The Magic of Music
How Curating the Perfect Playlist Can Improve Your Life “Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.” —Tom Petty The late, great Tom Petty was definitely […]
Don’t Let Anyone Dim Your Light
How to Let the ‘Haters’ in Your Life Motivate You “Hustle until your haters ask if you’re hiring.” I came across this sentiment recently, and it immediately grabbed my attention. I had a LOT to say about it. But I took a moment to think before posting my thoughts. And now … here’s to keeping […]
The Power of Forgiveness
Letting Go of Our Hurt—Reclaiming Our Joy I often take “walking meditations” through the field near my house. On one of these recent walks, I reflected on a topic that’s so important … one that we all have experience with … one that is often hard to embrace. Forgiveness. Most days feel really good to […]
Take the Chance, Reap the Rewards
Why the Courage to TRY is the First Step to Success In 2010, I was feeling a bit … unsettled. I wasn’t exactly unhappy; I just felt like there had to be more to the way I was living my life. Just some whisperings and rumblings that were beginning to take root in my soul. […]
A Birthday Reflection
How to Embrace the Highs and Let Go of the Lows This month, I’ll celebrate my 44th birthday. And like most people, when that big day approaches, I start to take stock of my life and ask myself a few questions (some of them kinda tough). What was great about this past year? What was […]
All Work and No Play? No Thanks!
How Taking Time from the Busy-ness of Life Reinvigorates the Soul I have a playful personality. It’s a big part of who I am. My brothers and I grew up as big “players”—building forts, organizing treehouse sleepovers, participating in all kinds of sports. To this day, we engage in a lot of play, not just […]
The Saga of the Purple Sports Bra
How to Find the Funny in Stressful Situations Sometimes, I think I’m a study in contradictions. I have a playful personality … but I can get VERY intense in certain situations. I’m a take action type of person … but I don’t really pay attention to the “details.” (Back in school, I was called careless. […]
Making My Dreams Happen—One Vision at a Time
How Vision Boards Helped Me Create the Life I Love See that picture above? That’s me giving a keynote address in a huge auditorium back in August. There were more than 1200 PEOPLE in the crowd! It was an amazing opportunity … an amazing experience … a truly amazing feeling. But you know what the […]
Practice Kindness—Reap the Rewards
How Making Happiness a Habit Can Change Your Life I live my life practicing what I call Happiness Habits. These are simple tools I use to bring more positivity into the present moment, allowing my brain to experience what happiness researcher Shawn Achor calls a “happiness advantage.” He calls it an advantage because a positive […]
Embracing Life, Imperfections and All
Happiness Does Not Equal Perfection A friend of mine recently sent me this image that she’d created for me. I must admit that it brought tears to my eyes for a couple of reasons. First, in appreciation for the thoughtful gift. Second, for the meaning behind it. You see, there was a time when this […]