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Simple Thoughts Sunday: A spiritual retreat may be just what you need

(Photo Creds: My dear friend Deb lives in this beautiful part of our country – Idaho)

Deb posted this photo last week. It’s her daily view, and it’s stunning. It is usually by water that I hear the most from God, but I believe we can hear from Him anywhere really. In fact, right now, I’m having a “spiritual retreat” day and I’m simply sitting outside on my deck. It’s a fabulous summer Saturday and I’m open to hearing from Him on all manner of things from my boys and family/friends, to my career; finances and dreams – the list goes on.

Today’s “simple thought” is that there is great power in taking time to reflect and listen. There is even greater power in finding rest so that we can be fully present. In fact, in the Old Testament story of Elijah in 1 Kings, he goes up to Mount Horne/Sinai and seeks God. There, away from the distractions, he is able to hear from God. It’s an inspiring story and offers us important guidance.

I’m not sure about you today, but I need to hear from God. What are his plans for me? How do I serve the best I can and honor this life He’s given to me? Those are big questions. Over the years, I have learned the absolute power of getting away and seeking Him. There are a few sources that I’ve found which I’d be happy to share if you are interested in having your own “personal retreat.”

Have an amazing week my friends.

An accelerating world continued: INVENTING OUR LIVES

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I hope you are good with my continued focus this week on maximizing our summer (especially for the younger generations) by understanding and hopefully creating an action plan to go “deeper” in your knowledge of how our world is ACCELERATING.

Of course the quote above would stop me in my tracks. Grab the highlighter and send texts simultaneously to the kids… We have to get in the mindset of INVENTION. I would say even my generation needs to grasp this sooner rather than later. It’s not too late… in fact, it’s RIGHT ON TIME.

Here’s the thing: you need a plan to succeed. If you have younger folks in your life, even if you don’t wish to “jump in,” you need to do it for them.

To truly understand the driving forces and and help them design that “plan.” By the way, the “plan” will be short lived, because for this generation, the pace of change is so fast that they will have to recreate (INVENT) themselves via learning multiple times in their lives.

“Like everything else in the age of accelerations, securing and holding a job requires DYNAMIC STABILITY – you need to keep pedaling all the time,” says Friedman. “Within the next decade the digital divide will disappear (meaning literally everyone in the world will have access to the internet and cloud, i.e. a WORLD OF EDUCATION AT THEIR FINGER TIPS…). And when that happens, only one divide will matter, says Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future, and that is, ‘MOTIVATIONAL DIVIDE.'”

So there you have it. The future pretty much belongs to those that will JUMP IN and take ADVANTAGE of the world that is literally available to them. What a great OPPORTUNITY WE ALL HAVE TO embrace the CHANGES. Sure, days at the pool, throwing rocks in the pond, and hangin’ with your besties are still critical. I’ll always be one that says we learn so much from the people we surround our selves with. However, this is a world that Mr. Friedman helped open my eyes to over the last few days. I hope this helps IGNITE some of you to begin to go further in understanding and truly make this SUMMER COUNT for you and your families and friends.  Let’s all get to INVENTING… and let’s make it FUN.

The power to CHOOSE

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

Today’s post is a simple reminder: We have the power to CHOOSE.

Choose a chaotic or calm approach? How do I really want my home and life to feel? To look?

Choose to MAKE this a terrific summer, or choose for your days to be the same?

Choose to CREATE a plan to MAKE A DIFFERENCE, or not?

Choose to TAKE ACTION on your dreams and plans… To save for that great trip, or keep stripping away funds via Starbucks runs and too much frivolous spending…

Choose to LOOK UP & SMILE MORE, ENJOY the BEAUTY or walk around with your head down looking at your latest text, Insta post or Facebook feed?

It’s just a reminder that you get to CHOOSE. I love that… I need to CHOOSE better some moments and some days.

Top books for the first part of 2017!

Whew! The first four months of 2017 have been a whirlwind and I can’t believe I’ve had time to read at all frankly.

Thankfully I love to read and find that I learn the most about living well and about leadership from some great authors and teachers. As many of you know, I like to share some of those top “reads” along the way. The picture is ALMOST all of them. There were two I gave to others to read (Seven Mile Miracle by Steven Furtick and The Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs). There are also a couple that I bought multiple copies of to gift to others (Own It and The School of Greatness)… They were that good.

Please let me know if you read something I need to grab! Summer is coming soon and hopefully there will be time to take on something new and different. (I usually read one or two fiction books per year and summer is a good time for getting lost in a great story.)

Here are a few of my favorites:

  • All Tim Ferriss books: Tools of Titans, The 4-hour Chef, The 4-Hour body… As you might notice in the picture, his books are the big ones at the bottom. Frankly, he has a lot of great content. But better yet, he knows that content draws individuals in differently and that the ideas aren’t necessarily for everyone. He points this out off of the top and encourages the reader to find the areas that are valuable for them. One of my favorite quotes from the book: “Asking the right dumb questions is often the smartest thing you can do.”  – Alex Blumberg.The encouragement to ask the question everyone wants to ask, but it seems to basic, is called out by one of America’s great entrepreneurs.
  • Own It, Sallie Krawcheck… As mentioned above, I bought multiple copies of this. It may at first seem like a book for just women, but honestly if I were a male leader I’d put it at the top of my list. It’s really just solid advice and offers some great stories to drive them home. The primary message is about finding your purpose in your work. I thought this part was great on the topic of assessing risk as a leader: “When I was running Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch, I made sure that I assessed risk every day. When I was in meetings, I would ask again and again, “What’s the ‘everybody knows ‘ risks? What’s the risk we’re not seeing because we are too to it?”Whether you are a parent, a new grad, a physician or anything else, this is what I call key learnings… We must get really good at this.
  • The School of Greatness, Lewis Howes… If you are a motivation junky go grab this now. If you need to learn some basics on what will help drive you to success, go grab this now. And if you want to diversify your thinking with a contemporary leader who I have no doubt will eventually compete with the Zig Ziglars of my time, then grab this now.Lewis is a good one to follow on Instagram as well, @lewishowes. He was briefly a professional athlete and while sidelined from his dreams, he has not let that defeat him, but rather accelerate his potential. Here’s a part I thought you might like: “GROUNDING: Before I do pretty much anything in life, I like to have what I can a “grounding” moment. I originally experienced this process in sports. Before every game, the coach would prepare us for the battle ahead by getting our thoughts together and putting us in the right frame of mind. I call it getting grounded. This is where I commit myself to my vision, get connected to who I am, and focus on what I’m intending to create in that moment.”

    Good, huh?

  • GRIT, Angela Duckworth… Such a terrific book. This should be on everyone’s required reading before they launch into college. Angela Duckworth is a “pioneering psychologist” who helps crack the code for outstanding achievement by a focus on passion and persistence, aka “GRIT.” A fun excerpt:”There’s an old Japanese saying:  Fall seven, rise eight.  If I were ever to get a tattoo, I’d get these four simple words indelibly inked. GRIT depends on different kinds of hope. It rests on the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future. ‘I have a feeling tomorrow will be better’ is different that ‘I resolve to make tomorrow better.’ The hope that GRITTY people have has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with getting up again.
  • Unshakeable, Tony Robbins with Peter Mallory… (A Kansas City boy!) This is a book that requires ACTION on our part. If you have been following social media, you may know that Tony Robbins – a well-known motivational speaker – is on a campaign to make America smarter and richer. This is his second book in recent years on the topic, and in this one he partners with Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning, who helps us with the topics of risk, fees and in general how to maximize our retirement and savings. There are a lot of good actionable steps that you will want to use… This will give you a good idea:Whether you are a business owner or an employee, you can see how your company’s 401K plan stacks up by using his free online Fee Checker tool. It will analyze your plan and calculate within seconds how much you’re being charged in fees.

The others were terrific as well, but I like to keep those posts short and this one already exceeds my norm. Again, I’d love to hear what you have been reading!

 

Simple Thoughts Sunday: A simple step of faith = power

(Photo Creds: My own from Heritage Dog Park, April, 2017)

I hope you will appreciate this sweet photo. I took my new puppy and her big sister to the dog park this week and let’s just say that “Waffles,” AKA the new second in command at the house, HAS A LOT OF FAITH.

We could all learn a bit from her BOLD STEPS OF FAITH. She thought nothing of stumbling down a three-foot ledge to get in some mucky water on a spring day… It was clear by her face, that she fell in the same camp as me in not knowing if she would sink or swim. Thankfully she clawed herself out and hit the path again, ready for the next adventure. WHEW! (The idea of a life-saving swim on this chilly spring day was not what I had in mind!)

Her FAITH, like the pure curiosity of a child allows her to experience all that life has to offer in her little world right now. (Matthew 8:3 tells us this importance of having this “child-like” faith, right?) Oh how fun that is to watch in puppies and children.

This weekend I attended Carver Bible’s Women’s Conference and Chrystal Evans Hurst, spoke about the importance of taking ONE SMALL STEP OF OBEDIENCE. When we are able to do this, God will show us the next step, and the next step, and slowly but surely we WILL FIND OUR PATH BLESSED because we are following his guidance and direction for our lives. Sounds simple, but most of us know that listening for this “still, small voice” can be challenging in a world of distractions. Her encouragement was to make getting “quiet” and in a place where we can hear these a top priority.

My prayer for you as we go into this last week of April, is that you will make the time to listen, and follow the steps that you are destined to take and achieve ALL THAT GOD has prepared for your ONE LIFE.

What a beautiful day!

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

REWIND: This post is from 2016. Enjoy your day!

Easter is an incredible holiday.

The Bible verse in this photo is my favorite and a perfect “simple thought” for Sunday. I love to remember that Jesus came to serve and save. The action has the opportunity to center us around a common purpose. I believe he wants us to serve others in the same spirit, every chance we get. We are in fact called to do so!

Let us pray today that our country will come together and unify around the idea of service and love for one another – ALL OTHERS.

Happy Easter my friends!

Rewind: 3 ideas to get your thoughts rolling

(Photo Creds – Pinterest: The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts)

Throwing it back to a post from 2016 that feels a little extra relevant as we toss around this idea of “ideas” this week. Enjoy, my friends!

Building starts with a a great plan. A blueprint for something new, that the world hasn’t experienced before. Whether a home or the life of your child, it’s a strong plan that makes the finished product beautiful. True, sometimes, things “just happen” and it works out pretty good, like a new recipe, but good cooks (and even semi-okay ones like me… on a good day) will tell you that following a good recipe almost ensures success.

We all want to build something significant. Usually that is a significant life to start with. How do we do that? Here are three simple thoughts to get you started today!

  1. Wise counselors – In the first place, we need solid mentors, teachers and advisers to help build the plan. If you are building a house, seeking out an experienced architect and a reputable builder, is critical. It helps to find folks who have been around the block a few times and can speak with wisdom. It also helps to find those that care about you and want your success. Sometimes this can be harder than you think for some reason, but definitely seek people out. We need each other desperately.
  2. Invest your time and your mind – This one I think is huge. We all say we want to do something meaningful- make our communities better, etc, but don’t take the time to read, study, understand and truly make decisions and plans that helps us to do that. This pre-election period has been a great reminder of what happens when we don’t invest our time and become educated on critical topics…
  3. Take action – Don’t wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is never promised, at least our on earth tomorrow. We can accomplish so much if we take the full span of time we are given and ACTIVATE those IDEAS that are rolling around in our minds. Today is THE PERFECT DAY TO START!

Bringing home the language of a strong manager

(Quote in part taken from a tweet from @ValaAfshar)

The original thought on this was the language of a strong manager. That’s true, I think a good leader definitely uses these simple but not always easy statements during a normal week. I have also learned over time that these are true for parents and friends and possibly others I haven’t considered yet. Let’s break it down:

  1. I am proud of you. Pretty straightforward? When is the last time you heard this from your leader? When is the last time if you are a parent you shared this with your children, toddlers to adults? (Shout out to my mom, who just told me that this week.) Lastly, a friend? “Friends are the family we choose,” right? If that’s true, then keep in mind that some friends don’t have family, and you may be the only person that can remind them how they impact you and our world.
  2. I trust our team. This is a little more complex. I do agree a “team” needs to be reminded that the core of a team is trust in one another. Trust built over time and the knowledge that we are in this together can propel teams to heights they never thought possible. I’ve seen that in action many times. This one may not hold as true for a group of friends, but it sure does for family: “I trust that we will get through this stronger, I trust that we are going to create a environment of love and respect in our home.” I don’t know about you, but I think this one needs to be played out more often.
  3. What do you think? Seems pretty obvious to me. I mean, we ask each other if others like our hair, our outfit, our project, etc. Do we think to ask our kids, mom, aunt, friend, what they think about our decisions? Do we include those that may hold us accountable? A favorite quote: “Cater to my success, not my ego,” can likely show up in this conversation. Who do we need to ask this question on something more challenging that might help us achieve the next level of success or happiness?
  4. How can I help? This one probably happens more at home and with our friends. But at work, how often we ask our co-workers how we might ease their load is something to consider.
  5. I was wrong. I am sorry. I have heard others actually say they wouldn’t apologize to their kids. They “are the parent” after all. While that might be true, I personally believe we as parents need to apologize when we show a behavior that we don’t really want our children employing in their lives. Think: raising your voice, walking away from a difficult conversation versus dealing with it directly, etc. This one is HUGE. It’s of course important in every aspect of life, but I think remembering to show our children we are human (at all ages) is important and will result in healthier conversations and families. That’s one perspective at least.

Anything missing? I’m all about getting better, one small step at a time!

Thank you, Dr. King

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

Please don’t dismiss this week’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you are a news junkie, no doubt it has been front and center (along with football playoffs and ice storms) the last few days. Many people these days are not watching the news, instead gravitating toward anything “but” the often-negative stories that flood into our homes.

For this week, it is worthwhile to take in the story of his life… again.

If you’d like a simple place, use this.

Also, the “I have a dream” video is worth your 5 minutes.

My friend Gretchen who substitute teaches (lucky kids) told me that she asked her class the other day who today’s heros are. The collective group couldn’t really come up with any. Maybe some sport heros thrown in, but overall, the exercise provided pause that left everyone asking who does deserve this title today? Who is doing work that addresses the big issues?

Thankfully there are a LOT of heros in our world. Many quietly, and some more noteworthy, who are spending their days working on those big issues. On the other hand, there is always room for more… those stand-outs that can GALVANIZE our country. People like Dr. King who sacrifice their lives for the good of man and society.

The quote above is my favorite of King’s. It resonates with me and I hope it does with you. What issues have we been silent about? The definition of silence meaning that you haven’t really done anything to share your concern and take action to help improve the situation. This could be as easy as walking by litter in your own neighborhood, or as complex as taking on the hate that impacts our world.

 (A shout out to my friend Mindy Corporon and family who are working toward improvement in this area via their foundation and their annual week long event bringing awareness to these issues.) 

Whatever the issue is that you have a passion for, please don’t be silent. It’s a new year and I’m often glad Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is celebrated this month, because this is a month to LAUNCH – to kick off or renew a commitment to what is important in our lives. (If you don’t have anything that stands out, please join Mindy and team.)

While you are at it, if you have children in your life that you can inspire, encourage them this week to identify those issues and begin to step forward as a leader to truly impact our world for the positive. I’m confident that today’s youth have what it takes to continue to make America the greatest country in the world.

#dontbesilent #thankyoudrking

Why I do the Daniel Fast every January….

(Photo Creds: We Heart It. One of my all time favorite activities was going dogsledding in Colorado. It is not only beautiful but watching the dogs do what they love is incredible. I want to have the energy to pull through and achieve my 2017 purpose, which is why this photo appealed to me so much! If you make it out to Colorado or anywhere where there is snow this winter, please try to find somewhere to dog sled…it’s an incredible adventure.)

I started out on Sunday with the “paths” that God may take us down this year… knowing fully that “whatever” they may be that we are covered. He is with us and surrounding us at all times with just who and what we need to not just survive, but to serve well.

About 5 years ago, I became friends with a group of wonderful people that introduced me to the Daniel Fast. Now, before you freak out and think I am not eating at all, please be assured, I AM and if you join me, you will actually enjoy it! (That was for you mom.)

The Daniel Fast is focused on the Old Testament scripture where Daniel refuses to eat the “rich food and wine” and despite that, he and his friends end up healthier and stronger than their fellow soldiers. The idea is that we should turn our focus to eating primarily plant based foods (no sugar, white flours, dairy nor meat) for 21 days and, at the same time, our attention should be on hearing what God may have in store for us. I do this every January usually from the 1-21st. There are many that do this starting the 8th, so it’s really just like anything else, a personal decision.

So why did this intrigue me and why might you want to consider it? Since I’ve trialed it for you and many ask me over the year, I thought it may be a worthwhile blog topic. Here’s the main reason:

The fast allows me to REFOCUS and, at the same time, RESET my physical health.

  • REFOCUS: By turning off social media for the most part and my attention on books, podcasts and other opportunities to learn and grow personally, I am able to remove the distractions that limit me from being my personal best.
  • RESET: You may be one of those people that eat healthy 24/7, 365 days a year, but I’m not. I try to go for the 85/15 rule, but it’s probably closer to 70/30 and that may be generous. This fast removes anything bad and allows my body to have time to recover and reset. Over the pasts 5 years I have given up any soda and sweetened tea or coffee and have a much higher knowledge and palette when it comes to sugar in general. It is truly amazing how much sugar is in everything. This RESET is AWESOME and the best thing I do all year for my mental and physical health. (As a side note, there have been a few years that I have done this again midway through the year… it’s just that good.)

For those of you who want more information, by all means please message me. There are books, blogs, websites, pinterest, etc. that offer us recipes and other inspiration focused on the Daniel Fast. A simple Google search goes a long way!

I’d love to hear any stories you all may want to share, and also if you do something like the Daniel Fast, please let us all know!