• Blog,  Confidence,  Lifelong Learning,  vision

    “The Road Less Traveled” – Redeemed Beginnings

      How it seemed like Robert Frost was talking about me in his famous quote “Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”  When I studied this quote in school, of course I didn’t realize the full impact that it would have on my life, until now. My choices and decisions, both good and bad, my circumstances, not always chosen by me, and divine protection and interaction has brought me to this place I now stand. For some strange reason, I am compelled to share my journey and celebrate each milestone as I see it…

  • Blog,  Intention Setting,  Lifelong Learning,  vision

    Faith, Hope and Intentions – You Can Move Forward

    Have you ever felt like you were wandering on a path and had a hard time choosing which path to put your feet on? With the age of electronics and immediate news, life gets so messy and distracting, as I wonder what is going on in the world and what is going to happen. My search for what my intentions began a bit ago, when I was hit with the pandemic and forced to work from home, just like you. What were my dreams? How could I fit faith and hope into what I wanted to achieve. I began to reexamine my goals and intentions and tried to figure out…

  • Blog,  Lifelong Learning,  vision

    Change Your Plastic World

    As I watch the rain from my office, the field next door slowly fills up. The vineyards act as a retention pond and somehow it all kind of works out. The vines stay dormant during winter, and when spring and summer arrives, they continue to grow. There is a sort of balance in the ecological cycle. When nature is left alone, most of the time things equalize and figure things out. Unfortunately, man gets involved, many times we throw things off balance. A subject near and dear to my heart is all the plastic in the world today and how it has taken over the headlines. The plastic island the size…

  • Blog,  Business,  Confidence

    Change Self-Doubt To Self-Confidence

    One of the hardest things that some people ever do is transform themselves from a person full of self-doubt to a self-assured or self-confident person that believes in themselves. But, the truth is that no matter where you are in life right now, no matter how many mistakes you’ve made, opportunities you’ve passed up, or what’s happened to you in life, you can change your self-doubt to having self-confidence and start believing in yourself. This is true even if you had a poor upbringing and even if you’ve never believed in yourself before. It’s within your power, and it will change your life completely. As a child, I remember being teased…

  • Blog

    Communicate Like You Mean It

    Communication is the most important aspect of being human. Being able to express yourself authentically to others in a public or private setting helps us connect and create relationships. Knowing what you want to and need to say is half the battle and being able to communicate like you mean it gets the point you are trying to make is the other half. Clear Communication I want to share an article with you that Connie Ragen Green wrote on the topic of communication. It’s called “Clear Communication – Can You Hear Me Now?” “Clear communication is at the root of every human interaction. It’s about listening to others and hearing…

  • Blog

    Team Work Makes Dreams Work

    Team Work Makes Dreams Work

    Building effective teams that work together well and impact the goal and each other positively doesn’t just happen without a plan. Teams need certain tools, strategies, and tactics to help them avoid missing deadlines, experiencing interpersonal conflict, and more. When you understand what teams need to work together effectively, you can set your teams up for success and you will begin to see that team work makes dreams work. Recently, I had the opportunity to check off one of my bucket list items. Little did I know that in order to achieve this dream a team was needed. I figured I would show up, brace myself and up, up and…

  • Blog

    Positive Self-Talk Can Reduce Stress

    On a typical day, my mind fills with thoughts as I begin debating how things are going wrong or that they may go wrong. That internal voice can be your greatest enemy or cheerleader.  Depending on which voice we listen to, our day can go one of two directions, stress-free or full of stress. If we focus on positive self-talk we can reduce stress in our lives. Fight of Two Wolves Many of us have heard the story of the Fight of Two Wolves that the grandfather tells his grandson. To refresh your memory, here it is again: An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life: “A fight is…

  • Blog,  Business

    Living in Integrity …The 4-Way Test in Rotary

    When you think of being “of or in integrity”, what comes to mind? First, let’s define what this word means, and the concepts that are embraced… Integrity can be defined as aligning your conduct with what you know to be excellent. A person of integrity displays a principled dedication to values and beliefs. They always seek to reflect ethical standards and do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. I have always had a desire to do the right thing when no one was looking but “Living in Integrity” has not always been on my radar nor in my vocabulary. This last year at the urging of my mentor, I…

  • Blog

    Maybe It’s Good, Maybe It’s Bad – A New Perspective

    We have all heard the saying, “Maybe It’s Good, Maybe It’s Bad”. It is a Chinese fable that shows while we are in the middle of the story, we don’t know if things that happen are good or bad until we get to the end of the story. Well, I felt like I had lost my mind quite a while ago. The mind is just gray matter, and is hidden under the skull. The amazing thing is the gray matter runs our lives, emotions and thoughts. When your arm is broken, you get a cast and everyone acknowledges you are hurt. They may even sign your cast. When your mind…

  • Blog

    Discover the Leader Within You

    The question of the ages is whether you’re born a leader or if you can become a leader with the right training. The quick and true answer is that the skills needed for good leadership are borne from education, experience, and access to information, along with a willingness to improve. If that describes you, you can discover the leader within you. Personally, I never thought of myself as a leader until I began having children and homeschooling. In 1999, I remember the day I decided to pull my kids out of the local school and bring them home. Without any training, I became their teacher, music director, referee and school…