Do You Have A Couple Of Minutes

Yesterday we talked about looking for opportunities, which requires intentional awareness.  Today, I want to keep on the theme of awareness and encourage you to memorialize your dreams, ideas, and thoughts. Taking the intentional step to memorialize thoughts and things, helps to make space for them and reinforce them. This is important to remember because not every idea or thought may be some...

2023 will be full of opportunities, but we'll need to look for them.  When we look for things, we are more likely to see them. Sometimes opportunities present themselves boldly.  Other times they may be cloaked in disappointment or challenge.  In 2023, let's remember to look for the opportunities that present themselves daily.  When something ends, perhaps it is time for a new...

I want to wish everyone hearing this message a very happy and prosperous New Year.  Our 2023 will largely be what each of us intends to make it.  So I hope you have some great things planned for 2023.  And if you've listened to me for any length of time, by now you likely know that in my positive outlook, I am a realist.  Things don't always go as planned.  We should expec...

I've decided to do a New Year's Resolutions Part 2 because yesterday I focused on creating new habits and obtaining goals.  Today I want to focus on getting rid of old bad habits.  And I am going to suggest that in the case of getting rid of bad habits, you do your best to stop cold turkey.  This is because our bad habits are likely contradicting the good habits we are trying to imp...

New Year's Resolutions - What's Your Why? Start out at a good pace and build up from there. I have a love hate relationship with New Year's Resolutions.  I think it is great to plan, and I love ambitions.  I am even OK with falling short of a goal if there's some learning from it.  What I dislike is the thought that if you try something one time and don't succeed, that resulting in...

Yesterday, I talked about this week being a great time for reflection and planning.  In keeping with that theme, I want to spend some time talking about FEAR and Discomfort.  I was talking to a friend of mine recently about FEAR, and the avoidant behaviors that typically come alongside change.  My friend and I quickly walked through some scenarios where FEAR and Avoidant behavior, p...

I hope you are well today and enjoying the holiday season.  This is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  The last week of the year is a time to reflect on the past year, a time for rest and rejuvenation, and a time for planning and re-invigoration! Let's spend a moment to talk about those things for a moment. When I reflect on the past year, I like to focus on what has gone right, and...

Happy Holiday Season to you! I'll wrap up this series on Sibling Lessons with myself.  I have learned so much through my life experiences, some enjoyable and some really tough. Two things I have learned and am still learning are to embrace change and possibilities, and to speak up.   Embracing Change and possibilities is a huge part of success.  Things must change in order for us to...

Continuing on with Sibling Lesson and my twin brother.  Two more things he is great at, one is looking around to help and to connect with others. Many times we need others just as much or more than they need us.  The other lesson is to give your best and to give your all despite what others may say or think.  It's like the Mother Teresa poem to Do It Anyway, because it's never reall...

Today's sibling lesson comes from my twin brother, who is just 3 minutes older than me.  Growing up my brother was an adventurous daredevil, balanced by having a wealth of compassion for others.  My brother is a military veteran, a father, husband, and a friend.  He's the kind of person that like my father, will go out of his way to help and serve others. The thing that stands out a...

My third sister, whose #5 in the line of siblings has had such a big and powerful influence on my life it is hard to choose only a couple of lessons.  So, today I have chosen to speak about Laughter and Beauty.  Sometimes you hear things just at the time you need them or just at the time you are ready to really hear them, and they stick with you.  I remember in my twenties my sister...

My 5th sibling is my sister who is 6 years older than me.  She is compassionate, committed, opinionated, steadfast, loving, protective, loyal, a good friend.  She took me to the first high school football game I recall.  She was also a good student athlete. I have learned a lot from my sister, and my other siblings who really paved the way for me in many ways.  Today I want to...

Episode 3-229: Sibling Lessons - My second eldest sister has always had a bit of an independent streak.  And as a military wife of a chaplain and minister and a parent of three who has traveled around the world that is a a characteristic that has served her well. And as anyone knows who has made it into adulthood, there are many lessons to be learned on the path of independence.  I can r...

My second eldest sister is a genuine person.  When I was growing up she was the one you could count on to play board games, take the dogs for a walk, try something new, fun, and creative.  There is always laughter and good conversation when you spend time with my sister.  For as long as I can remember, she has  seemed to enjoy her work and has been a reliable and trustworthy em...

Episode 3-227: Sibling Lessons - My sister is a joyful person because she chooses to see the good in things.  She has taught me that it's important to enjoy the things that you have today, and to be hopeful for the future.  She also taught me about the ability to be a friend and the importance of friendship.  A few years ago we had an opportunity to surprise my sister on one of her...

Episode 3-226: Sibling Lessons - My Eldest Sister is the third of my siblings.  In high school she was a gymnast, a sport requiring focus, determination, and lots of practice continuing to get back up and try again. I also remember her working at a couple of fast food places while going to school.  I thought it was pretty cool that she worked at Orange Julius in mall.  She has also...

My second eldest brother is also a great example of diligence, the importance of diligence and the impact of diligence.  Staying the course can be challenging and it can also be rewarding.   My brother is a person of good character and conviction.  Being a person of character and conviction rarely wins you a popularity contest, especially when it is inconvenient for others. &nb...

My second oldest brother has now retired from a successful career in civil engineering.  From as early as I can remember, my second eldest brother has always been a deep thinker.  As a youngster he was accomplished in formal debating.  In addition to those things, my brother has always had a knack for looking at things a little differently than others, in addition to a person who en...

Yesterday I shared one lesson learned from my oldest brother and today I'd like to share another about him.  I think I was in about the first grade on this occasion occasion.  I recall it was mid-afternoon just after school.  It must have been early in the school year, if not the first day of school.  Anyway, I had come home very excited and was looking forward to talking with...

My eldest brother is a very talented, smart, funny, and personable guy.  He's 15 years older than me, so as a child I kind of hung on what he had to say and really looked up to him.  I recall he always made feel equal, even though I was so much younger than him.  On birthdays he always sent two birthday cards, one was funny and one was more sentimental. On Sundays, my brother was re...

Yesterday we talked about the importance and impact of having goals.  Today, let's spend a little time talking about where our goals come from.  Goals can many times come from our fears. We don't want to fail or let others down. Goals can come from our hopes. We have a picture of positive change for our futures.  Goals can come from our confidence. We have confidence in our ability...

It's important for us to have goals in all areas of our live.  Goals around how we want to treat others and how we want to influence others, are very important considerations.  We can choose to unintentionally repeat negative patterns. or we can intentionally choose to live the life of our dreams.  We must envision our goals in order to move toward them. #DOYOUHAVEACOUPLEOFMINUTES #...

Let's Talk About Giving From your Heart.  The short is we all have something to give and sometimes we are stopped by insecurities, wondering what others may think or how they might receive something.  Maybe we think something is not yet perfected enough to share.  Why not use our heart as the measure for sharing and giving.  Is what we have to offer coming from a good place, fr...

I'm often asked for my professional opinion or perspective.  And as far back as I can remember, I have been an observer of people, interactions, and processes.  Probably a good skill set to have when you are the youngest child in a large family!  Many times I make mental observations and have incorrectly assumed that others make those same "obvious" observations.  However, over...

Let's talk a little bit about focusing on the Outcome.  Outcomes are important, however, sometimes we can find ourselves more focused on the out put or an action versus the intended value that we should be bringing.  Let me give you an example.  There was an individual who worked in production and was very fast at his work.  He was so good, he was given a special project high p...