America is still a Land of Opportunity

The Arizona Republic recently published a feature article about Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema written by Rebekah L. Sanders.  Ms. Sinema’s story is truly amazing. She was born in Tucson, AZ. When she was still a child, her parents divorced and her mother moved the family to Florida. For several years they were so poor that…

Kindness can turn you into a Celebrity

A recent article by Kaila White, which appeared in The Arizona Republic, featured a very special dining hall cashier at the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University named Vicke Davis. According to the article, everyone knows her and loves her because she cares about the students who eat there. She knows their names, what…

You Never Know When a Kind Person May Appear

​This past Sunday, I was walking through the produce department at the Sprouts Farmers Market near my home when I overheard a conversation between a father and his preteen son. The boy asked his father, “What does a mango taste like?” The father, obviously trying to blow his son off said, “Like a mango.” The…

Life Advice from Mother Teresa

The Arizona Republic recently ran an Op-Ed piece about Mother Teresa. The article pointed out that The Vatican recently announced that Mother Teresa, who put together a home for the dying in the slums of Calcutta, will likely be canonized into sainthood in September. The article also pointed out that in 1979 she was awarded…

A Caring Christmas Story for This New Year

Two days before Christmas, I was grocery shopping at the Sprouts Farmers Market near my home. As I was standing in the checkout line, I noticed that the woman ahead of me was buying a large standing rib roast, a turkey, a ham and lots of potatoes. As it turned out, she had three friends…

Five Simple Rules to be Happy

Someone recently made a post on Facebook about a wonderful elderly woman with an incredible attitude. The end of the post listed this woman’s “five simple rules to be happy.” These rules are so succinct and dead-on that I felt compelled to share them with you. Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from…

A Welcome Gift that everyone can give every Day

Being kind to others does not receive nearly the credit it deserves when it comes to making us happy. The truth is that it’s impossible to be truly happy if you aren’t kind to others. As Harold Kushner put it,” When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is…

Phrases that Could Tarnish Your Image at Work

​Beth Braccio Hering of CareerBuilder wrote an article titled, “Loose Lips Might Lose a Job,” which recently appeared in The Arizona Republic. In her article she listed several phrases that could potentially damage your career because they make you come across as anything but a team player. Some of these phrases are: I can’t take…

Serving Others helps keep us Younger

Art Fettig, an 85 year old American author, speaker, song writer, poet and playwright, made an eloquent comment on my Reminder from two weeks ago about the 74 year old coach that set aside retirement to make a difference. It resonated so strongly with me that I’d like to share it with you. He said,…