Planning To Succeed

Planning To Succeed

“This is not a dress rehearsal,” our friend Nancy says. “This is the real thing.” And how right Nancy was. Life is not a dress rehearsal. All we have is the current moment. Our time is now. In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey tells us that time management is […]


Create A Place To Thrive

create a place to thrive

Funny how certain conversations stick with you. When I was 16-years-old I was visiting with a college professor whose children I babysat. He asked me about my college plans and the classes I was currently taking. I told him I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. “Ah,” he said, “you […]


Little By Little Does The Trick

little by little does the trick

Buckminster Fuller requested that this phrase be placed on his headstone: Call Me Trimtab. What is a trimtab you might ask? On a boat the trimtab is a small but vital part of the rudder mechanism. On an airplane the trimtab is an adjustable tab on the trailing edge of the elevator control surface that […]


Quiet Time Is Important

quiet time is important

Do Be Do Be Do. We get so busy doing that we neglect to stop and consider our being. A quote from Kurt Vonnegut reminds me of that innate human need to maintain balance between doing and being. “To be is to do – SocratesTo do is to be – SartreDo Be Do Be Do […]


Something Worth Growing

something worth growing

A few years ago I read in a book a description of a young man who finally saw himself as “a gift worth wrapping.” This young man’s life had been full of heartbreak and loss, with not much positive feedback about his strengths. His weaknesses, and there were many, were harped on by his guardians, […]


Knowing Who Your Child Is

knowing who your child is

Wouldn’t it be great if we had an internal compass to let us know what direction we were headed? Actually we are born with a tendency to attach positively to the people, objects, ideas and nature that surround us. Our preferences for interaction with our environment create our compass. Unfortunately, we can’t read this compass […]


Making It Happen

making it happen

One of the thinking traps we can fall into is believing that we will continue to grow without conscious thought or attention. As children our physical growth is automatic. We have little, if any, control over it. Granted, food and exercise contribute to physical growth, but as a child we have little input over those […]


Baby Steps

baby steps

One of my go-to comedies, a movie that never fails to make me laugh and always helps me have an attitude adjustment, is What About Bob? with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. The book, Baby Steps, figures prominently in the plot. Baby Steps outlines Dr. Leo Marvin’s (Dreyfuss) therapy to help his clients overcome their […]


Your Presence Is Your Present

your presence is your present

Do you ever worry about getting the “right” gift for the special people in your life? Let’s take a few minutes and make sure we are giving the gifts that can only come from the heart. The Present of Listening. How do we really listen? We turn off our cell phones, the television and the […]


Have Courage, Faith And Patience

courage faith patience

There are three attributes we need to strengthen in ourselves when working with children: Courage, Faith and Patience. Courage to know we are doing the right thing. Faith in knowing that by observing children involved in activity that they will reveal their true selves to us. And we must have patience to endure the inevitable […]