Tag Archives: appreciate

#BeNice

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 […]

Talents In You Just Waiting To Be Discovered

There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become.” – Orison Swett Marden Deep within each of us lies talents, abilities, and powers that go so far beyond anything we could begin to imagine. Too often in life we […]

Wish Flower Or Weed?

One day my husband and I were walking along a riverbank when I looked over and saw an awesome Wish Flower. I used to see them all the time when I was a little girl living in Puyallup, Washington. They were all over our backyard and as kids we would go out and pick the […]

Dare To Be!

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully. When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light. When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it. When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway. When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back. When […]

Appreciate The Time We Have Left In Lockdown, And Stretchy Pants

Living in the Washington D.C. area in high school I was all about music groups like Erasure, The Cure, O.M.D., Depeche Mode, and the Smith’s.  Then my family moved to the Nashville Tennessee area during my Junior year of high school and I couldn’t help but fall in love with country too. I still remember […]

While You Are Growing Up, They Are Growing Old

Today I was really bummed out because it was my Mother’s 78th birthday and we couldn’t be with her even though she lives only fifteen minutes away.  With the quarantine we could only stand on her front porch singing Happy Birthday to her through the glass and then leave a cake an balloons on her […]

Why Me?

I started reading through things I’d written in past years Aprils to try and remind myself of what my Aprils used to be like before this pandemic. Ironically, the first thing I flipped to was an article I’d written back in April of 2013 that was published in Forbes, and when you read what I’d […]

There’s No Kill Switch On AWESOME

“There’s no kill switch on AWESOME.”  – Dilbert A woman who worked with terminally ill patients often asked them what their biggest regrets were from their life.  One of the regrets shared was that they wish they had let themselves be happier.  Note the phrase “let themselves be happier”, which was them acknowledging that they […]

A Parent’s Letter To Santa

Last week we took our children and grandchildren to go ride the Polar Express train for Christmas. As I was watching my daughter-in-law getting her two year old son and her four month old daughter ready to go it reminded me of how utterly exhausting it can be to a mother with small children. The […]

Speak The Truth

Years ago I wrote an article for Forbes called Speak The Truth Even If Your Voice Shakes which talked about the importance of giving people honest feedback in a respectful way, even at times it feels uncomfortable or  intimidating to do so.  In the article I shared seven lessons I’d learned about giving feedback and […]

How To Raise Money For A Cause – Getting Inside The Mind Of A Donor

I spend a tremendous of my time helping with charitable causes with missions I believe in.  And given that I get approached by countless charitable organizations wanting donations I’ve learned a thing about what they do to solicit donations that works and what doesn’t work . In the spirit of helping charitable organizations in their […]

“Does Anyone Here Have A Sister Named Bambi?”

Back in my twenties I was invited on a trip with a group of people that didn’t know each other.  When the group arrived, one of the young men in the group started sharing his thoughts on a controversial political subject, speaking in a manner that assumed everyone else in the group shared his same […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

April Fool’s Day Funny Advertising Pranks Today

Today was April Fools and as always, pranksters were out in full force.  Some of the funnier pranks I saw today that at least gave me a good laugh were in the form of funny advertisements that were put out today.  Here are a few of the ones that gave me a good laugh: Pizza […]

The Big Difference A Little Kindness Can Make

To say it has been a rough week this week wouldn’t quite do it justice. We’ve spent the week in hospitals with a very sick little grandbaby. We are all going on almost no sleep this week and we’ve been sick with worry, but through all of it there has been something truly amazing that […]

I Never Knew

When I became a parent I never knew I could love another human being so much. I still remember the way I felt when I became pregnant with my second child – I remember wondering how I could ever love another person as much as I loved my first child. But then 23 years ago […]

My Merry Christmas Card To All Of You

I have never been able to plan ahead early enough to get family photos taken and printed out, gather updated addresses for everyone, and then send the photos out to everyone with a nice letter.  Yet I love it when I receive other people’s cards because it’s so fun to see their families grow and […]

Look Up And Enjoy The Lights

December is here and it just happens to be my favorite month of the entire year! I love Christmastime SO MUCH!  I love singing along to Christmas music on the radio. I love watching Hallmark Christmas movies with my hot cocoa and whipped cream. I love the spirit of Christmas in the air. I love […]

Give Up Your Shoulds Day

Did you know that November 1st is “Give Up Your Shoulds Day”?  Me neither!  I actually just found out about it myself, but I’m thinking, “How did I not know about this day sooner?!”  Here’s what I learned: According to checkiday.com, “Give Up Your Shoulds Day is a day to give up thinking about something […]

Sick? Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That!

Welcome to cold and flu season  **sigh**  In all my excitement for winter holiday season I somehow failed to remember that its also cold and flu season…that was until Saturday night when a sinus cold hit both me and my husband like a ten ton truck and the two of us had to get Nyquil’d […]

Great Advice Is Actionable Advice

Tonight I spoke at Brigham Young University’s student Women in Business’s Opening Social. Knowing I would have a late night visiting with students, I asked my son Dalton if he would be able to do a guest blog for me tonight so I could stay late with the students after my presentation and visit with […]

Make Your Comebacks Stronger Than Your Setbacks

This week has been absolutely insane as I’ve been getting everything ready for the big Utah Valley University Woodbury School of Business Fall National Advisory Board Conference this Thursday and Friday. As the Chair of the board I can attest that putting a board conference together is SO much more work than you’d ever imagine. It’s a lot like having […]

Attributes Of Empathy

“Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Plato This video clip below is awesome! It is a perfect illustration of why we ought to have a little more empathy for other people. We shouldn’t assume we know what someone is feeling or what they might be dealing with. We can’t […]

Don’t Downgrade Your Dream To Fit Your Reality

 “Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.” What is your dream?  What is it you want to do with your life?  What would you do if you were not afraid? If there were no limits or pressures or responsibility that were influencing to shy away from […]

Another Look Unlimited Day

The day after a holiday is always a little rough. But guess what?! I just found out that the day after Labor Day is actually yet another holiday! Apparently its “Another Look Unlimited Day”, which frankly I’d never heard of before until today, but yeah…apparently it’s really a thing… What is it you ask? Okay, […]

Not That You Should Own Nothing, But That Nothing Should Own You

“Stuff”…we all wish for it, we even work really hard so we can have the means to get it, but the truth is that often times the idea of having it turns out to be much more exciting than the reality of what having it entails… I’ve been as guilty as the next person when […]

What We See On The Surface And What Lies Beneath. Everyone Needs Compassion.

It’s so easy for us to assume that because someone looks fine or appears to have a good life that they aren’t going through hard things. It’s also easy for us to assume that our own struggles are more difficult than someone else is since we are only capable of fully understanding the depths of […]