Many people try to avoid difficult situations. They say to themselves, “I think I’ll be kind to myself and take the easy way out. After all, the easy way out involves less effort, less hassle, less stress and it hurts no one.” In reality, taking the easy way out is actually not being kind…
I used to play on a co-ed softball team and I was, by far, the oldest person on the team. One night, as I was picking up a bat, Heather, who batted ahead of me said, “When I first started playing, people would say to me, ‘Keep the bat on your shoulder and try to…
A friend shared this quote with me at a recent meeting. It makes so much sense. If you don’t start, you can’t finish. If you don’t attempt, you can’t succeed. A philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” The same thing holds true for a journey of a…
Lady Gaga recently said that, “Kindness is showing love to someone else. I believe that kindness is the cure to violence and hatred around the world.” This being the case, kindness is not something that should be horded or conserved. Rather, kindness is something that should be spread with wild abandon like it’s confetti! Kind…
Listening I came across a Facebook post by a radio talk show host in Phoenix who recently fostered then adopted a six-year-old girl whom he refers to as “Sister” in his post. It reads: “When Sister was first placed with us she told us, ‘People say that I talk too much.’ And she seemed embarrassed…
Nicole Moran Proulx from Fleming Island, Florida posted the following on Facebook: “I evacuated from Florida to Georgia for Hurricane Irma. On my way back home, on the interstate in Georgia, I came upon a long line of power company bucket trucks. It took a minute to realize it was an unfamiliar logo on the…
One of my favorite places to shop is Costco Wholesale. The store nearest to my home opened nearly 30 years ago. What impresses me most about the place is that some of the employees who were working there the day this store opened are still there! Furthermore, they’re still smiling, greeting you with enthusiasm and…
Laurie Liss is a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines who spends a good portion of her life making people’s days. According to an article by Lorraine Bailey which appeared in Southwest: The Magazine, “Laurie gives handmade travel pillows to active military members and veterans. When she flies, she carries a dozen of them in her…
Make me feel important! Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, said many times, “Everyone has an invisible sign hanging around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important!’” What Mary Kay meant was that people have a very strong need to have their worth validated on a regular basis. She…
Competition Competitive behavior–making yourself look good at the expense of those around you–is poor preparation if you expect to move up in an organization. While stealing another person’s ideas or taking credit for someone else’s accomplishments may seem to move you along more quickly at the lowest levels of an organization, it won’t take you very…