Hopes and Dreams

Living Life with Joy

I had a tremendous response to last week’s show that I called “To Life.” It was in memory and honor of a dear friend who passed away recently, but I didn’t want to focus on death. I wanted to remind you, dear listener, that you should live your life to the fullest every day. And I believe for that to happen, many of you who are listening by radio or podcast or reading my blog need to Unloose yourself from the rules and expectations of others who steal your joy and make your life unpleasant. Today, I want to continue […]

To Life

As I walked into his room, he was quiet for a moment, with raspy, heavy breathing, lying there on the bed. All of a sudden, he started reaching up to the ceiling as if to pick apples from a tree, one by one, and bring them to earth (or, in this case, his bed). Apple picking—that is what the Hospice nurse said he was doing. They say that at the end of life, many times, people will reach up and pull down something from thin air that they seem to be able to see. As I watched my friend seriously […]

The Power of One

Someone recently asked me – why do you always talk about living your best life ever– why not talk about living with the hand that you’ve been dealt… I answered… well you’ve been doing that for years now – how’s it working out for you…to which they grumbled and walked away. It is a conscious effort on my part to push you – my listening audience to see beyond your current situation… I’ve been described as a motivational teacher and not just a motivational speaker because every week I work to have actionable items that you can use today to […]

Two Things to Remember in Life

As I was preparing for this week’s show, I came across a quote that I had written down a while back, and it goes like this, “Two things to remember in life. Take care of your thoughts when you are alone, and take care of your words when you are with people.” And this is my theme for today. As a coach, I find that many good people struggle with the thoughts they have about themselves, their abilities, their intelligence, their body image, and their self-worth. And, although I usually don’t dive too deep with them on these issues, I […]

Let Go or Be Dragged

I’d like to take my thought from last week about givers and takers (Givers Need to Set Limits because Takers Never Do) and go one step further and encourage you to start on a more level emotional life path, and here’s my thought for this week–some of you need to let go, or you’ll be dragged. Seems simple enough to let go, but–oh my–how many times have you given someone just one more chance? In reality, it is their 54th chance, but it’s not like you’re counting or anything. And you–by constantly caving into their emotional outburst or hurtful words […]

Don’t Stop Dreaming Just Because You Had a Nightmare

Don’t Stop Dreaming Just Because You Had a Nightmare! There is nothing so sad in life as someone who has given up on their dreams because of a nightmare someone put them through at some point in their life, and the damage seems to have doused their future for the rest of their life. Due to the lingering pain or agony of memories or the visual reminder of the scars that people carry, many good people choose to just drift along for the rest of their lives. They just plod along, remembering, retelling, and reliving their past instead of putting […]

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 […]

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 […]