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for a hundred years. The curse from the evil fairy is triggered by a spindle on which she [...]
The second “official” princess on the list is Cinderella. This is definitely one of the great classic Princesses of all time (and my favorite). Cinderella is a young woman whose stepfamily mistreats her and makes her do all the work. She has a fairy godmother who gives her everything she needs to attend the [...]
We will start with Snow White who was the first “official” princess on the list. Snow White forever remains a classic with her befriending the dwarves, being poisoned by her stepmother and being saved by Prince Charming. Isn’t that the true fairy tale story of a princess? The story of Snow White came from the Brothers Grimm fairy [...]
I am starting this new series about what we can learn from Disney Princesses but before I get to that I want to talk about why I love Disney. There is a term out there called a “Disney Adult” and it is not always used in a favorable manner. I however, think it is [...]
As we talk about leadership, we need to consider what we want for ourselves as a leader. So here are some ideas to think about. First let’s talk about self-reflection and really knowing what we want for ourselves. This includes our goals, our values and how we want to improve ourselves. The first step [...]
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I don’t listen (my husband would confirm)! But as a leader, we need to LISTEN! In fact, we need to be active listeners! Being an active listener means that we give our undivided attention to whoever is speaking to us and acknowledging what they are saying. When [...]
As we talk about leadership, we should also talk about our teams. What are some of the things we need to consider when we talk about leading our team? First, we always need to set clear goals for our team. Having well-defined goals is key not only for ourselves as a leader but also [...]
Last week we talked about our leadership identity…but what about our mindset? In order to really be successful in leadership (and leadership training) we need to understand our mindset which consists of how we think, learn and behave. So what is a mindset? It is the “lense” that we use to take in information, [...]
