It was August 13, 2010 when I posted my very first blog. I was CEO of my company MediConnect Global at the time. My company had grown from 70ish employees to well over a thousand and I had been struggling to find a way to stay in touch with all of the employees in the […]
I wrote an article on Forbes.com called “Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself“. It’s a message worth resharing: I was standing in the security line at an airport when a TSA worker came walking alongside the line yelling out in an animated way, “No liquids, no aerosols, no gels or creams on the airplane…You better […]
Today I flew to Atlanta in order to speak tomorrow at a conference for the National Ethics Directors Summit being held for University Ethics Directors from across the country. When I was asked to come and speak at this Summit I went to great lengths to move my schedule around so I could make it […]
Today we were discussing holding firm to our values in life. At one point in the discussion the leader of the discussion drew a picture of a boat and talked about the need for an anchor to hold the boat in place. Some may picture a single anchor dropped in the water, but having been […]
“Commitment is what transforms a promise into a reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions, and the actions that speak louder than words. It is making time when there is none; coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of—the […]
If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this: Success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing no matter what […]
EIGHT YEARS! EIGHT years ago on August 13, 2010 I posted my very first blog post. At that time I committed to my employees that I would write a blog post to them every work day, five days a week, without fail from that point forward, writing every day except official holidays. When I made […]
80 years 29,219 days 701,265 hours 42,076,800 minutes 10 amazing children 37 beautiful grandchildren 11 sweet great-grandchildren 1 BLESSED LIFE HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Today my father, Gerald Rees, turned 80 years old. 80 years old! WOW! That is really, really old 😉 The best way I can think of to honor my Dad today is […]
“Don’t touch that, it’s hot” my mom said as she pulled out a fresh tray of cookies from the oven – yet immediately I started thinking “I wonder how hot it really is? It’s probably not that hot. I think I’ll just see for myself just how hot it is.” You would think that nursing […]
You gotta love Halloween. Free candy and fun costumes…what could be better? Growing up as a kid at Halloween time we used to always look forward to watching “It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” One of the best lines from that movie is: “Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker.” – […]
“There isn’t a person you wouldn’t love if you could read their whole story.” – Marjorie Hinckley I love that quote. When someone reminded me of this quote the other day I couldn’t help but stop and think how true it is. We see people through a certain lens…we make snap judgments…we make assumptions about […]
“Stand up for what is right regardless of who is committing the wrong.” -Suzy Kassam A dear friend sent me that quote today and it was a much appreciated reminder of the fact that being a person of integrity means you have to be willing to stand by your convictions at all times, and against […]
Last week I spent the week hosting a group of fabulous people on our houseboat at Lake Powell. It is always a ton of work to host a big group for a week but its also incredibly rewarding to spend quality time really getting to know people on a closer level without any technology distractions […]
“The glory of friendship is not in the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is in the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson When someone believes in you and trusts you […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I am a person who appreciates honesty more than anything, and I believe that one can always deliver that honesty in a respectful way. I also believe that honesty is more than just being willing to speak words that are true, it is also recognizing that hidden truths are unspoken lies. If a person speaks […]
The older we get the more we realize how much better life is if we are just willing to learn things the easy way – like by listening to those who have been there and done it and who have the experience to give us advice on avoiding pitfalls we will face. In the early […]
When we surround ourselves with people of Integrity our lives are always made better. And by that same token, when we associate with people who lack integrity our lives will always be made worse. I refer to people who lack integrity as Blessing Blockers. Throughout my career I have had the blessing of associating with many great people of integrity. […]
Declare your life a Drama Free Zone – what a brilliant idea! Here is what it comes down to: People are going to disappoint us. They are going to make mistakes. They are going to hurt us and do dumb things. That is part of life. And it is up to us to forgive them […]
Being a great employee pays off with better positions, higher pay, and more frequent promotions. But some workers struggle to know exactly what it takes to become a truly great employee. As an Entrepreneur and CEO one of the most important elements of having a successful company is having a workforce of great employees. That […]
I was standing in the security line at an airport when a TSA worker came walking alongside the line yelling out in an animated way, “No liquids, no aerosols, no gels or creams on the airplane…You better check yourself before you wreck yourself!” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud. As the CEO of […]
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 only by saying “no” that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” – Steve Jobs Saying “No” can be awkward, uncomfortable, and downright difficult. After all, it is human nature to want to be liked, and what better way to be liked then to make people happy by saying “Yes” when […]
Actually it’s not really that funny at all…it’s really sad when it happens to be true. It’s unbelievably hard when someone you love and respect and consider a friend does something to hurt you deeply. It’s downright brutal. I’m sure many of us have been through times where this has happened. We are betrayed by […]
“That moment when you can actually feel the pain in your chest from seeing or hearing something that breaks your heart.” Those moments are the worst…they just are. Seeing or hearing something that breaks your heart is such a hard thing to go through. It’s a feeling you wouldn’t wish on anyone. Most of the […]
Job security is something everyone longs for, and typically we moving up in the organization as a sign that our jobs are indeed secure. Increased wealth and opportunity are also things we long for, and a promotion at work can help to achieve that. But receiving a promotion doesn’t always come easy, so here are […]
One of the most valuable assets we can have in life is to be trustworthy. It is worth gold whether in business or friendships or family. When you can trust a person it creates a bond of loyalty that runs deep. And when someone can trust you it gives you that same bond of loyalty […]
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