• Who We Are
    • Meet Christine
    • Mission, Vision, and Values
    • Work With STI For Proven Results
    • OneTribe Foundation
    • Media and Press
  • What We Do
    • Neuroscience Workshops
      • The Neuroscience Of Compelling Leadership
      • The Neuroscience of Influencing Outcomes
      • The Neuroscience Of Emotional Resilience: Learn To Love Change
      • The Neuroscience Of Creating Optimal Teams
      • Beyond Your Brain
    • Culture, Leadership, And Executive Coaching
      • Leadership Coaching
      • Culture Coaching
      • Leadership Development Programs
    • Keynotes
      • Make Your Team Smarter Overnight
      • Influence Any Outcome
      • Create the Company Culture of Your Dreams
      • The Neuroscience Of Creating Optimal Teams
      • The Neuroscience Of Emotional Resilience: Learn To Love Change
      • Guarantee Growth
      • Quota Busters
    • Quick Wins
      • DIY SmartTribe
      • Employee Engagement & Culture Diagnostic
      • Leadership Excellence Diagnostic
      • Sales & Marketing Intensive
      • Strategy Day
    • Case Studies
  • Resources
    • Assessments
    • Mini Course
    • Crack The Behavior Code Podcast
    • Infographics
    • Blog
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Subscribe
    • Power Your Tribe
  • Contact
3 Daily Actions That Guarantee Work-Life Balance For Leaders
February 27, 2018
Energetic Weight
Embracing Energetic Weight To Improve Leadership: A Case Study
March 27, 2018

The Soulshake Of Stephen Hawking

March 21, 2018
Categories
  • Christine Comaford
  • Christine Comaford's Blog
Tags
  • Leadership

Hawking at NASA's StarChild Learning Center, 1980s

*As originally seen on Forbes.com

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” Stephen Hawking

March 14th was Albert Einstein’s birthday, National Pi Day, and a day during Brain Awareness Week. March 14th will now be known as the day that Stephen Hawking, world renowned physicist and cosmologist, left this gorgeous and mysterious planet.

When I heard the news, I fondly remembered meeting him years ago at a White House lecture he was giving. What I learned that night from Dr. Hawking had little to do with physics–and lots to do with humanity. I still clearly remember that evening of nearly 20 years ago.

Hawking at NASA’s StarChild Learning Center, 1980s

“Hi,” I said crouching before the seated man. He was alone, slumped over the little desk attached to his wheelchair. “Your speech was terrific,” I told him. “You make physics so . . . accessible. Thanks.” He smiled and shifted a little, preparing to type a reply into his speech synthesizer. Aware of the effort it would require after what I figured was an exhausting day for him, I said, “You needn’t respond.”

He looked up at me—and into me–with deep dark eyes. No black holes here. And I felt great warmth, great compassion. His eyes embraced me in a down-duvet hug. And there it was: connection. Somehow we then knew each other. I could feel his anguish, his giant, potent mind trapped in a tiny, twisted body. I wondered what it was like to be him, to be so celebrated and remarkable and yet how he seemed surprised that people were approaching him. He was simply doing what he loved and was living in his bliss. Whether people noticed or not, he’d do exactly what he was doing.

Right then my insecurity evaporated: I no longer cared that I wasn’t a player on the world stage, that I’d probably never be all that important in the world. Because my quest for success had been about being seen, about banishing the perpetual feeling of invisibility and inconsequence, about making sure I mattered. And right then, I did. I felt seen all the way through.

And I realized that this…this, right now, this is a moment that I’ll remember, this very real, better-than-a-handshake moment: the soulshake, the touchless shake, of Professor Stephen Hawking.

“We are all different. There is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.” Stephen Hawking

 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 
 
 
Featuring case studies and proven techniques, Power Your Tribe provides a set of powerful neuroscience-based tools to help managers identify emotions, release resistance, end isolation, focus on outcomes, and course-correct for continued success.

Learn More
 
 
 
 
 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Related

Share
Christine Comaford
Christine Comaford

Related posts

May 13, 2023

The Evolution Of Success: How To Manage And Excel In Business Transformations


Read more
April 2, 2023

The Neuroscience of Optimism


Read more
April 2, 2023

Say Goodbye To Stress: The Proven Brain Hack That Boosts Gratitude And Lowers Blood Pressure


Read more
Learn how to lead your team through change, create emotional resilience, and ensure growth. Join our Emotional Resilience mini-course

415.320.6580
775 E. Blithedale Avenue, Suite 210,
Mill Valley, CA 94941
© 2020 SmartTribes Institute. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy