Tag Archives: kindness

You’re Never Too Old To Wish Upon A Star

This week I have been sharing life lessons I learned during my family trip through the Mediterranean on the Disney Magic cruise ship where we visited Spain, Italy, France, and Monaco. To wrap up my posts for this week I will share the biggest life lesson I gleaned from my trip – “Where there is […]

Life Is A Gift

“Today before you think of saying an unkind word– think of someone who can’t speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food– think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife– think of someone who is crying out to God for a companion. Today before you […]

We are responsible for what is inside of us

The Analogy of the Orange If you squeeze an orange you will get orange juice. It doesn’t matter who squeezes it, where or when this is done, or what kind of implement is used. If you squeeze an orange, what comes out is orange juice. The same holds true for each of us. When the […]

My Lunch with the Dalai Lama

Today I had the experience of attending lunch with the Dalai Lama at the invitation of my dear friends Governor Gary Herbert and his wife Jeanette. (Quick reminder to my fellow Utahns that we all need to vote on June 28th in Utah’s primary election so we can ensure Governor Herbert can continue with the amazing job he does as […]

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 […]

Life is an Echo

“Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.” -Zig Ziglar I want to share a story with you called “The Mountain Story.” A son and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son […]

This feels like a great week to be HAPPY!

The desire to be happy. It’s a desire shared universally. It is one thing in life we all have in common – the desire for happiness. Some people wait for happiness to find them, only to learn that this kind of happiness is temporary and it goes as quickly as it comes. Other people have […]

The Impact of One Kind Word

Drop a Pebble in the Water Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone; But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on, Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea. And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be. Drop […]

Your Biggest Haters Are Really Your Biggest Fans

Haters, bullies, mean people…they all have one thing in common…they all suffer from one of the following: 1.  They hate themselves, 2.  They want to be you, or 3.  They see you as a threat Think about it – “Have you ever met a hater doing better than you? Me Neither….” There are far too many […]

You Can Choose To Be A Proactive Person Rather Than A Reactive Person

There are two types of people in this world…and it’s not those who like Neil Diamond and those who don’t (love that quote from What About Bob movie!)…it’s proactive and reactive people and which type of person you choose to be will significantly impact the life you will have. Let’s look at the difference between […]

Be careful with your words

“Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten.” Lashing out, saying things in anger, yelling, name calling, demeaning, putting someone down…all of these things create wounds that are far slower to heal than a physical wound and they leave emotional scars behind that never quite go away. […]

It’s the first day of Spring AND it’s International Day of Happiness…coincidence…I think not!

I love that there is an international day dedicated to being happy! And the fact it falls on the first day of Spring is perfect because Springtime makes me happy! In honor of the holiday I felt it only appropriate to talk about being happy. Did you know that research has shown that happy people: […]

Happy Valentine’s Day

I don’t typically do a blog post on the eve of a holiday (President’s Day is tomorrow – yay!) but I wanted to take quick minute to wish all of you a Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you have a great love in your life or not I hope you know that all of  you who are reading my blog […]

Take the 14 Day Challenge to Love One Another!

February is upon us! Which means Valentine’s Day is only 14 days away (friendly reminder, especially to all the gentlemen out there who don’t want to end us as one of those men in the hallmark card aisle the night before desperately looking through the last remaining cards in the store). Whether you have a […]

The Traits I Admire Most

Today I have been thinking a lot about the character traits that I admire most in people. I sat down to make a list of traits I see in a person I very much look up to in my life and here was the list that came to mind: Integrity – does the right thing, […]

It’s What We Do For Others That Makes Us A Success

There is a fabulous quote by Calvin Coolidge that states: “No person was ever honored for what he received, but what he gave.” That is so true!  What impresses me most about people isn’t what they have received in their life, but for the fact that they use what they have to reach out and […]

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

And snow it did! The snow started coming down late last night and by this morning it was already more than a foot deep. Now I happen to love looking out the window at the snow but I cannot stand having to go out into the snow! I don’t like the cold and I don’t […]

If you can make a situation better, DO IT!

In life we gain contacts, and connections, and wisdom that comes as we gain more and more life experience. As this happens we will inevitably start to find ourselves in situations where we might have either the talent, or the experience, or the resources to make a contribution to a situation that might really be […]

Life Is Better With Friends

I have learned through the years that family isn’t just made up of blood…it is made up of those people in your life who build you up while giving you input on how you can improve, those who help put a smile on your face, those who pick you up when you’re feeling down, those […]

We Are Not Human Doings, We Are Human Beings

Today I was involved in the President’s Leadership Council board meeting down at Brigham Young University. As part of the program a great speaker named Brad Wilcox gave an inspiring talk. There were a few comments he shared that really stood out to me and I couldn’t wait to share them with you. First he […]

Service Your Way? Say WHAT?!!!

Great Customer Service – we’ve all heard of it, but nowadays actually getting it is as rare as spotting a Yeti laying out on a beach getting a tan! #realtalk Today I was drowning in wedding planning and I had called ahead to some rental companies that rent wedding chairs and dance floors to see […]

The Service You’ve Given Mankind

Supposing today were your last day on earth, The last mile of the journey you’ve trod; After all of your struggles, how much are you worth, How much can you take home to God? Don’t count as possessions your silver and gold, Tomorrow you leave these behind, And all that is yours to have and […]

“Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.”

Within any given week we are going to have good days, and bad ones. Rarely is an entire week perfect…at least I’ve never had a week like that myself. There are up days, and down days…there are stressful days and fun days…there are monotonous tasks that have to get done and there are new and […]

Curiosity, Courage, and Courtesy

Today I was fortunate enough to be invited by President Holland to attend a lunch and sit at the table with Sir Christopher John Greenwood, a Judge for the International Court of Justice and his lovely wife Susan at UVU’s Constitutional Conference for Constitutional Studies. Both of them went up from our table to speak at the lunch event […]

Put a little love in your heart!

So last week I had a crazy week full of meetings where I had to get up super early each day and then I was up late each night. Thursday afternoon as I was battling to get through the traffic on the ridiculously crowded freeway with all the construction going on, I was definitely feeling the […]

A Simple Gesture

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball hat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they […]

The Feeling of Home

We have traveled extensively over this summer. On a European front we have been to London, Paris, Belgium, Germany, other parts of France, Switzerland, and Amsterdam. Then back in the states we have been to Lake Powell three different times and now Idaho for my husband’s family reunion….Where we haven’t been much this summer is […]

You’re Never Alone

“Right now, there are people all over the world who are just like you. They’re lonely. They’re missing somebody. They’re in love with someone they probably shouldn’t be in love with. They have secrets you wouldn’t believe. They wish, dream, hope, and they look out the window whenever they’re in the car or on a […]

Never Assume..Let Them Know

Over this last few days my husband and I were able to go and visit his family up in Idaho where he is from for his family reunion. His family, like mine, is large and spread out to several states across the country so it becomes increasingly more difficult to get everyone together in one […]

Respecting the Thoughts and Views of Others

I get that when people are passionate about their beliefs they want to share them with others and I think that is an awesome thing if it’s done in a positive way! In all my years of being a leader in the business world I have never once seen anyone be influenced by angry words […]