Tag Archives: culture

#Blessed

Well hello there sunshine! How are all of you? Can I just say that I LOVE sunny days and summertime!  I mean really, they are the greatest!  There is something about the feeling of sun on your skin that just makes you happier…am I right?! Today I am thinking a lot about all the good […]

When You Can’t See The Positive Anymore…

Today was one of those days when I REALLY needed an inspirational quote to help keep my spirits up. The truth is that it has been a rough week this week for many reasons and I found myself getting to that point where you really need a motivational lifeline to help you get your head […]

What Memories Will We Have Left Behind?

This weekend I attended the funeral of a neighbor and a friend. She left behind a husband, children, and grand-children and many friends who loved her dearly. She was an amazing person and she lived her life with love and service for others and I feel lucky to have known her. It was really hard […]

We are all that person that can change the world

I don’t often share videos in my blog because I know everyone’s time is short and just the fact you take time out of your day to read my blog is such an honor that I try to keep them quick to read. However, I had to share this video with you today because it’s […]

The importance of sharing your experiences with other people

“It’s important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. When you tell your story, you free yourself and give other people permission to acknowledge their own story.”  -Iyanla Vanzant When my children were young they went through some really difficult things. Today […]

A Wish Flower or a Weed?

Today my husband and I were walking along a darling little riverbank when I looked over and saw an awesome Wish Flower. I used to see them all the time when I was a little girl living in Puyallup, Washington. They were all over our backyard and as kids we would go out and pick […]

Living a Virtuous Life

When Benjamin Franklin was a young man of 20 years old he decided he wanted to better himself. He wrote down 13 virtues and determined to practice one virtue each week. He created a notebook to track his progress, writing one virtue at the top of on each page along with a short description of […]

Learn To See An Imperfect Person Perfectly

I have to start by saying how crazy cute this picture is! And the message is fantastic. “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” Anyone who is married either already has, or is quickly learning, just how true that statement is. None of […]

A Pen and Paper Can Actually Be More Valuable Than Money

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 […]

Billions More Chances To Be Happy

“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 […]

The Refiner’s Fire

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 […]

Success Requires Optimism And Bouncebackability, But If Necessary, You Can Fake It Till You Make It (Forbes Article)

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” —Albert Schweitzer All one has to do is Google the word Optimist to locate study after study showing that Optimists do better in most avenues of life than Pessimists. Studies show that Optimists accomplish more, make more […]

“When something goes wrong in your life, just yell “Plot Twist” and move on.”

“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 […]

Focus On The Lovable Moments

“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 […]

It’s Funny How Sometimes The People You’d Take A Bullet For Are The Ones Behind The Trigger (Forbes Article)

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 […]

Someday We’ll All Have Perfect Wings

I would guess most of us have either heard of or seen the bumper stickers which read, “Mean People Suck”. I happen to agree with that sentiment. When someone treats another person mean I really struggle with it. When I hear stories of bullying in our young people, or see people taking pot shots, or […]

Be A Force For Good

“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 […]

The Four C’s:  Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy

“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 […]

Have Courage and Be Kind

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 […]

What Will We Wish We Had Done?

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 […]

People Who Do Bad Things

There are people in this world who do bad things. Many, if not all of us, have been on the receiving end or dealt with people who have done bad things that have hurt us. The hope is that over time, as we get older and wiser, that we are far more careful in our […]

The Characteristics Of A True Leader (Forbes Article)

Every one of us is a leader in our own right. Whether we lead an entire company, or a team of people, or a group of friends, or our families, or just ourselves…we are all leaders in some form or fashion. Whatever size our circle of influence may be today, if we work to improve […]

“Life always offers you a second chance.  It’s called tomorrow.”

Isn’t it great to know that when you wake up each morning you start your day with a fresh new chance to make of it whatever you will? I think it’s fantastic!!! I love the quote in today’s title:  “Life always offers you a second chance.  It’s called tomorrow.” Because it reminds us that it’s […]

Be Fearlessly Authentic!

I LOVE authentic people. People who are genuine and real and ‘what you see is what you get’. People who are open about their fears and insecurities are endearing because they are people you can relate to. Whereas people that act like they have never made mistakes or that they know everything make the rest […]

Why Did This Have To Happen?!?!

I was working hard on preparing a Powerpoint presentation for a talk I will be giving at a University tomorrow evening when my computer crashed, and of course it crashed before I had saved my work. After hours of hard work I yelled out “Why did this have to happen?!?!”  Arggghhhh!!! So frustrating, right!?! At […]

Success Comes From Focusing On Things You Can Control

There are a million aspects to life that are out of our control. And focusing on things you can’t control is absolutely pointless…no matter how much you focus on them you can’t control them so why waste the energy? Success comes when we stop worrying about those factors and things that are out of our […]

Discovering All That is Inside of You

Deep within each of us lies talents, abilities, and powers that go so far beyond anything we could begin to imagine. Too often in life we sell ourselves short thinking “I can’t” or “I am not capable of…” or “I am afraid to try in case I fail”.  We hide our true potential behind a […]

“Choose to be a Hero”

Today, former republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney came to speak to 15,000 students down at Brigham Young University (BYU). I wasn’t able to make it down for the talk but both of my kids did and they came home this evening to go to a Utah Jazz basketball game with my husband and I and […]

Forgiving Doesn’t Require Forgetting

We have all heard the term “Forgive and Forget”, and some people have heard that phrase so much that they begin to think that the two must work together.  They mistakenly think that “Forgiving” someone requires you to “Forget” what the other person did to you  – That is simply incorrect – Forgiving someone does […]

Has Anyone Told You Yet Today That You Are Amazing!

Has anyone told you yet today just how absolutely, positively, incredibly, amazing you are?  If not then let me be the first one!  You are amazing!  Absolutely, positively, incredibly, amazing! Doesn’t it feel good to know that someone else thinks you’re amazing? It’s an awesome feeling, right? “In life, you will realize there is a […]