Month: August 2025

ACCEPTANCE LEADS TO CHANGE

There is a very important lesson in this quote. That lesson is the need to be honest with yourself. If we fail to enact this first step, we will never succeed in our path to self-improvement. I am living proof. It was not until I became honest about who I was, and learned to accept it, that I could begin to improve on some of the areas I need to. That is why constructive criticism can be so helpful. Quite often, we simply do not know what we do not know. This is especially true about ourselves. It can be very difficult to hold up an honest mirror.

Accepting who we are is so important because it allows us to have a starting point. Think of a map. If you do not know where you are starting from, how do you know what path to take to get to where you want to go? Accepting yourself does not mean that you are satisfied, or not acknowledging that there are areas that need improvement. It means that you came to terms with who you are. You are no longer fighting against yourself. When we refuse to accept what we truly are, we are like that hamster in the the wheel. We can work as hard as we want, but we will not get anywhere.

Set aside some time for quiet reflection as to your true identity. If you are brave enough, seek help from a trusted and loving friend. Do not forget to show them compassion and understand that they are not hurting you by making you aware of some of your faults. Then, lovingly accept who you are. That is both the areas that are amazing as well as those that could use a little improvement. The sooner you do this, the quicker you can begin to improve yourself and your life.

A GOOD MOOD CAN BE TOUGH

In today’s world, staying in a good mood can be a struggle. On top of all of our daily stress, we have plenty of sources in media, and social media, bringing us the world’s stress. Just keeping our head above water can be a challenge.

Fortunately for us, there are a few steps listed above that can help us reduce our stress and increase our joy. If you need more, check out my first book, A Happy Life for Busy People. Available on Amazon.

5 simple steps. Sunlight, exercise, good food, gratitude and sleep. If you can develop habits to work these 5 items into your life, your stress will reduce and life will be so much more enjoyable.

TAKE TIME WHEN YOU NEED

It seems there is so much talk in the ‘hustle culture’ of giving 120% every day. While I am a proponent of hard work, which you could see from a few posts ago, there needs to be balance. I can see some of you ready to disagree.

Here is why I think the ‘grind until you drop’ mentality is flawed. When we push ourselves to failure, there are lots of possibilities mistakes to occur. The closer you get to burn out, the more likely this becomes. When you show up on the verge of collapse, you are more likely to say or treat someone harshly. This can cause damage that takes time, or may never, be healed.

Another reason is becoming disenfranchised. You will lose the drive and desire to achieve you goal. You will start to view it as something that drains you instead of drives you. This will slow or kill your progress all together.

Lastly, is the amount of healing time. If you pause before you burn out it will take a lot less time to heal than if you push to collapse. It may be easier to understand this concept if we think physically. If you catch and treat an injury early, the damage can be less and the healing can be done quicker. The same is true mentally and emotionally.

This is not permission for you to be lazy. There is a big difference between healthy self-care and sloth. I’m just saying catch your mental health early, make it a priority and act accordingly.

3 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL MONDAY ✨️

Life isn’t as complicated as we sometimes make it. Take Monday for example. Here we are. The start of the work week. Most of what makes Monday so dreadful is a the psychology. We begin to dread the day the night before. The end of our weekend. Back to the grind.

What if we took a few steps to make Monday a lot more successful? The photo above is a great start. Stay focused on your goals. In other words, think of the big picture. Maybe you have a vacation coming up in a few months? Maybe you are saving up for a gift for someone you love. Think of everything your job allows you to do.

Next is keeping a positive attitude. That can be made a lot easier by thinking of what your job allows you to do. Would we rather be able to make money sitting on the beach? Sure, but the next best thing is to earn money to take that beach vacation. Not to mention keeping the lights and power on until then.

Lastly is work hard. I’ve said it before. Hard work cures a lot of ills. When you work hard you have little time to waste on petty drama so many worry about. When you work hard you earn your sleep. Hard work builds character and self-confidence.

This Monday, focus on your goals, stay positive and work hard. Friday will be here before you know it!

A PARTY 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING!

This weekend, my beautiful lady threw me a birthday party for my 50th birthday. There were plenty of people, lots of great food and sadly a thunderstorm as well. Here is the crazy thing. Everyone was having such a great time the only picture I got was with my friend Jenny as seen above.

It was oddly refreshing that everyone was focused not only on staying dry, but on enjoying the moment. I was so grateful for all of the wonderful memories that were created. It is a day that I will keep in my heart as long as I live. I can’t wait to see what my 100th birthday party will be like. It is my sincere wish all the people who were at this one will be there too.

The amount of gratitude I feel for everyone who braved the storm to show me they care means more than I can convey. The conversations and connections are the greatest gifts! It is my sincere wish you are all so blessed as I was this weekend!

Special thanks to my beautiful lady and her daughter for making it all happen and giving me a day I’ll never forget!

YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT!

It would seem that far too many people are complaining about where they are in life without working to change it. Maybe it is having a year of isolation that has people forgetting they are not entitled to anything. You get what you earn in life. If you want more, or something better, the solution is simple – work harder.

Another important aspect to remember about this is entitlement leads to a lack of control. When you are waiting for the world to change for you, essentially you are putting control of your life in the world’s hands. The world, in this case, is everyone and everything else. Is that who you want controlling your life? Everyone and everything else? Not me! I want to control my own fate. Working hard and having ownership over your decisions and mistakes is what makes life yours.

I am not taking to you, I’m talking with you. I have been there. Complaining the world wasn’t fair. It often isn’t. Waiting for others or my situation to change. It never did. Do you know where that got me? Nowhere! It actually had me falling behind those who accepted life as it was and then worked to change themselves and improve for the better.

WHAT DID YOU FEEL?

What did you feel when you read the quote on this picture? Did it make you smile? It was just a simple greeting, but it warms the heart. Can you imagine how others would feel if you sent them a message like this?

In a world filled with divisive messages and fear and hate, why not send more messages like this? Each one is a little do of positivity. It might be just what someone needs to brighten their day. I encourage you to send out several cheerful greetings daily. See how people respond.

USE YOUR SCARS

It can be hard to go through the challenges in life. Right now where I live, there are people who have lost everything in the floods we have had recently. It can seem like there is no rain why we must go through what challenges us. Even in the worst of situations, there is a point.

I have never quite heard it this way, but I like the analogy. Our scars, be there physical or emotional, can be a guiding light to others. As we use them in this way, it also helps us heal. In my book, Living the Dream, I chronicle the stories of people who were the victims of different forms of abuse. They use their experience to help others with their healing journey.

No matter what challenge you are going through, or what scars life has left you with, you can use that to help others either avoid the same pain, or share how to make it through.

ONE OF OUR OWN 🏆

This is Tanya, a dear friend of Margie and me. She is currently in the city of Las Vegas at a singing championship. She was the winner of the state and now will be taking on the country. In our small group of friends, which can be more like a family, we cheer each other on.

Actually, it is more than that. When one of us wins, we all win. With Tanya‘s state championship, we were so proud it felt like we all won. To us, because she won it felt like a part of us did too. I know not only Margie and I, but her charming and talented husband Montel and all of our group will be cheering her on. When she finally returns it will be as a winner. This will be true no matter how the competition goes. For all of us, she will be our champion. We could not think of a better example of not only talent, but a great human being, to represent us!

When someone you care about achieves a great accomplishment, you should celebrate as if it was your own. When someone means a lot to you their wins should feel like a little bit of you won too. As far as Tanya is concerned, a little bit of all of us went to Las Vegas with her. We are proud of how far she has come and excited to see how far she will go!