Deb Sofield, Author at Deb Sofield

If you want to be successful, you must respect one rule

You would think that the admonition of If you want to be successful, you must respect one rule–never lie to yourself, would be a no-brainer, but we all know people who consciously (or subconsciously) lie to themselves about themselves. Or they lie about the most mundane matters or willfully choose not to see the truth because, frankly, it hurts when, due to life circumstances, change must happen. But remember, the lie that seems small and insignificant today may, over time, grow into a habit that can be damaging to your business, your friends, and maybe (not to be dramatic) your

Optimism Is a Happiness Magnet

I saw the quote from Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton that said, “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” Now, I will say the opposite is also true if you are a negative, the-world-is-against-me type of person. Guess what? If that’s how you are, the world will be against you. Why? Because you are making it hard to be around you. Yes, you are causing the few people who can abide you to find other options for dinner, the movies, or a day at the lake. We all

Change Your Life

For fun, this week, I used Google and asked, “How to change your life,” and lo and behold, you would not believe all the options that are just waiting for you and me to sign up and get going. Most of them had a multi-point plan for us to get going, and others just laid it on the line for what we should and shouldn’t be doing to change our lives. After I read through the multiple lists of options, I had to laugh because, although they all promised success in 429 easy steps, the fact is that none of

A Place Called Success

The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, and caution lights called Family. You will have flat tires called Jobs, but if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, and a driver called Willpower, you will make it to a place called Success. I came across this quote awhile back and have wanted to use it for some time, but the time never seemed right until now…because when you think about your ability to draw upon your determination, your perseverance,

Leaving a Life Imprint

Recently, I was at the beach for a quick vacation, and as I was sitting on the shore soaking up the sun, I was fascinated just watching the waves come in and go out, a little closer to me each time, until I had to move my beach chair back from the water onto higher sand or be soaked in the saltwater swirling around me. I couldn’t help but wonder and watch the power of the water on the shifting sands and then how, within a few hours, all the work of little hands that built sand castles all around

What’s On Your Life List?

Recently, I heard a speaker ask about a Life List vs. a Bucket List. It was an interesting thought because I know that for many of us, we have this imaginary (or written down) Bucket List of places we’d like to go, things we’d like to see, and experiences we’d like to have, yet, as we hope and pray and wish away the days and months and years, saving for our Bucket List, I’m curious if you have thought about your Life List. And tell me, how are you coming along with checking off that list for becoming the person

Don’t Give Up…Unless You Should

If you’re like me, you’ve heard the phrase often repeated by our parents, that we should “never, never, never, give up,” Quoting the great Winston Churchill. Well, although that sounds nice and good, the reality is sometimes you need to give up and find something else, do something else, or be something else, especially when the direction you’re going in is going nowhere. And the damage you are doing will last a lifetime if you don’t stop. So, not to be disrespectful to my elders, let me rephrase that quote to say, Don’t give up…unless you should. Why? Because, sometimes,

The Emotion of Greed

This is the last part in my series on Emotions That Are Causing You Great Harm, and I am going to finish with one emotion that is as dangerous as the one I started with. If you remember, the first one was anger because anger is a cancer to your soul and does great damage to others. So, I want to talk about one more emotion that can wreck your life, and that is greed. And that’s my theme for today. Let me do a quick rundown on the emotions I’ve spoken about in this series. I started the series

Start Wading

When I was a child, there was nothing I liked more than to wade into the cold creek and look for crawdads and frogs and other creek life. Then we started taking our summer vacation to Isle of Palms on the coast of South Carolina, and my creek became an ocean. Back then, the island was row upon row of summer beach homes (not the spectacular ones you see nowadays). Our beach bungalow was easily recognizable since we were very close to the “famous” island house called Tickled Pink, and yes, it was bright Pepto-Bismol pink. (My brothers would have

Author: Deb Sofield