The Common Law of Life
Good Timber -by Douglas Malloch The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil To […]
Tagged adversity, Amy Rees Anderson, appreciate, appreciation, attitude, blessings, bruises, confidence, courage, culture, discouraged, don't give up, don't quit, endure, enduring to the end, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, faith, falling down, good timber, good timbers grow, hang in, hang on, hard times, inspired, it's hard but you can, leadership, motivated, poem, scars, self-confidence, self-improvement, shaken, strife, success, the common law of life, win
The safest road to Hell is the gradual one
“Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” – C. S. Lewis There are so many ways to off-track in life, and so many of them happen through a series of poor smaller choices that end up leading to big mistakes, but […]
Tagged accountable, addiction, Amy Rees Anderson, attitude, avoid temptation, away from the light, blessings, books, C.S. Lewis, change, choose the right, Christ, christian, confidence, courage, experience, future, God, grateful, gratitude, happiness, humans, ignorance, ignorant, lies, Lucifer, milepost, mistakes, mortals, off track, overcome, pain, pleasure, repentance, satan, screwtape, self-improvement, selfishness, sin, struggles, success, suffering, tempt, temptation, the devil, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the screwtape letters, truth, twisted, uneasy, warning signs, wickedness, wormwood
Life isn’t easy and people aren’t perfect
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts […]
Tagged addiction, Amy Rees Anderson, angels, angels will attend, answer to prayer, atonement, C.S. Lewis, can barely breathe, circumstance led you, decent little cottage, don't give up, frozen, God, god answers prayer, gut, have faith, he is building a palace, hold on, imagine, imagine yourself as a living house, Jesus Christ, lds, lds.org, love, mistakes, never abandons us, nothingness, pray, pray with all your might, recovery, reliance, rely on god, someone hurt you, surprised, unable to move, unwise, wrecking ball
Strength comes from overcoming obstacles
There are a lot of times in life we question why we have to go through really hard times. Years ago someone shared this story with me. I have probably shared this before with all of you but it just seemed like it was worth sharing it again today: Parable of the Butterfly A man […]
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, assistance, butterly, change, cocoon, comfort, cripple, damage, force, God, God's way, growth, hurt, life lessons, love, obstacles, overcoming obstacles, pain, parable, parable of the butterfly, peace, personal growth, sadness, shriveled wings, struggle
We don’t manage time, we manage ourselves in the time we have
“We don’t really manage time but rather we manage ourselves in the amount of time we have.” – Rex Allred My life often feels like the never ending battle with time management. “How can I get everything done?” “How can I find enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to?” […]
Tagged accomplish more, Amy Rees Anderson, can you make it less complicated, control interruptions, delegate, delegate more, distractions, does it need to be so complicated, effective time management, failure, focus, focus on results not activities, get things done, goals, gospel lesson, inspirational, kill two birds with one stone, lds.org, life mission, motivational, prioritize, purpose of life, quiet time, reduce, rex allred, set and pursue priorities, set priorities, simplify, success, task list, the time we have, time is our most valuable resource, time management, tips, to do list, turn off your phone, we don’t manage our time we manage ourselves in the time we have, what is the best use of my time, work less
You never realize how little self-control you have until…
“You never realize how little self-control you have until they put chips and salsa in front of you at a Mexican restaurant.” #truth Having self-control isn’t always easy, as is so brilliantly illustrated in the example of trying not to eat the chips and salsa placed in front of us…we can all relate to facing […]
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Summer is almost over so make the most of the next few weeks!
“Time flies whether you’re having fun or not. The choice is yours.” – unknown This summer is flying by! It’s hard to believe we are about to start the month of August already and school will be starting again in a few short weeks. It definitely feels like this summer is going by way too […]
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, August, choice, choose the right, choose to have fun, conscious choice, enjoy the journey, fabulous, family reunions, fantastic memories, fun, goals, hosting, hosting trips, inspiration, inspire others, july, lake powell, lazy days, lying out at the pool, make memories, motivation, no regrets, pubic service, serve others, summer, summer is almost over, summertime, time flies, time flies by, time flies whether you’re having fun or not, treasure memories, trips, vacations, we have a choice, you can do and not enjoy
The 80s comeback is finally complete with Atari making a comeback
It seems like everything else from the 80’s has been making a comeback, from music, to pegged pants, off the shoulder tops, and even mom jeans (so wrong)…yes the 80s are back with a vengeance. The only thing missing from the 80s is our beloved Atari gaming systems…but have no fear…the beloved Atari gaming system […]
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Less knowledgeable doesn’t mean less valuable
There is a natural tendency when a person gains deep knowledge of a subject to begin to elevate themselves in their own mind as being “better than” or above other people who they feel are less knowledgeable. What is too often forgotten is that while one may have great expertise in one area, there are […]
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“One you have experienced excellence, you will never again be content with mediocrity”
Dr. Charles H. Malik, former Secretary General of the United Nations, once shared: “I respect all men, and it is from disrespect for none that I say there are no great leaders in the world today. In fact, greatness itself is laughed to scorn. You should not be great today—you should sink yourself into the […]
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Stay True To Yourself
As a young adult who was trying to take on responsibilities that I felt totally inadequate to take on, I came to learn that in order for me to be able to feel truly confident I needed to stay totally focused on living my life with integrity, as doing so provided me the confidence to […]
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Do Parents Have Favorite Children?
I have two children, a 24 year old son and a 21 year old daughter. They are the best of friends until it comes to one particular argument that they have been having for the last 19 years since they were both old enough to debate it….who is Mom’s favorite child? And regardless of how […]
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That Moment You Realize That You Are Watching A Video of, Well, Yourself?
Last week we were preparing to host a group of people on our houseboat down at Lake Powell. I was running around like crazy trying to make sure every throw pillow was perfectly positioned and every bit of dust was off the floors so that everything would look absolutely perfect for our guests who were […]
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, appreciate, appreciation, attitude, cleaning up, crazy, crazy cleaning mom, decorative pillows, died laughing, Disney on ice, dusting, everything perfect, family, happiness, hilarious, house guests, houseboat, labor of love, laughing, making things perfect, nuts, out of control, overboard, perfectionist, relate to it, self-improvement, throw pillows, totally me, vacuuming, you are not alone, you tube
The Energy That Comes From Doing What You Love
“The only great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs Tonight I was asked to give a keynote speech to a group of entrepreneurs at Startup Ignition, a startup Bootcamp program for entrepreneurs. Truth be told as I was driving down to give my speech I was feeling exhausted from having had […]
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Stand up for what is right regardless of who is committing the wrong.
“Stand up for what is right regardless of who is committing the wrong.” -Suzy Kassam A dear friend sent me that quote today and it was a much appreciated reminder of the fact that being a person of integrity means you have to be willing to stand by your convictions at all times, and against […]
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Without Accountability For Actions There Would Be No Progression
Without accountability for actions there would be no progression in our lives or in our organizations. And as Tomas Paine expressed when he stated, “…men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” We ought not trust those who are unwilling to be accountable. Each of us has a moral and legal […]
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Taking accountability does far more to restore credibility than attempting to cover things up
Last week I spent the week hosting a group of fabulous people on our houseboat at Lake Powell. It is always a ton of work to host a big group for a week but its also incredibly rewarding to spend quality time really getting to know people on a closer level without any technology distractions […]
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Thinking “I’m not going to make it”…then realizing you already have…
“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and think, “I’m not going to make it”, but you laugh inside – remembering all the times you’ve felt that way.” – Charles Bukowski How often I’ve woken up thinking that exact thing…thinking “I’m not going to make it”…completely overlooking the fact that I have already […]
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Waiting for your life to begin
“For a long time it has seemed to me that life was about to begin; Real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me […]
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8 things to remember when going through tough times
I found this the other day and absolutely loved it! I have no idea who wrote it but it is awesome! For those who can’t load the image let me repeat the 8 things to remember when going through tough times: 1. Everything can – and will – change 2. You’ve overcome challenges before 3. […]
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A quiet conscience makes one strong
“How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve […]
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Is the Universe just messing with us?
“Today: had my top on backwards, the pants I’d slept in and looked like Jack Nicholson from the shining. Saw all of the people I know. All. Of. Them!” Isn’t that exactly how it goes?! Those days you feel prepared for anything often nothing seems to happen… and then the days you aren’t prepared at […]
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The Power of Jimmy Johns
Today I’ve got a fun guest post from my 21 year-old daughter Ashley to share with you called “The Power of Jimmy Johns”: For those of you who don’t know… I have a borderline OBSESSION with Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches. And when I say obsession… I mean I found 12 Jimmy Johns wrappers in my […]
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If parenthood came with a GPS it would mostly just say: RECALCULATING
The other day my son Dalton, whose wife is expecting their first child in August, called me sounding a little stressed and said something to the effect of, “Mom I just realized that I am going to have a kid here soon that’s going to be with me forever and that I need to parent! […]
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Fireworks, Freedom, Fun and Food. Just four of the reasons I love the Fourth of July!
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You […]
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One Nation Formed Under God. That is what makes America great
The Declaration of Independence was approved by our Founding Fathers on July 4, 1776. Today I was contemplating this amazing occurrence and I decided to read from some history books to gain a greater appreciation of the events that took place and the people involved. Reading of the tremendous faith that these Founding Fathers had […]
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Bring on the BBQs, the pool parties, and bust out those flip flops!
I LOVE JULY! The month of July is literally one of my very favorite times of the year. The weather is amazing, the BBQs are fired up, the swimming pool is open, summer vacation is in full force, there are fireworks galore, we watch fun parades, our families get together, there’s rodeos and picnics and […]
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Be strong enough to let go
“Be strong enough to let go, and wise enough to wait for what you deserve.” – unknown Letting go of something you have cared about, but recognize is hurting you, is never easy. Whether it’s a toxic relationship (or just a relationship that is keeping you from moving forward), or a bad habit (especially an […]
Tagged abuse, addiction, Amy Rees Anderson, anger, bad habits, believe, believe in the future, believe in yourself, betrayal, better things ahead, bitterness, breaking bad habits, bullying, change, confidence, courage, damaging our self-esteem, dating, desire to improve, dieting, divorce, do our best, faith, fear, fear of the unknown, forgiveness, full potential, habits that are holding us back, happiness, holding on, hopelessness, hurt, joy, keep moving forward, letting go of fear, love, marriage, moving forward, moving on, progress, recognize the things that are holding us back, recovery, self worth, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-improvement, the atonement, time to move on, toxic relationships, weight, what is holding us back
Nice People Are Awesome!
I have spent the last several days in meetings with a group of the nicest people you could imagine. They are people who are kind, genuine, down to earth, and generous beyond measure and it was refreshing and invigorating to be surrounded by people who have a mutual passion for helping others. There is something […]
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It’s A Roadblock, Not A Dead End
Nothing is more discouraging then when you are literally working your guts out to make something happen and you suddenly get a wrench thrown in your works. Having something unexpected trip you up can feel in the moment like you’ve hit a dead end. Especially if you are physically worn out and emotionally spent from […]
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