Tag Archives: goals

You Gotta Have A Game Plan!

People talk about wanting to accomplish big things in life – which is AWESOME – but the only way we will ever actually accomplish those big things in our life is to create an actual game plan of how we are going to make that big thing happen! A game plan need to be a […]

Acres of Diamonds

“In ancient Persia there was a man by the name of Ali Hafid who owned orchards, gardens, and fields of grain. Ali Hafid was rich. He was contented because he was wealthy, and he was wealthy because he was contented. One day a Buddhist priest came by Ali Hafid’s home, and together they sat by […]

A Great Way To Teach Life Lessons

As a kid I used to get so excited when my Grandparents would come to visit. They lived in another state from us so it wasn’t that often that they came out to see us. My Grandpa would go on walks with me on the trails in the woods and I loved walking with him […]

What appears to be a sacrifice now will prove to be your best investment later

We live in a world where the options seem to be endless, but instead of making life easier, sometimes that make our lives more difficult. For example – when someone asks you where you want to go to lunch it isn’t just a choice of hamburgers or pizza….noooooo…there are literally hundreds of places to eat […]

Starve Your Distractions and Feed Your Focus

Starve your distractions and feed your focus. That advice is genuinely golden. Lately I have felt myself being pulled in a million different directions. Whenever that happens in my life I inevitably end up feeling less happy rather than feeling happier. I think the reason for that is that when any of us are distracted […]

Bust Out Those Hoodies and Pass The Candy Corn!

I cannot believe it is the middle of October already! Holy cats people, it’s time to bust out those hoodies and pass the candy corn because Fall is officially in season and Halloween is only a few weeks away!  That means we get to carve pumpkins for the front porch, we get to bust out […]

Recognize Your Own Song And Sing It Well

In the book ‘Wisdom of the Heart’ Alan Cohen tells the following story: When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has […]

When it doesn’t work out the way you had hoped..

If you have done all you can do, giving it your very best effort, and it still doesn’t work out the way you had hoped it would, then you have to trust that it wasn’t in your best interest for it to work out that way. Sometimes when we are excited about something going a […]

What Will Matter?

Given the recent passing of a loved one my thoughts have been turned toward each of our own lives and what will matter to each of us as we face our time to pass from this life. I’ve thought about what we take with us, what we leave behind, and what will truly matter. I came […]

If you don’t believe in miracles

“If you don’t believe in miracles perhaps you’ve forgotten you are one.” I’m sure there are those who wonder if miracles are real, but I love the quote that says “We live on a blue planet that circles around a ball of fire next to a moon that moves the sea, and you don’t believe […]

The differences between optimists and pessimists

“In the long run the pessimist may be proven right, but the optimist had a better time on the trip.” –Daniel L. Reardon I love Brian Tracy. He is a motivational speaker who has some great books and audio recordings that have helped me a lot over the years. He shares some thoughts on the […]

Extraordinary Takes Time

“She[/he} was never meant to be a common creature – extraordinary takes time.” Can I just say how much I love that quote – do you want to know why? Because it is so easy to go through life being so hard on yourself for not being perfect right this second, when the reality is […]

Aiming High versus Aiming Low

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.”  –Michelangelo Talk about a man who didn’t aim low in his life! Michelangelo was only 25 years old when he finished carving the statue known as […]

Have we forgotten how to stay sharp?

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he […]

The Parable of the Rocks

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They […]

One Chapter Ends And Another Begins

Last week I shared five blogs that each gave clips from different emails we had received from our daughter during her 18 month mission. I hope you all enjoyed hearing the life lessons she shared in those emails. Today was the final event of her 18 month journey – she gave a homecoming talk at […]

When we don’t know what lies ahead

At different points in our lives, especially during times of trial, we might find ourselves feeling anxiety over the uncertainty of what lies in store for us in our future years. I have faced that myself at times, especially when one phase of life has come to an end and another one begins, such as […]

Laughter is always the very best medicine

Years ago when my daughter Ashley was in high school she tore her ACL playing basketball and had to have surgery. We rented a hospital bed for her recovery so she could be out in the family room where everyone hung out and watched TV together. One day my husband and I came in the […]

Because That’s Who You Are

“She’s banged up, mentally and emotionally. Literally and metaphorically. But every day she walks outside with a smile on her face because that’s who she is.” I cannot tell you how much that quote has inspired me during times in my life that I have been struggling. Part of the reason I love it is […]

The Secret of Discipline is Motivation

“The secret of discipline is motivation. When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself.” – Sir Alexander Paterson Last week I spent the entire week out of town down at Lake Powell with a group of business associates and their families along with my own family. It was gorgeous as always […]

Things happen around us, but it’s what happens within us that matters most

My daughter-in-law came across a story I hadn’t heard before. When I first saw the title of the story I almost didn’t read it because I couldn’t imagine how a story with that title would be interesting, but I am really glad I decided to keep reading because the message it conveys is just plain […]

The Importance Of Having Balance In Our Lives (Forbes Article)

I have always had an incredible drive to work hard.   When I am at work I genuinely work my tail off.  I am motivated and driven and focused on getting a tremendous amount done, and all of that is positive, but my problem lies in that I often don’t know how to put things down […]

How To Get Your Swagger Back

Do you ever have days where you wake up feeling blah? Where every outfit looks terrible, and your hair just won’t go right, and you can’t find your keys, and you are late for work…we’ve all been through days like that. Sometimes we endure them and pray they will quickly be over. Other times we […]

The fruits of today are the seeds of yesterday

“The fruits of today are always the seeds of yesterday. Each day of your life you are sowing seeds that one-day you must harvest.” –U.S. Anderson The choices we are making today and the actions we are taking are all helping dictate what our lives will be in the future. My little brother wrote a […]

Spring is the Perfect Time to Take Out All Of The Trash In Our Lives

It is finally starting to feel like spring outside with sunshine and warm weather and blossoms and flowers cropping up everywhere. I LOVE it!  And with Spring comes Spring Cleaning. Yep, it’s time for all of us to wash our windows so the sunlight can come through. And it’s finally warm enough to open those […]

If I Had My Life To Live Over

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER  (by Erma Bombeck) I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt […]

May the Fourth Be With You!

My son told me today that if my blog wasn’t titled “May the Fourth Be With You!” tonight that he would be straight up offended! Now let me be honest with you…I had NO idea what he was talking about until my husband explained that May 4th is Star Wars Day.  Who knew that Star […]

You are the architect of your life

For years and years I worked on drawing a floor plan for my dream home and then a few years ago I was able to build that house and see those drawings become a reality.  It was really exciting to see something you had worked so hard on come to fruition. We are the architects […]

Some days you just need to go to the “Pooh Tent”

I’m sure everyone reading the title of today’s blog has to be wondering what the heck I could possibly mean when I say that some days you just need to go to the Pooh tent?  I’ll explain: Years ago I shared in a blog how when my children were young and they were acting badly […]

Make Pearls from Sand

The Oyster Story There once was an oyster whose story I tell, Who found that some sand had got into his shell. It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain. For oysters have feelings although they’re so plain. Now, did he berate the harsh working of fate Which had brought him to […]