Can our words make a difference? Consider this little story: The Group of Frogs As a group of frogs were traveling through the woods, two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs crowded around the pit and when they saw how deep it was, they told the two frogs that fell in […]
Life is full of choices. Some are easy choices and some are hard, but the upside of choices is they are always ours to make and no one can ever take that away from us. However, the downside to choices is that while we get to make them, we don’t get to choose what consequences […]
“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, […]
Forever people have said, “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” So all I want to know is what the heck you are supposed to do when you have both?! Being sick is the pits! And according to the news there are a whole bunch of people painfully aware of how miserable it is to be […]
We all wish we could have certainty life because it takes the fear out of things if we already know what is going to happen. But last night I was reminded that knowing the ending also takes that excitement and anticipation that comes from not knowing. As much as we think we want to know […]
22 years ago today, February 5th , my baby girl Ashley was born. Ashley was as beautiful as any baby could be. You see, most babies come out with their heads looking a bit odd shaped and their faces a little swollen, but not Ashley. That’s because while I was in labor giving birth to her, […]
Liz Murray grew up with parents who were both cocaine addicts. Her family ran out of food a few days into each month because her parents spent their welfare checks on feeding their drug addiction instead of feeding her and her sister. So as young girls she and her sister would go from door to […]
When my luck seems all gone, and I’m down in the mouth, When I’m stuck in the north and I want to go south; When the world seems a blank and there’s no one to love, And it seems even God’s not in heaven above. I’ve a cure for my grouch and it works like […]
I sat down at my computer at 9:30am this morning and here it is, now 12:50am at night (technically the next morning) and I am still sitting at my computer in the exact same spot…not a joke, although I wish it was. Today has been one of those crazy hyper-focused days of trying to complete […]
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, […]
Too often in life we allow ourselves to believe what I refer to as “the monsters in our head” -those negative thoughts that too quickly jump to judgement of ourselves or other people. It’s those thoughts about ourselves where we think we aren’t liked, or we don’t fit in, or that we aren’t good enough, […]
Every night as I drive home the weeks before Christmas I look up on the hill above my house to see a big star that is lit up on the mountainside. It’s a star a neighbor has lit up for years during the holiday and I look forward to seeing it every night. There is […]
“Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” ― A.A. Milne Such true words spoken in that quote said by Winnie the Pooh. When I think of the things that have really touched my heart the most I think of the smallest things others have done that meant the […]
As I shared in yesterday’s post, I was honored to be inducted in the Utah Technology Council (UTC) Hall of Fame last Friday. As part of that the UTC hired a company called Avalanche Studios to go and interview a few of the important people from my life as well as interviewing me and to […]
“Ordinary happiness depends on happenstance. Joy is that extraordinary happiness that is independent of what happens to us. Good luck can make us happy, but it cannot give us lasting joy. The root of joy is gratefulness. We tend to misunderstand the link between joy and gratefulness. We notice that joyful people are grateful and […]
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” –William Arthur Ward Today I was reminded of the powerful impact my mentors have had on me. I have had the privilege of […]
I have been out in Washington DC for the last few days and I was reminded of how beautiful Virginia is. I lived in Vienna, Virginia when I was a teenager in High School and during this visit I was able to drive past the house I used to live in while I was there […]
Too often in life we have a tendency to discount our own potential. It is often much easier to recognize other people’s talents and abilities than it is to see our own. But there is a trick you can use to help yourself rise to the level of person you want to become – some […]
I shared in my Friday blog how this past weekend was one of my favorite times of year because I get to hear incredible speakers share amazingly inspiring messages in a streaming broadcast that goes worldwide. If you didn’t have the chance to watch the live broadcast you can still access each talk in video […]
“Promise Yourself To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only the […]
Do you ever have times where you feel you have already been through so many hard trials in your life, and you’ve already overcome so many hard things, and worked to improve yourself in so many ways that surely you deserve to have a reprieve from life’s difficulties because you feel you’ve fought through hard […]
“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 […]
Dr. Charles H. Malik, former Secretary General of the United Nations, once shared: “I respect all men, and it is from disrespect for none that I say there are no great leaders in the world today. In fact, greatness itself is laughed to scorn. You should not be great today—you should sink yourself into the […]
Today I’ve got a fun guest post from my 21 year-old daughter Ashley to share with you called “The Power of Jimmy Johns”: For those of you who don’t know… I have a borderline OBSESSION with Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches. And when I say obsession… I mean I found 12 Jimmy Johns wrappers in my […]
The Declaration of Independence was approved by our Founding Fathers on July 4, 1776. Today I was contemplating this amazing occurrence and I decided to read from some history books to gain a greater appreciation of the events that took place and the people involved. Reading of the tremendous faith that these Founding Fathers had […]
Some days someone sends you the perfect quote at just the right time in your life when you needed it most, or you come across a poem that applies perfectly to a situation you are going through, or you hear just the right song on the radio at just the right moment for you to […]
“I have learned that the head does not hear anything until the heart has listened, and that what the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow.” – Jones Stephens Communication. It sounds like such a simple word but the reality is that communication is one of the most complicated things we do in life. […]
I often have people tell me how impressed they are with the character of my son and daughter, and that compliment is often followed with the question – how did you do it? How did you raise those kids to be such great people? Well as much as I would love to take credit for […]
“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso Did you know that your subconscious brain can’t tell the difference between something real and something imagined? There are no filters in our subconscious to distinguish the difference between the two. That is why visualization is so powerful! Let me share some examples: A study was […]
I don’t know about you but I am more than ready to say goodbye to those April Showers and hello to those May Flowers! I am SO READY for warm spring weather and sunshine! Plus May is full of fun reasons for all of us to celebrate – for example: Not only is May National […]
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