What I am about to say will seem completely foreign or even downright crazy to many people, but just hear me out before you throw up on this suggestion: The next time you sit down to send an email to thank someone, consider getting a pen and paper and writing a handwritten note instead. “Handwrite […]
I was a CEO of a high-growth technology company for many years and so believe me when I say that I don’t make this next statement lightly: There is no tougher CEO position in the world than that of the CEO of a home. As CEO of a home you are not just the Chief […]
“If I am only happy for myself, many fewer chances for happiness. If I am happy when good things happen to other people, billions more chances to be happy!” – Dalai Lama Being unhappy because of someone else’s success is a miserable and ugly way to feel. When a person is feeling envious of another […]
Climb ‘Til Your Dream Comes True by: Helen Steiner Rice Often your tasks will be many, And more than you think you can do. Often the road will be rugged And the hills insurmountable, too. But always remember, The hills ahead Are never as steep as they seem, And with Faith in your heart […]
“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.” –C.S. Lewis So true, isn’t it? When we look back at our lives we always find that experience was the very best teacher in life. Some days I really wish that wasn’t the case because often times experience can be brutal […]
“Isn’t it awesome to wake up smiling because your real life is better than your dreams?” This last week was a bit of a fairy tale. My husband and I took our son Dalton on a trip to Europe. We started our trip off in London. We were really excited to go because none of […]
“You can always tell when two people are best friends because they are having more fun than it makes sense for them to be having.” I love that quote and it is so true. I have been able to take some time this week to hang out with my husband and my son now that […]
“It’s always the people who know the least about you, who want to judge you the most.” Whenever you are feeling judged by other people you have to remember that quote because it is SO TRUE! You can’t allow yourself to spend time worrying what other people think of you or how other people are […]
You are not your age, Nor the size of clothes you wear, You are not a weight, Or the colour of your hair. You are not your name, Or the dimples in your cheeks, You are all the books you read, And all the words you speak. You are your croaky morning voice, And the […]
Remember back when you were a kid and they had those Choose Your Own Adventure books? I used to love those! You would start off reading the story and get to the bottom of the page and it would say, “To choose to do <this> go to page x or to choose to do <that> […]
I read an amazing blog the other day written by someone I know who lives in Arkansas where my daughter Ashley is serving a mission. She and Ashley have become dear friends and this gal shared with Ashley some of the bad habits she is trying to get rid of in her life. Together she […]
A young lady was taking a religion class in college and during the class they discussed life’s trials we are faced with and they talked about overcoming life’s trials. The teacher would often refer to the fact that when we are faced with trials it is akin to a refiner’s fire. The young lady wanted […]
“When something goes wrong in your life, just yell “Plot Twist” and move on.” We’ve all experienced times when our best laid plans are interrupted with some unexpected twist that completely changes everything. It can happen with major life situations like losing a job or having a relationship unexpectedly end, or it can happen with […]
“A single misunderstanding is so poisonous, that it makes us forget the hundred lovable moments spent together within a minute.” Years ago I had a best friend who taught me a great life lesson. Whenever there was a situation where hurt feelings occurred and I got angry with someone he would stop me and point […]
Today we got word that a friend of ours, who we love and admire greatly, has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer which has spread throughout her body. It came as such a shock to hear the news about her because we ran into her and her husband just a few weeks ago and […]
“I am too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated.” I love that quote because it provides a stark comparison to two ways we can choose to live our lives. We can either be doubtful, fearful, and defeated….or we can be positive, optimistic, and determined….which sounds better […]
“We can all be a force for good if we have the desire.” – Gail Miller Tonight I attended the Giant in Our City Awards dinner where the award was giving to an amazing woman, Gail Miller. Gail is someone who has spent her life doing good things for others. She has truly made a […]
“Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you […]
It was exactly three years ago today that I signed the final papers to sell my company. As I look back over the last three years I am blown away at how much has happened since then. I transitioned out of my old company, I launched REES Capital (my angel investment firm), got our charity […]
That phrase, “Have Courage and Be Kind” is repeated multiple times throughout the new movie Cinderella (the real life remake of the cartoon classic). It was advice given to Cinderella as a small child by her real mother before her real mother passed away. Today in a meeting someone reminded me again of the phrase […]
On our deathbed when we look back at our life, what will we wish we had done? It’s a questions we have all probably heard being posed before but when is the last time you actually stopped and tried to think about what your own answer would be. Will we wish we had worked more […]
Every Sunday when we sit down for our family dinner we have a tradition where we go around the dinner table and as we are eating each person in the family shares with the rest of us what they learned that day or week. We have done this since the time my children were little […]
We all have a limited time here on this earth, and none of us really know exactly when that time will come to an end. We all hope to live to an old age and then pass peacefully in our sleep, hopefully with our spouse right next to us going at the same time just […]
Do you remember how fun Valentine’s Day was when you were a kid? You would spend hours making your cute little cardboard mailbox out of the empty Quaker Oats container or an old shoe box. You would cover it with colored construction paper and then put cute heart stickers on it, and don’t forget the […]
Only five more day’s until Valentine’s Day! Have you figured out what to give your significant other yet? Well today’s blog is my little reminder to all of you to figure that out now rather than becoming that sorry person at the grocery store Friday night trying to find any Hallmark Card left on the […]
“Some people see the glass half empty. Good people see the glass half full. But extraordinary people are just grateful for the glass!” That quote came today in the weekly email letter I get from my daughter Ashley on her mission and I loved it so much I had to share it with everyone. What […]
With all of the amazing technology we employ today it’s amazing the credibility we attribute to the shadow of a little brown rodent each Groundhog Day. But every year I admit that, I along with everyone else, wait to hear whether Phil saw his shadow or not. It never fails to bum me out when […]
This last week has been an absolute whirlwind! It has been back to back events for the Sundance Film Festival. I wish I could sit and write every amazing experience I have had this week but it would result in far too long of a blog for anyone to want to read. I will tell […]
If the world was blind how many people would you impress? What a great question to consider. We live in a world that applauds beauty. After all, beauty attracts the eye. When there is a thing of beauty we stop and take notice. We are drawn to a person of beauty…at least momentarily. So we spend […]
“Never question the power of one! Throughout history it has been the actions of only one person who has inspired the movement of change.” – Steve Maraboli Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I would be remiss if I didn’t express gratitude for the amazing life he lived and the example he set […]
