In an article written last year by Shanna Lebowitz for Business Insider she discussed 8 traits that research has shown that highly intelligent people tend to have in common: 1. They’re highly adaptable They learn to work around problems and find solutions when complications arise. 2. They understand how much they don’t know They aren’t afraid to […]

A New Day Coming -by Mychal Wynn When the sun announces the dawning dayJust flex your muscles and start on your way.Go over, or under, around, or throughAny obstacles or hurdles that challenge you.There’s a new day coming. Cast aside the failures of yesterday.Forget the peaks and valleys that have paved your way.Wipe the sweat […]

“You never know how strong you are…until being strong is the only choice you have.” Over the course of my adult life I’ve gone through some really hard things that at times have been so painful I didn’t know how in the world I would ever be able to get through them. There’ve been days […]

To be honest I’d never even heard of a National Daughters Day until I saw a post on Facebook over the weekend from my Mother wishing her five daughters a happy National Daughters Day. I of course immediately googled it to find out what she was referring to.  Come to find out Friday September 25th […]

It’s amazing how the dumbest things can bring a smile to our face….For instance, I was getting ready for bed super late the other night and couldn’t stop craving a Slushee…7-eleven was closed so my husband tried grinding up ice cubes in the blender with some juice but that didn’t go so well. I knew […]

Tonight my kids showed me a social media post where someone shared their view on something and someone else disagreed with them by calling them a derogatory word, and sadly this exchange took place between two people who supposedly loved each other. I wrote a blog on this very subject five years ago because I […]

If you want to be happy try a good old dose of nostalgia. For those not familiar with that term it is defined in the dictionary as, “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” With all the madness in 2020 I’ve thought quite […]

After an incredibly long busy day today all I could think about was wanting to go to bed. As I sat down to write a blog the thought came into my mind that I should search past blogs I’d written that had the phrase “go to bed” in them. So I did and it brought […]

As a young girl I struggled with low confidence. I looked to external things to try and gain confidence such as trying to be thin, or wearing attention seeking outfits, and so on.  But none of those things ever brought me confidence…just the opposite…the attempts to be thin led to having unhealthy eating habits that […]

Take Care Of Your Friends Friend is a word that I don’t throw aroundThough it’s used and abused, I still like the sound.I save it for people who’ve done right by meAnd I know I can count on, if ever need be. Some of my friends drive big limousinesOwn ranches and banks and visit with […]

We were driving to an appointment today when my husband hit a rock in the road and two of the wheels on my car broke…not the tires popping – that would have been far too easy to repair – the actual wheels themselves broke which take special parts having to be ordered in to fix […]

The other day I was talking with a college student pursuing their degree in entrepreneurship. They shared that they were feeling discouraged by a nasty message they’d been sent by a fellow student criticizing their entrepreneurial efforts. My response was to advise that in my experience people who tear you down like that are feeling […]

If you are wondering what today’s opening title means I can explain it best by sharing an experience I had with my daughter back when she was still a teenager.  One day after she’d gotten home from high school I was asking her how she was dealing with a negative situations she’d had to face […]

How can I possibly be turning 49 years old tomorrow!!?? Here I thought I was going to be turning 48 tomorrow until my husband reminded me I am actually going to be 49…What?!!?!! How did I miss a year from my life??? I can’t possibly be turning 49 because that would mean I’m only one […]

I love that September 11th has been deemed a National Day of Service and Remembrance to transform 9/11 from a day of tragedy to a day of doing good. On this day we are all asked to volunteer and serve in our local communities in tribute to the individuals lost and injured in the attacks, […]

One of my favorite memories from childhood was a vacation with my family when I was a young girl living in Puyallup Washington. My parents took us to the San Juan Islands just off the coast to stay in a cabin on Orcas Island.  I remember taking the ferry over to stay in a little […]

We started off our 2020 year with my husband getting hospitalized for what we later discovered was COVID-19. The pandemic hit the U.S. in full force and everything went into lockdown, toilet paper ran out, grocery store shelves were empty, Utah got hit with one of its biggest earthquakes ever in March, hailstorms happened in […]

“If you had today to live over again what would you do differently?” That’s a pretty profound question to ask yourself at the end of your day, not so you can be regretful, but so you can figure out what things you ought to change about yourself in order to make your tomorrow better. While […]

“Be gentle with yourself, you’re doing the best you can.” – unknown That’s a quote I think I need to tell myself a little more often. I find it’s easier for me to be gentle with others…but it’s not so easy for me to be gentle with myself… I don’t typically give myself a lot […]

On a day to day basis it is far easier to tally the “x’s” we get to mark off of a task list then it is to measure the impact of the minutes we’ve spent with a loved one. Completing a task let’s us put an “x” next to an item on our to-do list […]

Having been out of town all last week and being offline that whole time made today really overwhelming as I was faced with the stacks of envelopes and packages that arrived during our absence and the massive backlog of unread emails, texts, and voicemails needing to be returned. It was all I could do to […]

Every summer we go and spend time on our houseboat down at Lake Powell.  And each trip we like to bring down yummy treats to share with our guests we host on these trips. Many years ago as I was trying to come up with different goodies to make I had made a batch of […]

A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected. Appreciation is one of life’s greatest motivators, so when we take the time to let people know that we value them, it inspires them to continue doing even more. That is precisely why gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving. Francis […]

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.  It is my personal approach that creates the climate.  It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous.  I can be a tool of torture, or an instrument of inspiration. I can […]

“Don’t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood.” —John Lund, EdD Years ago, I attended a seminar on communication by John Lund, EdD, in which he gave some amazing advice on how to better communicate with others. His input was simple and easy to follow, and yet very powerful. Here […]

“Tis easy enough to be pleasant When life goes by with a song, But the man worthwhile Is the man who can smile When everything goes dead wrong.” When I read that poem today I immediately thought of two people I know who exemplify the person spoken of in that poem – my sister-in-law Katie […]

“Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” -D&C 88:118 Some of the books that helped me most in my role as a CEO and a leader: The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni This book taught me a tremendous amount about how great leaders take responsibility […]

After a particularly difficult day today I got a text reminding me that “this too shall pass”. It made me think about the words in this poem: THIS TOO SHALL PASS AWAY When sorrows come into your lifeAnd threaten to destroyThe very things you treasure most,Your happiness and joy; And when that crushing powerThreatens everything […]

Reminders like this one are always worth taking the time to read: “Years ago, a Lockheed 1011 jumbo jet crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing over 100 people… After the accident, investigators tried to determine the cause. The landing gear had indeed lowered properly. The plane was in perfect mechanical condition. Everything was working properly—all […]

It’s amazing how differently we see people when we know more about their story and what they’ve been through. Note the following example: A young man in his twenties was seeing out from the train’s window shouted… “Father, look at the trees! They are going behind!” The young man’s father smiled at the man and […]