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 […]
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 […]
The Power of Connecting with Others
Why You Should Look for Similarities Instead of Differences I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a vacation my family and I took to Punta Cana. Even though the trip was months ago, I can’t get it out of my head thanks to an amazing encounter I had. It was a simple, yet truly profound […]
Am I Doing This Parenting Thing Right?
Focusing on the Parenting Choices That Matter It’s hard being a parent—and so, so easy to shame ourselves for not doing everything right. Hell, do any of us really even know what “right” means when it comes to raising kids? We want our children to grow, thrive, be independent, experience everything life has to offer, […]
From Riding the Bus to Running Two Businesses
Embracing Fear, Overcoming Challenges, and Going for Your Dreams A few weeks ago, I saw the #16 school bus pull around the corner, and I immediately had a flashback. For two years beginning in 2000, I rode that bus as a helper, tending to and keeping watch over the kids. It wasn’t the most glamorous […]
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 […]
Hearing the Tough Stuff
How to Accept Negative Feedback—and Not Freak Out At the end of every workshop I present, I pass out evaluation sheets for the participants to complete. This is possibly one of the most nerve-wracking things I do in my professional life. I choose to do these evaluations because I want to see what’s working and […]
Lessons of a Struggling Flower
How Success Blossoms from Adversity As I took my morning run, I came across this flower that had managed to bust through the concrete in an effort to blossom. I was struck by its symbolism. We all have our struggles, and they can be very painful at times. But this flower reminded me that struggle […]