Tag Archives: experience

You Don’t Know How Strong You Are Til Being Strong Is The Only Choice You Have

“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 […]

Come What May And Love It

Joseph B. Worthlin shared the following story that has had a huge impact on my life: “When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home […]

Advice For The Overwhelmed

Today was one of those days where when it comes to an end you just want to curl up in a ball and cry because you’ve had one thing after another pile on you so fast and furious you don’t even feel like you have time to breathe, let alone catch a potty break or […]

Challenges Change Us

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again… So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above… One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is […]

Don’t Let Your Fear Stop You – TRY!

I’ve been known to be the first girl out on the dance floor, the girl who can’t sit still if she’s bored, a leader, an entrepreneur, a public speaker, a writer, and a philanthropist. What I am not known to be is a girl who does anything that requires walking long distances, running even short […]

Each New Sign Along The Highway Of Life Reads, “It Only Gets Better From Here”

“Fear is an idea crippling, experience-crushing, success-stalling inhibitor inflicted only by yourself.” – Stephanie Melish We are the ones who create our own fears. We decide what we are afraid of by the thoughts we allow into our minds. We think our fears into existence and then we allow them to exist and grow in […]

Stop Yourself From Making Bad Decisions: Wear The Comfortable Shoes!

I decided to start something called a flashback Friday where I will once in awhile on a Friday repost a blog from the past. You know, the oldies but goodies. So this blog below was one I wrote back in March of 2013: I have been walking for…well let’s see…yeah, about 40 years now.  And […]

To-Do Lists Don’t Work – Scheduling Everything Does

Whenever I have a big to-do list I find myself sitting and staring at it like I’m a deer in the headlights wondering “where do I even begin?”… Overwhelmed by the question of where to begin the list almost always leads to procrastinating on starting anything on the list…and procrastinating inevitably leads to feeling down […]

If You’re Gonna Do It, You Gotta Own It!

“If you’re gonna do it, you gotta own it!” That’s what my daughter yelled out to her now husband as he and her brother were talking about whether he should do a funny dance number at her wedding reception a week ago.  She pointed out that anytime you are going to do something public like […]

Plan Out Every Detail, then Take A Deep Breath…And DANCE!

Well I’m about as prepared as I know how to be for this weeks wedding festivities. I’ve planned every detail, I’ve done Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint galore showing each vendor exactly what to do and how things should look when it comes together. I’ve done timelines and checklists that map out every minute of the […]

Do It For The Others Whose Feet May Someday Pass This Way

I’m sure I’ve shared this poem at some point before but it was on my mind today so I had to share it again. When I’ve had a long day and I’m tired and find myself still awake and still needing to write a daily blog and it’s already 3am in the morning and I […]

Try Writing Your Own Eulogy

A eulogy is those words that will be spoken at your funeral someday reflecting back on the person you were, the things you accomplished, the things you did for others, and the example your life set and the legacy it has left behind. Have you ever sat and thought about writing your own eulogy?  Taking a […]

Maybe They Really Are Using You. Do Good Anyway.

I’m sure I’ve probably posted this particular poem before, but it kept going through my mind today and given that I always try to let my blog reflect something I learned that day I decided to share it again: ANYWAY People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people […]

Every Song Begins With A Blank Page

“Every song begins with a blank page.” – Pasek & Paul This evening I had the incredible opportunity to go and hear Pasek & Paul, songwriters of The Greatest Showman movie, speak and perform at Utah Valley University ( UVU ).  Now I was a HUGE fan of The Greatest Showman movie and soundtrack already, […]

What Will Matter

Sometimes you read something that says what you are thinking more perfectly than you could say it yourself  – that’s how I felt when I read this poem by Michael Josephson, whom I had never heard of until someone showed me this poem , but I  like the message of his poem so much I’m […]

You’ve Been Gifted With The Ability of Leadership – Don’t Waste It!

I will keep my words short today because I want you all to watch this video. I know it’s five minutes but I promise you it is worth the time to watch this entire video – don’t fast forward any of it – I promise…you’ll be glad you watched it. When things get tough, remember […]

We Don’t Meet People By Accident, They Cross Our Paths For A Reason

Today I was blessed to have two new people come into my life, and as soon as we all sat down for lunch I knew there wasn’t anything accidental about our being introduced to one another. It was clear to me that these two amazing women, who I felt an instant bond of friendship with, […]

Block Out Next Year’s Calendar BEFORE The New Year Begins!

Just as 2017 passed us by in a flash, 2018 will do the same if we don’t take control of our calendar right now…BEFORE it starts filling up all on its own.  And believe me when I say that Calendars have a funny way of doing that.  They start out looking fresh and full of […]

Easier Said Than Done

Today’s post is a guest post from my daughter Ashley. She said if I stayed up late to watch a movie with her tonight she would write a blog for me so here it is: “Buttery Flakey Crust” For those of you who haven’t seen this video of a commercial being made, please take a […]

Don’t Just Talk About It – Get Out There And Actually Do It!

Over the years I have had a lot of college students and young entrepreneurs who have asked to meet with me to seek my advice about different business idea they have come up with. I couldn’t count the total number of people I have met with over the years to hear their idea and then […]

Living a life of fulfillment

Today I was honored to introduce one of my personal heroes, Alan Hall, for a speech he gave at Utah Valley University’s Executive Lecture Series. Alan Hall is someone I have had the honor of knowing for many years and he has been a significant influence in my life and is an incredible example to […]

What I’ve learned over the last 46 years

Tomorrow I will turn 46 years old. 46…why does that sound SO old?  I suppose its because I remember as a child looking at adults who were 46 years old and thinking “they are SO OLD” 😉 Most past birthdays I have dreaded getting another year older, and I suppose there is a big part […]

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 […]

Convincing your mind its possible starts when you visualize it as if it has already happened

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.” – Anthony Robbins Our minds are powerful things. They can convince we are strong and capable or they can convince us we are […]

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 […]

Be Relentlessly Focused On The Smallest Details

“To create something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the smallest detail.” –Giorgio Armani There is something incredible about creating.  I don’t know exactly how to describe the feeling, but when you are in the process of creating something there is an excitement and an energy that is so amazing to get caught […]

Everything Can Change In A Single Second

Saturday morning I awoke to a phone call alerting me that my son Dalton and his pregnant wife Alexis had been in a car accident on the freeway. Getting that phone call was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I rushed to the Hospital Emergency Room where I spent the rest of […]

You Were Born To Stand Out

“Stop trying to fit in when you were born to stand out.” – unknown I believe that every person born on this earth is born with special God-given talents and that it is our job to then discover those talents by trying all kinds of different things and as we discover our gifts we should […]

Maybe it won’t work out, but maybe it’s worth seeing if it does

“Maybe it won’t work out. But maybe seeing if it does will be the best adventure ever.” That’s a quote we all needed to hear! I love it because it totally reminds us to have courage to go ahead and try things, even when we aren’t feeling totally sure that it is going to turn […]

Avoid coming down with the “I’ll Be Happy When…” Syndrome

I call it the “I’ll be happy when…” syndrome. It starts subtly but it spreads quickly. It goes something like this:  I’ll be happy when I finish this project, or, I’ll be happy when I can afford to buy _____, or, I’ll be happy when I can lose ten pounds, or, I’ll be happy when […]