This is the third in my series of five Monday video posts focused on leadership lessons during challenging times. Today’s post focuses on how to deepen your relationship with customers at a time when you probably have a streamlined or almost no marketing budget.

“Physical Distancing” If you’re working from home for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing pandemic, you’re most likely going to be getting a lot more comfortable with video conferencing. Just because we can’t go out doesn’t mean we need to feel isolated. Isolation is fatal.

One of the core principles of the Modern Elder Academy is that we can apply a growth mindset to midlife and beyond. So often, we focus more on loss than gain during our later years. Or we adopt a fixed mindset in which we’re more focused on proving ourselves and winning than improving ourselves and learning.

For the foreseeable future while we have extra time on our hands, I will offer a Friday review of a book from the MEA Library. This first book comes from the section of the library defined as “How can I connect with my soul?” The author is Michael Meade and the full title is “Awakening the Soul: A Deep Response to a Troubled World.”

In an episode of “The Outer Limits” (1965) called “The Premonition,” a test pilot crashes his experimental X-15 plane. He quickly discovers he’s in a new reality where time has slowed to the pace of a snail. Everything is moving by inches per hour.

What if the world is meant to take a Gap Year? Sounds better than forced retirement, right? First off, let’s acknowledge that many of us are working even harder from home, whether it’s due to the industry we’re in or the difficult fate our companies are facing.

Pick your poison. The Game of Life, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, or Chinese Checkers? All four have odd histories and all could be considered a childhood metaphor for life. Monopoly was introduced in 1935 to give Depression-era Americans the impression they could get rich within a couple of hours.

Based upon the overwhelming response to last Monday’s post, I’m going to create a series of five brief video lessons each Monday for organizational leaders and entrepreneurs. Today’s post will focus on creating a vibrant employee culture in the midst of a difficult environment.

Wise people of the past have dealt with wars, plagues, and profound personal tragedies. Some of them have offered their wisdom in the form of books, quotes, or artistry. In this era of uncertainty, I recommend you find a literary lighthouse that provides you guidance in a time of darkness.

Three weeks ago, I was enjoying my empty nest. I was traveling for weeks at a time – part pleasure, part work, never needing to check in on the home front. What a difference a week makes.