LIFE
Dominos Falling
That is what the last few days have seemed like. One thing after another with this Coronavirus. With each domino, our new reality becomes clearer. I watched Amanda unravel 6 months of hard work she had put in designing and organizing the Idaho Writers Conference set...
Little Changes
A week or so back from our most recent trip, I began to notice that while my daughters got ready for school, I’d have half-hearted conversations with them, but with my focus largely on my laptop. It didn’t sit well with me, so I don’t do that anymore. That laptop stays closed.
Response to Change
We all have people in our life that are notorious for being victims, blaming others for their hardships. “I didn’t get this; therefore, this why I’m…” “They didn’t do this, therefore, this why I’m…” They may be the extreme, but anyone can quickly become a victim when...
Adult(ish)
What we don’t realize as kids, however, is that the adults around us are constantly having to adapt the plans. Or sometimes the plans aren’t even really plans, they’re just events that come up. To a kid, it all seems so orchestrated.
The Price of Kindness
We all know someone who is kindness through and through. I’m sure you can think of a handful of people in your life who exude kindness 24/7. Half a dozen names come to my mind, both men and women, who are shining examples of what it is to be kind. It’s like kindness...
We’re Going to Camp
We signed two contracts for two retreats. The first contract we signed the day before we left and the second one on the DAY we left, right before heading to the airport. Some of our friends were surprised to learn that we booked two different venues. Why not simplify things and have everything at one place? But we have two different groups in mind. The first retreat will be for writers and the second for couples.
Do You Have a Young Reader
This morning my husband and I mentioned to our daughters how much less we see them reading these days. When it comes to our 12-year-old, the reason is clear. She’s addicted to screens. The girl who used to tear through a dozen giant novels per week has tapered off...
The Sweet Life Retreats
Advertising has never been my strong suit. I can create (books, presentations, retreats, you name it), but dear lord don’t ask me to sell it! In the coming months I’m going to have to change that – interact with people I don’t know (gasp!), and communicate the value of what we’ve created: an off-the-beaten-path, unique, luxury experience of a lifetime. This may not be my comfort zone, but I’ve also never been one to shy away from a challenge.
LEGACY
Inspiring Characters
We all have the ability to inspire others. It’s a superpower we all possess if we choose to use it. The late Kobe Bryant once said, “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do. To try and inspire...
Record Keeping
My daughters periodically ask me to tell them stories about themselves when they were younger. I have a few favorites, like when we came home from a camping trip and Ivy, having grown accustomed to peeing in the wild, dropped her pants to urinate on our front lawn.
Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying
With our daughters not having school or sports, we find ourselves having a lot more family movie nights. Sometimes we watch something funny, so we can all laugh. My oldest daughter typically campaigns to watch something with Dwayne Johnson, so we’ve seen a lot of his...
Exit the Road of Regret
Instead of staying on cruise control, I saw a dirt road that looked exciting, that wound back and forth up the side of a mountain. Hairpin turns? Yeah, those look treacherous. A pitch so steep that a goat can barely traverse it? Well, who doesn’t love a challenge?
My Mountain
It's frustrating to see someone experience massive results in a short period of time when the rest of us seem to take tiny steps up a decade long mountain. It's the first time authors who find themselves on the Bestseller list for months or years, and the real estate...
Who Are the Heroes in the Room?
Those heroes are going back to their work feeding the hungry, healing the abused, and caring for the most vulnerable people in our society. THAT is the truly amazing work. It’s the work of compassion and determination and a commitment to do the right thing when it would be so much easier to look the other way.
On Purpose
What is purpose? What does it mean to dedicate one’s life to a just cause? I immediately think of a detail from the movie The Professional. In the movie, before Jean Reno’s character gets entangled with Natalie Portman’s character, one really important part of the...
What Is ImpactClub?
By each giving $100, we pool our donations to $23,000. That amount of money can be a game changer for some of the amazing organizations doing good work in our community.
LIVELIHOOD
Work/Life Integration
This is a concept my wife and I have been working for many years, although we didn’t really know what to call it. Work/Life Balance is something we tried and often failed at because we are both so driven and hardworking that as a married couple with kids, it can...
Two Birds, One Stone
The rewards from certain tasks and activities are often naturally twofold. But I cringe when I see the “two birds, one stone” concept abused, when people shortchange the relationships in their lives because they’re too focused on that other bird that they’re also aiming for.
Fear and Perseverance
The ripple effects happening across the globe now are unprecedented. Today many parents are figuring out what to do with their kids; business owners are wondering how to navigate this severe and sudden change, jobs that once seemed secure are questionable. This virus...
On Work
Before I switched to writing full-time in 2012, one of my favorite jobs was cleaning houses. That’s not a job that most people would want, scrubbing other people’s toilets, but I loved it.
A Gift and A Curse
An entrepreneur, by nature, see’s opportunity wherever they go. This is me. When I travel, one of my favorite things to do as I enjoy time outside of the daily grind is to simply open my eyes to opportunity. Sure enough, every town, every restaurant, every beach my...
We’re Going to Camp
We signed two contracts for two retreats. The first contract we signed the day before we left and the second one on the DAY we left, right before heading to the airport. Some of our friends were surprised to learn that we booked two different venues. Why not simplify things and have everything at one place? But we have two different groups in mind. The first retreat will be for writers and the second for couples.
Doubt
When you don't have predictable income as an entrepreneur, doubt will f*ck with your mind. Doubt clouds our better judgment. Doubt is often the cause of many entrepreneurs who continue to chase after new and different shiny objects. Some entrepreneurs get bored...
All Figured Out
When you first come into adulthood, I there’s a tendency to think, “Yes, things change along the way. But NOW I have it all figured out.” Or, “I may not have it figured out now, but I will by the time I’m 25… or 30… or 40. Yes, 40 for sure.” There’s a certain freedom that comes along with realizing you’ll never have it all figured out. And that’s okay. You’re not supposed to.