Inspiration
Empowering stories and advice from our friends to keep you on the pathway to success.
- Why I’m Listening to My Aging Mother More...
“When an old person dies, a library burns to the ground.” ~African Proverb For most of my life, I thought aging was about bodies slowing down—hair turning white, memory fading, steps getting shorter. But caring for my ninety-six-year-old mother has changed that. I now see something deeper […]
- Break the Cycle: How to Heal the Patterns You...
“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” ~Native American Proverb For years, I blamed my parents for my anxiety, my defensiveness, and my need to be right. Then I learned they inherited the same patterns from their parents. And theirs before them. This […]
- Grieving the Parents You Needed but Never Had
“We can’t receive from others what they were never taught to give.” ~Unknown When I was younger, I believed that love meant being understood. I thought my parents would be there for me, emotionally and mentally. But love, I’ve learned, isn’t always expressed in the ways we need, and not […]
- How to Cope When Trauma Stole Your Childhood...
“It’s all right if you can’t remember. Our subconscious is spectacularly agile. Sometimes it knows when to take us away, as a kind of protection.” ~Kathleen Glasgow A couple of weeks ago, I found myself crying in the park. It was supposed to be just a typical summer day. I was enjoying my […]
- What If 2026 Could Actually Be Different?
I’ve never believed that change should be reserved for special days, but the New Year tends to carry a sense of promise. It often brings a surge of clarity, motivation, and hope that maybe things really could be different. And then, as January moves along, that initial energy fades. […]
- Why Listening Matters More Than Giving Advice (A...
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ~Stephen R. Covey I used to think running a barbershop was all about haircuts, schedules, and keeping clients happy. I measured success by the number of chairs filled, how quickly we moved through […]
- Learning to Feel Safe Resting After a Lifetime of...
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ~John Lubbock For years, I thought exhaustion was a sign I lived fully and did my best that […]
- The Gift of Being Single (More Joy, Less Fear)
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” ~Michel de Montaigne Some people fear spiders. Some fear public speaking. My biggest fear? That my plus-one will always be my own reflection. More and more people are finding themselves in the single life—not because […]
- How Menopause Exposed the Hidden Trauma I Spent...
“There is no way to be whole without first embracing our brokenness. Wounds transform us, if we let them.” ~Sue Monk Kidd Menopause flagged up everything unresolved, unmet, and unchallenged and asked me to meet it with grace. I’m not saying it was an overnight thing—more like a ten-year […]
- Learning to Be Seen After a Childhood Spent...
“The habits you created to survive will no longer serve you when it’s time to thrive.” ~Eboni Davis I learned early how to measure the danger in a room. With a narcissistic mother, the air could shift in an instant—her tone slicing through me, reminding me that my feelings had no place. […]
- 20 Calming Affirmations We Should All Say to...
Let’s cut to the chase today. What you ultimately do in life comes out of who you believe you are. You have to practice believing in yourself and ignoring the naysayers. Because while you may not be able to control the impolite things some people say and do, or the unfair things that sometimes […]
- 3 Fundamental Lessons Too Many of Us Learn Too...
“In elementary school my parents told me it didn’t matter what I did when I grew up, so long as it made me happy. ‘Happiness is the whole point of life,’ my father said. ‘But it doesn’t always come easy. Your mother loves to help people in need, so she became a psychiatric nurse. I
- 10 Choices in Life You Will Regret in 10 Years...
In the end, more than anything else, we regret the little things we wish we’d done differently. “If only…” Those two words paired together create one of the saddest phrases in the English language. Here are ten choices in life that ultimately lead to that phrase of regret, and how to avoid […]
- 7 Mindful Notes to Self We Should All Memorize...
Earlier today, I was sitting on a neighborhood park bench eating a sandwich when an elderly couple pulled their car up under a nearby oak tree. They rolled down the windows and turned up some jazz music on the radio. Then the man got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and
- 6 Essential Daily Habits that Will Change the...
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard Are you willing to spend a little time every day like most people won’t, so you can spend the better part of your life like most people can’t? Think about that question for a moment. Let it sink in.
- 10 Mindful Reasons to Let Go of Things Sooner...
The most powerful changes happen when we decide to take control of what we do have power over, instead of craving control over what we do not. Holding on is hard. Holding on contributes to stress, unhappiness, relationship issues, and so much more. Yet, as human beings, we cling desperately to […]
- 3 Thinking Habits that Often Drain 90 Percent of...
The goal is to change your response to what you can’t control — to gradually grow stronger on the inside, so less on the outside affects your inner peace and happiness without your conscious permission. The mind is the biggest battleground. It’s the place where the greatest conflict resides. […]
- 9 Mindful Rules for Turning Endings into New...
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. When you can no longer think of a reason to continue, you must mindfully think of a reason to start over. There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction. And there are three little words that can […]
- 8 Wake-Up Calls Everyone Needs to Receive in Life...
You have come a long way, and you’re still learning and growing. Be thankful for the lessons. Take them and make the best of things today. For my 18th birthday, many moons ago, my grandfather on my mom’s side gave me four lightly-used flannel shirts that he no longer needed. The shirts were […]
- 12 Sticky Notes We Should Read Each and Every...
It’s not what you say to everyone else that determines your life; it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the greatest power and influence. The best lessons we learn in life are the lessons we learn over and over again. The human mind needs lots of reminders — lots of practice — to […]
- 4 Effective Ways to Start Letting Go Before Life...
On the average day happiness is letting go of what you assume life is supposed to be like, and sincerely appreciating it for everything it is. Over the past 15 years, as Angel and I have gradually worked with hundreds of our course students, coaching clients, and live event attendees, we’ve come […]
- 10 Daily Habits that Often Drain 98 Percent of...
You ultimately become what you repeatedly do. If your daily habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you. Here are some fairly common and widespread examples of the latter that will drain all your joy if you let them: 1. Focusing on how life “should” be every step of the way. Try to use […]
- 10 Hard Things that Are Worth Doing for Yourself...
It always feels better to be exhausted from taking little steps forward, than it does to be tired of doing absolutely nothing. In 1911 two explorers, Amundsen and Scott, embarked on a race against each other to become the first known human being to set foot upon the southernmost point of Earth. It […]
- 5 Painfully Obvious Truths About Life We Always...
The truth does not cease to exist when it is forgotten or ignored. You know how you can hear or read something dozens of times in various ways before it finally sinks in? The truths listed below fall firmly into that category — timeless lessons that many of us probably learned years ago, and have
- 3 Daily Habits that Often Drain 98 Percent of Our...
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” As you age you will learn to value your time, genuine relationships, meaningful work, and peace of mind, much more. Little else will matter. Deep down you know that already, right? Yet on most days, just […]
- 8 Things You’ll Eventually Regret Not Letting...
You don’t realize how often you block your own present blessings by holding on to everything so tightly. It’s always necessary to accept when some part of your life has reached its inevitable end. Closing the door, completing the chapter, turning the page, etc. It doesn’t matter what you […]
- 5 Essential Things to Start Doing for Your...
Today, start by giving yourself grace and remembering not to judge yourself for how long your journey is taking. We all need our own time to travel our own distance. Every step is necessary, and everyone journeys in their own way… Some people start their careers right out of college in their […]
- 40 Quotes for Calming the Mind Effectively When...
It happens to all of us gradually as we live and grow. We discover more about who we are and the way life is, and then we realize there are some changes we need to make. The lifestyle we’ve been living no longer fits. The environments and relationships we once found comfort in no longer
- 10 Sticky Notes We Should All Memorize Before...
Where you ultimately end up greatly depends on your daily attitude and response. This morning one of our clients, Monica — a victim of a fairly recent and debilitating car accident — was smiling from ear to ear the minute our FaceTime coaching session began. “What has you in such good spirits […]
- 10 Heavy Things We Always Wait Way Too Long to...
We don’t realize how often we hold ourselves back by holding on to everything. Letting go is not giving up. Letting go is surrendering any needless attachments to particular outcomes and situations. Surrender means showing up in your life with the intention to be your best, and to do the best you […]
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