There are certain life experiences that are forever etched in our memories.

For me, one such memory occurred in April of this year - just a few short months ago.

I remember every detail of a recent brainstorming session I facilitated for a public relations client who handles lifestyle and food brands. We were talking about the agency’s new business pipeline and the kinds of clients that would be an ideal fit. The conversation evolved into how each team member uses the products they wanted to represent.

Last Friday night I attended a brilliant new musical called “Alan” (a coincidence!), a poignant musical from Spain exploring the life of Alan Montoliu, a teen who took his own life due to the bullying he endured while transitioning.

Last night I saw the movie, “Civil War,” with some friends. To say the movie was disturbing would be a huge understatement. This dystopic movie showed us what a second Civil War would look like in a third term under a fascist dictator.

I’m curious how all of us can stay connected to our own Emotional Intelligence while our political leaders seem to be lacking it. With many politicians showing extremely low empathy, too much self-regard, lack of impulse control or sense of social responsibility, who out there in society is modeling for us high levels of emotional intelligence and achieving greater levels of success and happiness?