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 […]
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 […]
“You never know how strong you are…until being strong is the only choice you have.” Some days you come to the end of your day feeling like you have taken all you can take…you have given all you have to give…dealt with all you can possibly deal with…you literally feel like you are at the […]
“Good friends care for each other…close friends understand each other, but TRUE FRIENDS stay forever…beyond words, beyond distance, beyond time…!” Many of us have friends in our lives over the years. Some friends we make as children and then lose contact as we grow older. Other friends we make as adults and stay in touch […]
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 […]
Today was a long, busy, stressful day, and it was a Monday which always feels a little more stressful than the rest of the days of the week for some reason…perhaps that’s because we put everything out of our minds in order to enjoy our weekends and then Monday morning we are forced to deal […]
So often in life we get incredibly busy to the point that we are literally only able to handle the new things coming at us each day, with time sensitive items getting first priority, rarely even getting to the list of items in second priority, and just forget about anything down in the third priority […]
Sometimes advice is so great you just have to share it with everyone. Robert Fulghum wrote the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten (Villard Books: New York, 1990). The following excerpts are from pages 6-7 and they contain the most simple, yet powerful advice. I love that this advice applies to all of […]
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 […]
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 […]
“One of the greatest things about being an adult is the feeling of euphoria when you get to change into pajamas.” SO TRUE!!!! Today was possibly one of the longest days I have had in a very, very long time. It actually started just after midnight last night when I found myself still awake, working […]
I loved recess as a little kid. I loved being out on the field running around with the sun shining. Now that I am an adult I can look back and see that not only was recess a time for fun, it was also a teaching ground full of life lessons that would apply to […]
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 […]
“Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down or resisting the impulse […]
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 […]
As those of you who follow my blog know, once a week I get an email from my daughter who is serving her mission. This week she shared that her group set a goal this week to see if they could follow all the mission rules with “exact obedience”. Now I don’t know about all […]
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 […]
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You, too? Thought I was the only one.” – C.S. Lewis So true! One would think that it becomes easier to make new friends as you become an adult because at that stage in life you are more comfortable in your own […]
“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 […]
“There is a superhero inside all of us. We just need the courage to put on a cape.” Today I saw a documentary at Sundance that showed the story of normal man who had the courage to put on his cape and become a superhero to many children who were being abused and taken advantage […]
Tonight was opening night for Sundance Film Festival! The next ten days will be action packed with amazing movies, movie stars everywhere, speaker panels, and of course incredible parties. The streets of Park City, Utah will be packed with over 45,000 people who come to Sundance to enjoy the festivities each year. I serve on […]
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 […]
“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 […]
We grow up looking at our parents as the strongest people in our world. They handle everything, they take care of everything, and they can do everything. Then you grow up and as you grow older, unfortunately so do they. Then one day you wake up and realize that your parents can no longer handle […]
“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time. Because when you give your time you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back.” Reading that quote made me feel a little better today because I have been racking my brain all day to try and figure out the […]
The quote in today’s title pretty much sums up my day today…just kidding…only kind of…. We have known for the past several months that my daughter is going to be leaving us for 18 months to serve a mission. We have been given checklists of what to pack and prepare and all the things that […]
“No matter how good a friend someone is, they’re going to hurt you every once in awhile and you must forgive them for that.” When someone hurts your feelings you have two choices: You can hold on to the anger and bitterness and let it continuously bother you, or you can decide to forgive them […]
