Tag Archives: charity

The Miracle Of Hope

It’s only a three minute video clip, but it’s three minutes spoken by a man who is incredibly special to me (I’ll explain why below) that reminds us that what we need right now is RELENTLESS HOPE…it reminds us that WE CAN HOPE…that WE SHOULD HOPE…that WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO HOPE:

Real Confidence

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 […]

Indispensable Virtues

It’s been unbelievably heartbreaking to watch all the events that have occurred over the last week throughout the country. Tonight the feelings in my heart are too tender to try and write about them so instead I decided to share an excerpt from a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland titled “A Perfect Brightness of Hope”: […]

You May Be The Very Person That Can Do It

“You were born with the ability to change someone’s life. Don’t ever waste it.” We often hear that we must help ourselves before we can help someone else, and to some extent I believe that to be true.  But I also find it to be true that one of the best ways to help ourselves […]

You’ve Got To Check Conditions Daily To Make The Needed Adjustments

Today we were discussing holding firm to our values in life. At one point in the discussion the leader of the discussion drew a picture of a boat and talked about the need for an anchor to hold the boat in place.  Some may picture a single anchor dropped in the water, but having been […]

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 […]

If I’d Given Up…

Last Friday I was humbled to receive the Leadership in Business Award from the YWCA for my business accomplishments and the work I do championing women and girls through my foundation (the IPOP Foundation).  They put on a beautiful event of around 1,200 attendees Friday and I told them it was the sweetest way to […]

When You Are Busy Doing Good Things

What a whirlwind of day today was!  My day began at a board meeting with the amazing Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne for her Amar Foundation www.amarfoundation.org which is an award winning charity that works in the Middle East helping improve the lives and livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged people. […]

Time Flies When You’re Doing Things You Love

I swear the day goes by so ridiculously fast when you are working on things you love to do.  The days I spend my time trying to help others and give back in meaningful ways literally fly by so fast that I’m always blown away to look at the clock and realize the day is […]

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 […]

If We Want To Bring Our Country Together Invite Someone Home For Dinner

Monday evening my husband and I were privileged to get to hear former Dallas Chief of Police, David Brown speak. He spoke to us about a specific event that took place during his tenure as Police Chief back on July 7, 2016, when 5 of his police officers were shot and killed by a sniper […]

If something is not impossible, there must be a way of doing it

“If something is not impossible there must be a way of doing it” was the motto a man named Nicholas Winton worked by. If you don’t know who Nicholas Winton is, you ought to. We all ought to because Nicholas Winton was a real life hero. Nicholas Winton was 29 years old in 1938, working […]

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 […]

Accomplish Your Vision And Create The Legacy Your Heart Desires

For part of last week I attended a summit where we discussed philanthropic leadership in Higher Education where Donors from across the country gathered together to talk about lessons we have learned regarding charitable giving to Universities and to share successful programs that have been established at different Universities and how we can all work […]

What you fill your mind with

“You are the books you read, the films you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in. You are what you take from these. You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air, the brightest light and the darkest corner. You […]

Take A Personal Inventory of How You Are Spending Your Time

Time is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. I suppose that’s been driven by my going through several life changing events recently, like the death of a relative, and my children getting in a serious car accident, and a parent who has been extremely ill, and several other things of that nature that […]

What you leave behind

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” – Pericles What a powerful reminder that quote is! When I read it I thought how it could be referring to trophies and worldly accomplishments we earn in this life like awards and titles […]

A Powerful Story About Peace On Earth

One of the most powerful and touching real-life Christmas stories is the story of the events that took place in December 1914, during World War I.  It was Christmas Eve and the German and British troops were out on the battlefield down in the trenches.  Then suddenly in the dark of night the British soldiers […]

The true essence of Christmas

The week of Christmas is upon us and my heart can’t help but think about the true essence of Christmas – to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he willingly made out of his infinite love for each one of us. It reminds me of a story I try to read each […]

It is better to give

Throughout this month I will try to share some of my favorite Christmas stories and poems that inspire me.  This story below is one I heard when I was growing up and I still remember the way it struck me as I heard it. It has a great message that inspires you to want to […]

#LIGHTtheWORLD In 25 Ways. Over 25 Days.

Today I learned about an awesome challenge for all of us to “light the world” in 25 ways over 25 days as we lead up to Christmas. It’s a challenge meant to help us focus on incorporating more Christ-like attitudes and behaviors in honor of this Christmas season and over 800,000 people have already joined […]

True Wealth Lies In The Good You Do – Meet The Wealthiest Man In The World

As an Angel Investor and a Mentor I spend much of my day helping entrepreneurs in their pursuit of wealth by helping them to grow their companies. But today I was reminded of exactly what true wealth looks like. For more than 25 years he has been buying Christmas presents for children he may never […]

Tis the Season To Make Life Magical

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving Holiday weekend filled with good food and great moments with your loved ones.  And hopefully all of you are finding it easier to fit into your jeans today a little easier than I am…truth be told, I may have taken eating leftover pie a bit too far this […]

A Gift of 86,400 Seconds Today. Have you used one to say Thank You?

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say ‘thank you?’”  ~William A. Ward There are many ways to say “thank you” to others. One of those ways is to give people compliments. Someone once told me that holding in a compliment that someone else deserves is like buying […]

What would you do?

Here is an interesting story I came across: A letter was found in a baking powder can wired to the handle of an old pump that offered the only hope of drinking water in a very long, seldom-used trail across the Armagosa Desert. The letter read: “This pump was all right as of June 1932. […]

Lessons on Surviving, Turning Trials into Trails, and Choosing Happiness (Part 5 of 5)

Today is the part 5 of a 5 part blog series I have been sharing all week this week. Throughout this week I have shared snippets of emails that my daughter Ashley sent home while she was serving her 18 month mission. For those who have followed along all week this week I am hoping […]

Lessons on Study, Selfishness, Repentance, and Never Looking Back (Part 4 of 5)

We have come to month fourteen of the eighteen months of lessons learned along the journey. I hope you are all enjoying reading these email snippets from Ashley’s emails. The life lessons she shares as she learns them was so valuable to me and I hope it proves to be valuable to all of you […]

Lessons on Love and Charity (Part 3 of 5)

Today was one of the happiest days of my life!!  My daughter Ashley is HOME!!!! Yep, after 18 months of doing service as a missionary she is finally back home with us and I am beyond words with happiness. This enitre week I have been sharing snippets of emails I received from my daughter Ashley while she was out serving her […]

Lessons on Character, Change, Hardships and Blessings (Part 2 of 5)

Today is a continuation of yesterday’s blog sharing some favorite snippets of my daughter Ashley’s emails she has sent home over the course of her 18 month mission with the valuable life lesons she was learning along the way – these lessons are such relevant lessons for all of our lives and I hope you […]

Incredible Life Lessons Along an 18 month journey (Part 1 of 5)

This week is one of my happiest weeks EVER as my daughter Ashley is coming home from her mission Tuesday! In last Thurssday’s email I explained just how much I have loved getting Ashley’s weekly emails she’s been sending home over the last 18 months because they share the cool life lessons she has been learning along the […]