Life lessons

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 […]

I like lists

I like lists because they keep me out of trouble – I’m not sure why because I don’t always follow what is written down, but maybe it is the process of writing it down and crossing it off that does my heart good. It feels like an accomplishment even if I was going to do it anyway – like get gas, go to the PO box, go to the store… Now, lest you think I don’t follow through, there are some days I start at the top of my list and work my way down to completion, but for the […]

Encouragement in these hard times

A while back, when I decided to change the core concept for my show–from Speak Without Fear to Encouragement for Your Life – I felt it was more in line with my heart’s desire to be an encouragement to others. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am still a 100% believer that your ability to speak and be heard is your best avenue to climb the ladder for personal and professional success, and I will always encourage you to develop your speaking ability because it truly is the one thing you can do to change your life. However, as I […]

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 […]

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, […]