Blog
I’m Not Givin Up So Don’t Give Up On Me
They’ve been together for nearly 58 years, Boyd and Loa. They’ve had eleven children together. They’ve run their 1,100 acre dairy farm together. They’ve lived in Kenya Africa together where they taught people to farm in order to help them become self-reliant. They’ve had to bury two of their eleven children together. They’ve been through …
Tagged #lifegoals, #lovegoals, africa, Amy Rees Anderson, andy grammer, believe, Boyd, don't give up, don’t give up on me, eternal marriage, family, farmer, grandchildren, grow old with me, how to excel, hurting, I will fight for you, Idaho farmer, I’m not given up, legacy, life together, loa, love, marriage, not going down without a fight, relationships, stuck together, survive, taken a toll, true love, two halves of a whole, weathering life’s storms, what awesome looks like, worry
Accepting Help Is Its Own Kind Of Strength
Accepting help from others has never been my father-in-law Boyd’s strong suit. In fact I would say accepting help from anyone is probably one of the hardest things in the world for him. He’s always been the strong one. He’s been a tough as nails farmer all his life and he works harder physically than …
Tagged accept help, Amy Rees Anderson, back surgery, be your best self, blessing the lives of others, boyd anderson, don’t be ashamed to ask for help, emotional, excrutiating pain, get the help you need, help others to excel, humility, hurting, illness, injury, it’s okay to need people, mental, mental illness, no need to suffer alone, no shame, set your pride aside, strength, suffering, we all need help sometimes, what awesome looks like, what makes us human, wisdom
Why Is It That When It Rains It Pours?
Seriously, why is it that when it rains it pours…why can’t it ever just be a light drizzle?! If it was someone else asking me that question I’d probably respond with something motivational like – the harder it rains the bigger the rainbow – but after the week I’ve had I’m thinking I might just …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, anxiety, anxious, be happy now, change your perspective, despair, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, disappointment, discouragement, drizzle, gratitude, happiness, motivational, overwhelmed, overwhelming, problems to solve, rain cloud, rainbows, raindrops keep falling, shortsighted, thank god, thankful in your circumstances, the more rain the bigger the rainbow, what awesome looks like, when life is pouring down rain, why is it when it rains it pours, worry
Watching Someone You Love Suffer
“Watching someone you love suffer can teach you even more than suffering yourself can.” -Dodie Smith It is so difficult to watch someone you love suffer. You would give anything to help take their pain away, yet there is only so much you can do. First you focus on the logistical things you can do…drive …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, appreciate, attitude, culture, deeper appreciation, do unto others, emotionally drained, go out of your way, life, love, love and appreciation, love deepens, more than suffering yourself, pain, physically drained, rips your heart out, sacrifice, sadness, service, serving those you love, show appreciation, show them you care, suffering, the great teacher, the ones you love, watching someone suffer, watching someone you love suffer, you can see it in their eyes
Ask Yourself What Is Really Important
“Ask yourself what is really important and then have the wisdom and courage to build your life around your answer.” -Unknown There were a million and one things on my to-do list needing to get done, but as I sat by my father-in-law’s side all day in the medical clinic I knew I was exactly …
Tagged afraid, amyreesanderson, ask yourself what is really important, caregiver, charity, come what may, confidence, courage, do the right thing, do what's right not what's easy, faith, family, fear, feeling inadequate, God, how to make it work, inner peace, love, making hard choices, muster up the courage, overwhelmed, patience, pray, prayer, priorities, selfless, some things have to let go, somehow someway, to do list, uncertain, virtue, what matters most, you will figure it out
To Care For Those Who Once Cared For Us
“To care for those who once cared for us is the highest honor.” – Tia Walker Our Memorial Weekend turned out very different from the weekend we’d planned. We got a call over the weekend that my husband’s father had been in the emergency room several times in excruciating back pain caused by a herniated …
Tagged aging parents, ambulance, Amy Rees Anderson, caregiver, dead, elderly parents, emergency room, family first, father in law, healthcare, Idaho, its about love, living, love, love them while you can, medical care, medicare, memorial day, mother-in-law, our time to be the strong one, serve your parents, service, taking care of u, Utah, veteran, what an honor it is to care for our parents
The Best Way To Pay Tribute To Those We’ve Lost
“Every one of us has wept at a death, grieved through a funeral, or stood in pain at a graveside. I am surely one who has. We should all praise God for the assured resurrection that makes our mortal separations temporary and gives us the hope and strength to carry on.” – Dallin H. Oaks …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, angels among us, atonement, dallin h. oaks, death, death of a loved ones, divine potential, eternal life, eternity, families can be together forever, funeral, God, graveside, Heavenly Father, how to excel in business & Life, in memory of, life after death, memorial day, memorial day weekend, perfect body, pre-mortal existence, resurrection, Russell m. nelson, spirit and body reunited, spirit world, the best way to pay tribute to those we've lost, the plan of happiness, the plan of salvation, the spirit world, veterans, what awesome looks like
Woulda Coulda Shoulda
WOULDA-COULDA-SHOULDA All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas Layin in the sun, Talkin’ bout the things They woulda-coulda-shoulda done… But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas All ran away and hid From one little Did. -Shel Silverstein I LOVE that poem! I never want to be the woulda-coulda-shoulda done person. I always want to be the one that DID! Maybe that’s why …
Tagged accomplishment, Amy Rees Anderson, amy rees anderson blog, coulda, coulda shoulda woulda, do everything, driven, get er done, just do it, motivated, no regrets, productive, productivity, shel silverstein, shoulda, the one who did, the ones who do, time management, woulda, you can move mountains
The Good OCD: Organization and Cleanliness equals a peaceful Disposition
For the last five months my husband and I have been helping redo a house for my son and his wife to move into before their next baby is due to arrive. Going into the project we didn’t think there would be that much to redo, but the further we dug in, the more we …
Tagged a clean house, a feeling of peace, a peaceful disposition, alexis, Amy Rees Anderson, chaos, cleanliness, construction, Dalton, de-clutter, dirty, disorganized, finding balance, finding joy, flip that house, fresh start, grumpy, happiness, house flip, house pictures, new home, OCD, organization, organize your life, peace, remodel, spring cleaning, stop the madness, the good ocd, throw it away, work life balance
Be The One To Provide Encouragement
To illustrate the message of today’s blog I have to first share a story someone sent to me years ago that goes like this: “Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, be kind, be the one to provide encouragement, depression, despair, discouraged, do good, do unto others, feeling down, forget yourself and go to work, get outside of yourself, hospital, lift others, lift your spirit, make a difference, point out the beauty in the world, sadness, serve others, the view outside the window, the voice in your head, you had a bad day
ADD, OCD, or TBD? Which Disorder Do You Have?
“Our attention span is shot. We’ve all got Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD or OCD or one of these disorders with three letters because we don’t have the time or patience to pronounce the entire disorder. That should be a disorder right there, TBD ‘Too Busy Disorder.’ ” – Ellen DeGeneres ADD and TBD…those are …
Tagged a fulfilled life, A.D.D., achieving balance, adhd, advice, alexis, amazon, balance, balance in life, balance your life, business, busy, counseling, Dalton, disorder, Ellen degeneres, everyone has their struggle, flip that home, forbes, forbesbook, get healthy, get the help you need, goal poster, goals, gutting a home, home, how to excel, life, mental health, mental health disorder, project, projects, psychiatrist, support system, too busy, what awesome looks like, work done, work life balance
We Are Ultimately In Charge Of Our Own Happiness
“So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial.The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don’t really matter or determine …
Tagged a better family, a better situation, Amy Rees Anderson, character, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, end of a trial, external circumstances, financial, happiness, happiness is a choice, if only, its our choice, joy, laugh out loud, laughter, lesson learned, russia, st petersburg, st petesrburg, take charge, tatiana, tour guide, UVU, uvu nab trip, we are in charge of our own happiness, we determine our happiness, what if, when tomorrow comes, you decide
The Immortal Regiment March and A Reminder That What We All Share Something In Common
I’d never heard of the Immortal Regiment March before my trip to Russia last week. It was May 8th and we were driving in our private tour bus with our guide through the streets of Saint Petersburg Russia. Our guide was telling us about each of the buildings and the history surrounding them as we …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, ancestors, build on our commonalities, family history, family tree, genealogy, hush, love of our ancestors, marching, moscow, our family tree, parade, paying tribute to veterans, protestors, respect, respect for our ancestors, reverence, russia, sacred experience, saint petersburg, shock, silence, the march of immortal regiments, total silence, tribute to ancestors, veterans, what we have in common, world war ii
We Can’t Change The Media, But We CAN Change Not Allowing What We Hear In The Media To Form Our Views
Before we’ve seen something for ourselves we have this picture in our mind of what something will be like. Most of the time that picture comes from things we’ve heard and seen in the media. Whether we’ve seen things on the news or in the movies or whether we’ve read things on social media, when …
Tagged 24x7 news, america, americans, Amy Rees Anderson, ancestors, battles, bias, countries against countries, creating bias, creating drama, divisive, dramatize, fake news, fights, focus on what we have in common, friendships, hate speak, history of our homeland, leaders against leaders, media, media portrayal, moscow, mountains out of molehills, mutual respect, polarizing, portrayal of the media, russia, Russians, saint petersburg, sensationalize, social media, take it with a grain of salt, to love and to be loved, ulterior motives, wars, we have more in common than we realize, what awesome looks like
Photos From My Trip To Russia!
I just returned from spending over a week in Moscow and Saint Petersburg Russia with the Woodbury School of Business National Advisory Board I Chair at Utah Valley University. We visited the Kremlin in Moscow, we spent time with US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, Jr. and his wife Mary Kaye (dear friends) in their …
Tagged amazing, ambassador huntmsan, Amy Rees Anderson, fantastic, fun photos, jon huntsman jr, mary kaye huntsman, moscow, nab, national advisory board, President Tuminez, russia, saint petersburg, trip, trip of a lifetime, Utah Valley University, UVU, uvu nab, uvu wsb, uvu wsb nab, what awesome looks like, Woodbury school of business
The Toughest CEO Position in The World
I was a CEO of a high-growth technology company for many years and so believe me when I say that I don’t make this next statement lightly: There is no tougher CEO position in the world than that of the CEO of a home. As CEO of a home you are not just the Chief …
Tagged budget, CEO, ceo of the home, cfo, coo, finance, forbes, mother's day, outsource, raising children, sanity, stay home mom, stay home mother, the toughest ceo job, validation
Gift Ideas For Mothers’ Day That Show Appreciation
Nothing can choke people up faster than talk about their love for their Mothers. That’s because its really overwhelming to consider the tremendous sacrifice that our Mothers make for us. They bring us into this world at a huge cost to their physical bodies and then they literally care for our every need in life …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, appreciate, appreciation, birthstone, children, gift for mom, gift ideas, gift ideas for mother's day, give a gift from the heart, give a gift from your heart, its the thought that counts, mother's day, photos of children, sacrifice, the best mothers day gift, the love of a mother, the sacrifice a mother makes, unconditional love
Schedule Some Life Experiences
We are all busy. Life is BUSY! And if we are not careful we will find that our time is no longer our own, rather it gets taken over by this meeting or that meeting and those emails and these people to call. Even if you don’t plan a single thing on your calendar and …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, build memories, busy, calendar, create memories, don't let stuff take over your life, family time, fun memories, its about time, laugh, life is busy, plan your family time, play together, schedule life experiences, time management, what awesome looks like, work, work too much, workaholic
The Day That Changed My Life Forever
I can’t believe that it has already been 26 years…26 years ago I was at work when my water broke. It took me a minute to figure out that’s what was going on because, let’s face it, wetting yourself isn’t that unheard of when you are nine months pregnant with a baby kicking your bladder. …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, birthday wish, circle of life, Dalton, Dalton Anderson, delivery, first child, giving birth, growing up, happiness, happy birthday dalton, having a baby, i'm about to get my way, joy, labor and delivery, motherhood, my first pregnancy, newborn, parenthood, pregnancy, the day my life changed forever, the joy of motherhood, what awesome looks like, what to expect when you are expecting
All You Can Do Is Your Best
I’ve always been someone who pushes myself. I set big goals and I go after them. I don’t let myself settle for mediocrity because nothing about the word mediocre appeals to me. I believe if you are going to do something you ought to do it 100% and do it the very best you can. …
Tagged acceptance, Amy Rees Anderson, appreciate, appreciation, discouraged, disheartened, don't be so hard on yourself, frustrated, god doesn't expect more than your best, good enough, hard on yourself, let it be enough, let your best be good enough, self image, self talk, self-improvement, success, you are enough, you can only do your best
Nothing Good Happens Until You Let It
Nothing good happens until you let it. That’s the thought that came into my head today. The reason? Well, I was about to embark on a bit of an adventure and I was feeling all kinds of nervous about it. To put it more bluntly, I was downright afraid…afraid of the unknown…afraid of the what …
Tagged a grand adventure, adventure is out there, Amy Rees Anderson, be brave, be courageous, co-star, courage, decide or yourself, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, fear of the unknown, forbes, forbes books, its your show, move forward, nothing good happens until you let it, play, success, take a risk, take a step into the dark, the choice is yours, the unknown, theater, what awesome looks like, what ifs, you can do it, you get to decide, you'll never know until you try
Those Who Inspire Us To Greatness
Nothing serves as better motivation than seeing others you admire doing great things. I was blessed to grow up in a home with a Mother and Father who both did great things on a regular basis. My Mother had ten children and was a devoted full-time Mom who had one of the hardest jobs in …
Tagged advice for life, advice giver, alexis, author, birthday, can you have it all, chauffer, church service, cook, creativity, education, ethics, father, gerald, integrity, leslie, masters degree, mother, multi-tasking, my hero, poet, published book, sculptor, set an example, stand for what is right, take time to serve, the best listener, the example we set for others, the og wonder woman, tribes of israel, use your talents to the fullest, you can do it all
The Pedigree Of Your Spirit Can Be Written On A Single Line
“However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!” -Boyd K. Packer That quote is so powerful! It’s like every time I read it a little voice in my head whispers, …
Tagged always available, Amy Rees Anderson, believe, boyd k. packer, child of god, confident, courage, courageous, divine nature, divine potential, divine worth, forgiveness, how to excel in business & Life, I am a child of God, Maya Angelou, no fear, potential, powerful, prayer, self-esteem, self-worth, stand alone, succeed, success, unconditional love, what awesome looks like, you are a child of god, you are never alone
IF WE ONLY UNDERSTOOD
Could we but draw back the curtains That surround each other’s lives, See the naked heart and spirit, Know what spur the action gives, Often we should find it better, Purer than we judged we should, We should love each other better, If we only understood. Could we judge all deeds by motives, See the …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, culture, differences, diversity, doubts, family, fears, find the common ground, friendship, gender, get to know someone before you judge them, hurt, insecurities, judgement, look deeper, politics, race, regret, religion, sorrow, to love and to be loved, truth, we are more alike than different, we have more in common
Twenty Seconds Of Insane Courage Or Recognize That In Standing Still We Can Lose The Most
”You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” – Benjamin Mee in movie We Bought A Zoo I was taking the long five hour flight back from New York City to Salt Lake …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, audacious goals, believe, bhag, courage, culture, don’t hold back, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, faith, family, father, fear, go for it, go forward, go on, goal poster, happiness, how to excel in business and life, immense joy, insane courage, joy, just do it, leadership, loss, love, matt damon, move forward, moving past heartache, new york city, overcoming insecurities, push through fear, rebuilding, salt lake city, take a leap of faith, terrified, try, we bought a zoo, what awesome looks like, what brings happiness, wifi, you can do it
It’s Not The Places We Go, It’s The People We Are With
My husband and I spent most of last week in New York City with the Hale Center Theater Founders Board. The Hale Center Theater is an incredible community theater in Utah that has plays of the caliber of any Broadway show I’ve seen. Each year this board takes a trip together to go and see …
Tagged 9/11, Amy Rees Anderson, appreciate, appreciation, around the world, awesome, backyard, be a friend, broadway, broadway shows, come from away, come toeger, exotic places, faith in humanity, family, feel good, forbes, forbesbooks, founders board, friendship, gander, grateful, gratitude, hale center theater, Hamilton, heartwarming, home, humanity, it’s not the places we go it’s the people we are with, kindness, lin-manuel, lin-manuel Miranda, london, love, loved ones, luis a. miranda, meaningful, neighbors, new york city, newfoundland, September 11th, serving one another, set aside differences, special, theater, travel, Utah, what awesome looks like
Focus On Those Ones
For the last several months my husband and I have been working round the clock to help our son and his wife to redo a home they recently bought so they can hurry and get moved in before their next baby (my second grandbaby) is born this summer. We’ve poured our hearts and soul into …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, attitude, better perspective, change your focus, choose to focus on the positive, choose to see the good, focus on the positive, focus on those ones, focus on what you do like, grandkids, have a good attitude, home remodel, life lesson, negative, perspective, positive, proper perspective, remodel, upgrade, what awesome looks like
May You Stay Forever Young
Thirty years…that’s how long ago I graduated from High School. THIRTY YEARS!…. I can hardly believe its been that long. I can hardly believe how much life I have lived since that graduation day. I can still remember so much about that day. I remember the royal blue dress I wore. I remember the royal …
Tagged #goalposter, allow others to serve you, Amy Rees Anderson, be courageous, be joyful, be kind, be loved, be strong, be truthful, bob Dylan, college graduation, dancer, do anything, do something, dream, dream big, embrace light, forever young, forever young lyrics, goal poster, graduation day, grow up to be true, have faith, have integrity, high school graduation, love, make a start, move forward, move on with life, play, rod stewart, serve, set goals, sing, song lyrics, stand upright, strong foundation, the best is yet to come, what awesome looks like, wish
What Will You Do With Your Platform?
Monday night this week I was asked to speak at The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University to honor the graduating students. This group included female students in the Amy Rees Anderson Academic Entrepreneurs Program at USU as well. When I was asked if I would come and speak at Monday’s event …
Tagged Amy Rees Anderson, amy rees anderson academic entrepreneurs, bad times, C.S. Lewis, center for growth and opportunity, cgo, decide who you are, divine worth, find a purpose, go for your dreams, god is building a palace, good times, Governor, graduation, have courage, have faith, help others to excel, how to excel in business and life, icon, insecurity, life mission, life purpose, make a decision, mentor, proud, self worth, self-doubt, self-esteem, stand strong, stay true, utah state university, we get to decide, what awesome looks like, what will you do with your platform
Performing an In-Air Refueling of F35s with the Utah National Guard
I have THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE to share with you today! This morning, I was invited by Utah Governor Gary Herbert to join him and the First Lady for a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a flight on Utah Air National Guard KC-135 refueling tanker and to observe (from a window in the belly …
Tagged #mountainwestmilitia, #utahairguard, #utnationalguard, 20, airforce, Amy Rees Anderson, coolest experience, f16, F35 fighter jet, gary herbert, great start to the week, incredible experience, kc-135, mountain west militia, observe from the air, once in a lifetime experience, sacrifice, servicemen and women, those who serve, U.S. Air Force, utah air national guard, Utah Governor, utah governor gary herbert, utah national guard
