I left home to come to college when I was 17 years old. One of the first things I had to do was setup my very first checking account at the bank. Up to that point I had never had my own checking account. I had always had jobs and worked throughout High School but […]
These last few months have been a roller coaster for me. Between my family and both our extended families we have experienced some of life’s highest highs and some of its lowest lows all within a matter of just a few months. In those months there have been days of being happier than I could […]
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 […]
This morning while getting ready for the day I was listening to a show with inspirational music and thoughts called Music and the Spoken Word. There is something really fabulous about starting your day off with beautiful music and inspiring words. It definitely helps you get into the right frame of mind to face the […]
If you’ve made a mistake, fix it. If you don’t know how to fix it, then learn! And whatever you do, don’t throw your hands up and act like there is nothing you can do about it, because you can ALWAYS do something about it – there are always choices you can make that will […]
Good Timber -by Douglas Malloch The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil To […]
“The only great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs Tonight I was asked to give a keynote speech to a group of entrepreneurs at Startup Ignition, a startup Bootcamp program for entrepreneurs. Truth be told as I was driving down to give my speech I was feeling exhausted from having had […]
Without accountability for actions there would be no progression in our lives or in our organizations. And as Tomas Paine expressed when he stated, “…men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” We ought not trust those who are unwilling to be accountable. Each of us has a moral and legal […]
As I shared in yesterday’s blog, my son Dalton’s Commencement of graduation ceremonies from Brigham Young University was today and tomorrow is his actual Graduation Ceremony where he will walk across the stage and receive his Bachelor’s degree. This is a huge milestone in the life of a child and the life of a parent […]
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 […]
“The essence of America – that which really unites us – is not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion – it is an idea – and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” – Condoleeza Rice The American Dream Awards is an event put on by the […]
“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 […]
“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Insist on yourself; never imitate. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as […]
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 […]
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 […]
Many years ago back when I was single I had gone on a trip with a group of people. Within this group there were many people who didn’t know each other prior to this trip. One of the young men in his mid-20’s began talking to another young man who he didn’t know yet and […]
I experienced so many incredible things over the last week that when I sit down to try and share them in this blog it is a little overwhelming to figure out how to fit it all in, but I will do my best to share the highlights and include a few fun photos for you…. […]
I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend! Welcome back!! This is a monumental week for the world as the United States undergoes the transition to new leadership. I believe this week can down in history in one of two ways – it can either go down in history as having been a week to […]
Someone once told me that the moment you either think or say the words “I can’t” you’ve lost, so never to do it. Hearing that advice had a big impact on my life because I believed it and I tried to never allow myself to think or say it when it came to my business […]
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 […]
Earlier today I was looking through some documents and I found an outline I had written for a talk I was asked to give clear back in 2005 on How To Build And Operate A Successful Executive Team. As I sat reading it, some eleven years later, I can tell you that if I were asked to talk on that same subject today I […]
Imagine you are watching the following scenario take place: A small meeting is being held in a board room. At one end of the table sits a man (we will refer to him as man A) and across from him sitting side by side at the table is another man (man B) and a woman. […]
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 […]
Every now and then I will go back and read past blogs I have written on subjects that I am dealing with in my life that day. Tonight I read one of my blogs from back in 2012 that was exactly what I would have written to share tonight: Life is so full of decisions […]
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 […]
People with passion are infectious! When someone is passionate and excited about something they can light up an entire room and they have the ability to suck everyone else into feeling passionate and excited with them! Yes, genuine passion and excitement are very powerful and influential tools in life…let’s face it…there is nothing more infectious […]
When I left to work this morning there wasn’t a drop of snow on the ground, so imagine my surprise when I go to leave work tonight at 6:30pm only to find that it had been dumping down snow leaving my car covered in snow and the roads home a snowy mess. …And of course […]
“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 […]
I love a great motivational speaker. Zig Ziglar has always been a personal favorite because he is always so amazingly positive, so when I came across this excerpt from the book “Attitude is Everything: 10 Rules For Staying Positive” by author Vicki Hitzges, which shares a story about Zig I had to share it with […]
It is funny how people say they want to fix a problem right up to the point where they would actually have to do something themselves to fix it. Recently I was asked to help come up with a fix for a problem that a group I happen to care very much about was having, […]
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