Monthly Archives: October 2017

Try and inject a little more of that childhood attitude of wonder into our adult lives

Watching all the cute little kids in their trick-or-treating costumes, running around ecstatic about all the free candy they were collecting, I couldn’t help but think how great it was to be a little kid. So oblivious to the problems in the world, wide-eyed with excitement about even the littlest things, believing in fairy tales […]

Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker

You gotta love Halloween. Free candy and fun costumes…what could be better? Growing up as a kid at Halloween time we used to always look forward to watching “It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” One of the best lines from that movie is: “Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker.” – […]

There Is No Such Thing As A Selfless Lie

There have been numerous scientific experiments which have proven that people lie for selfish reasons. Yet how often do we hear people say they lied to be selfless in order to protect the other person, or to avoid hurting the other person, or because they didn’t want the other person to think less of them, […]

Creating A Day Worth Living

Life can sometimes seem ridiculously complicated. And trying to find peace amidst the chaos day to day often feels a bit impossible. So what makes for a peaceful day? If the only way to have a peaceful day is to have a day where everything goes perfectly then the chance of us ever having a […]

Protect that what you value most

When my two children were young they started calling me “Mama Bear” because they knew their Mama would fight fiercely to protect her two little cubs. That’s because we protect what we value most, and my kids have always been what I value most. Becoming a parent is one of the most surreal experiences in […]

Don’t let your emotions overpower your intelligence

“Never let what you feel make you forget what’s real. Facts over feelings. Don’t let your emotions overpower your intelligence.”  -unknown Learning the lesson shared in that quote is something that took me making a few really bad personal life choices in my early adult life and going through the horrible pain that resulted from […]

Making Your Day Proactive Rather Than Reactive

I grew up with a father who would start every day with a 3×5 index card in his shirt pocket that held a list of everything he planned to get done that day, and throughout his day he would cross off each item from that 3×5 card as he completed it.  My Dad was absolutely […]

Accept things as they are, not as you wish they were, then focus on your wishes for the future

“When you struggle against this moment, you are actually struggling against the entire universe. Instead, you can make the decision that today you will not struggle against the whole universe by struggling against this moment.  This means that your acceptance of this moment is total and complete. You accept things as they are, not as […]

There is no such thing as a perfect parent

“There is no such thing as a perfect parent so just be a real one.” – Sue Atkins Without a doubt the hardest job on the planet is that of being a parent. The stakes are so high because every mistake you make as a parent affects your children and you realize that so you […]

The Power Of Encouragement

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” –William Arthur Ward Today I was reminded of the powerful impact my mentors have had on me. I have had the privilege of […]

Moments That Matter Most

Rather than writing much tonight I wanted to share a really short 3 minute video that has a message that is sure to inspire you today: And that says it all….perfectly…. Have a great day everyone! ~Amy Rees Anderson

Take A Walk Down Happy Memory Lane

“Don’t wait until your life is almost over to realize how great it has been!” Today I had to pull a bunch of old photos from years past together for a project and as I was sorting through years and years worth of photos I couldn’t help but be pulled into a walk down memory […]

We Are Stronger Than We Ever Knew

C.S. Lewis once said that “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”  I’ll freely admit that sometimes it can take serious effort on our part to remember that our extraordinary destiny will someday come to fruition if we just hang in there and we don’t let the hardships stop us. These last few months it’s taken me more effort than […]

Finding Balance is the Eternal Struggle… The Day Will Never Be Longer Than 24 Hours So We Best Schedule Those Hours Wisely!

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons because I love seeing the amazing Fall colors as the leaves on the trees scattered up the mountain behind my home turn beautiful shades of red and yellow. I love apple cider and pumpkin flavored everything. The difficult thing about Autumn is that it also tends to be […]

Never Underestimate What You Are Capable Of Accomplishing

I left home to come to college when I was 17 years old. One of the first things I had to do was setup my very first checking account at the bank. Up to that point I had never had my own checking account. I had always had jobs and worked throughout High School but […]

Lessons On Branding Shared By Advertising Expert Gordon Bowen of McGarryBowen (Forbes Article)

Last night I had the opportunity to go to the home of Gordon Bowen, Founder and Chairman of McGarryBowen, esteemed international Advertising Agency, representing such clients as Disney, American Express, Intel, Marriott, Verizon, Crayola, Chase, and many other iconic brands. As for Gordon, Time Magazine dubbed him the creator of “emotional blockbusters” for his creation […]

The things you can think up if only you try

“Think left and think right, think low and think high, oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.” – Dr. Seuss Idea generation and problem solving go hand in hand. They both require us to think and tap into our creativity to identify new and better ways and new and better solutions. […]

Treasure Every Precious Moment

Today was the baby blessing of my grandson Flynn Dalton Anderson. When I saw him in his little white outfit I was amazed at how much he looked exactly like his father, my son Dalton. I remember my son Dalton’s blessing day as if it was just yesterday. I remember getting him into his cute […]

If your future self could speak to you…

I have been out in Washington DC for the last few days and I was reminded of how beautiful Virginia is.  I lived in Vienna, Virginia when I was a teenager in High School and during this visit I was able to drive past the house I used to live in while I was there […]

What would you do if you were exactly the person you’d like to be?

Too often in life we have a tendency to discount our own potential. It is often much easier to recognize other people’s talents and abilities than it is to see our own. But there is  a trick you can use to help yourself rise to the level of person you want to become – some […]

Don’t Just Talk About It – Get Out There And Actually Do It!

Over the years I have had a lot of college students and young entrepreneurs who have asked to meet with me to seek my advice about different business idea they have come up with. I couldn’t count the total number of people I have met with over the years to hear their idea and then […]

What’s in it for me?

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are asking, “What’s in it for me?” ” – Brian Tracy I have always been a big fan of Brian Tracy’s books and trainings and I had come across that quote when I was still fairly young in business and it really helped […]

You Can Be Glad

I shared in my Friday blog how this past weekend was one of my favorite times of year because I get to hear incredible speakers share amazingly inspiring messages in a streaming broadcast that goes worldwide. If you didn’t have the chance to watch the live broadcast you can still access each talk in video […]