Tips on living from a 12-year-old...

Me: “I’ve had a long day, Sammy.”   My daughter (at age 10): “Acutally – all of your days are the same length, Mother. It is just your perception that is changing.”   Good morning! One day in 2005, I arrived home from my office wiped out. The week had been relentlessly hectic and challenging, both personally and professionally. Sammy, who was 10 at the time, ran to greet me. She was not challenge-wrought. She was speaking excitedly with each sentence hitting a higher octave than the one before. Quickly, she rattled off an...

Learning from life’s storms...

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” Willa Cather   Good morning! How nice it would be if we could learn all of life’s lessons in calm. However, many times during the “calm” we are not receptive students. When the days are passing smoothly, we may grow comfortable or complacent. When our lives are “shuffled up” a bit, or our emotions are uncomfortable for us, or we have a gnawing ache inside — we become open to the question of “why…”; we become open to life’s...

Waiting will not make a hill smaller...

When there’s a hill to climb, don’t think that waiting will make it smaller. H. Jackson Brown   Good morning! H. Jackson Brown certainly burst a lot of bubbles with that quote – a few of my own included! I am unsure why when something seems difficult, waiting seems to be a good thing. Somehow we convince ourselves that we will acquire tools or resources that will make the uphill climb easier. But life rarely works that way. The perfect time never comes. Instead, we usually acquire more fear about climbing the hill – and often we choose a...

Good Morning … 2/10/08...

“To  be always doubting your ability to get what you long for  is like trying to reach east by traveling west.” Charles Baudouin Good morning! I am convinced that one of the most common places we practice reverse psychology is on our selves! In the past week, I was taking notes and here are some examples: 1. The smoker who wants to quit and details her quitting plan while smoking a cigarette. 2. The woman who says she wants true love in her life, but stays in an unfulfilling relationship. 3. The professional who wants to reach the top, but then watches...

Taking responsibilitiy...

In order to be walked on, you have to be lying down. - Brian Weir When we find ourselves worn down, anxious, depressed – we have to get beyond the victim mentality and ask some basic questions. Are we standing tall? Are we thinking in healthy ways? Are staying away from toxic people as much as possible? When we hurt and feel pain, before pointing the finger at someone else, we have to point the finger at ourselves. How did we get to this place? What did we contribute? As today’s quote says, we have to be lying down in order to be walked on. Taking...

Good Morning… 2/8/2008...

Every day is a birthday; every moment of it is new to us; we are born again, renewed for fresh work and endeavor. Issac Watts Good morning! Well according to Issac Watts, I guess a Happy Birthday is in order! Happy Birthday everyone! In all seriousness, isn’t this a hopeful quote filled with the wonder of newness? Have you ever thought about why we are so happy when a baby is born? Or why do we countdown the seconds to a new year? These events speak of new opportunity, fresh starts, hope. This quote brings us to the very important realization that the same...

Good Morning!...

Did you know the Levi Strauss was originally a tentmaker in the 1850′s? He used a heavy-duty denim fabric he had invented to make tents. He failed at his tent-endeavor. I wonder what we would all be wearing if he would have succeeded? Good morning! I have always found “hidden success” stories interesting and representative of how many successes are journeys including obstacles, “failures,” detours, roadblocks, and road bumps. I believe obstacles, “failures,” detours, roadblocks and road bumps are ingredients of success. Challenges teach...

Good Morning!...

Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.  - Eleanor Roosevelt Good morning! Question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how friendly are you to yourself? When something goes wrong, do you treat yourself with compassion or are you more likely to “beat yourself up?” When you stumble on the pathway toward a goal, do you gently encourage yourself or degrade your efforts? When you make a perceived mistake, do you let it go or expect self-perfection at every turn? Often women treat themselves much differently...

Good Morning!...

To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like. Mike Gafka  Good morning! The first time I read this quote, I smiled knowingly. When I started my first business at age 22, I still believed in a very black-and-white concept of fairness. I believed that if I worked hard enough, good results would come my way in work endea-vors. I believed that if I lived in a loving, caring and compassionate way, my personal life would be full of loving, caring and compassion. In my early thirties, I have realized that life...

Good Morning!...

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Theodore Roosevelt Good morning! Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ll do that once I ___ (fill in the blank) ____”? Or have you ever said that yourself? This quote reminds us of the funda-mental truth – in order to get anywhere different, we must begin by doing what we can, with what we have, where we are. We can see this principle in action through a very simple example. If we want to take a trip to Orlando, a plane isn’t likely to magically appear, nor will hotel reservations. First we...