The Carpenter Challenge Picture a builder hiring a new framing carpenter to help construct his new homes. The first day on the job, the new carpenter shows up without a tool belt . . . and without any tools . . . and asks, “Where do I begin?” How much progress do you think would … Continue reading the sky is the limit! →

Keep Your Eyes On Your Desk! Watch young children on the playground and you will notice them trying to duplicate each other. One hangs upside down on the monkey bars, and soon everyone is doing the same. Teens behave the same way;  one tries an extreme hair color or social media challenge, and soon their … Continue reading Do you stand out in a crowd? →

Here’s an Underused Solution if You Work From Home… If you’ve been hoping to buy a home, you’re probably well aware that prices (and competition) for places to live have both been steep for quite some time in many areas. And even though mortgage rates have risen in the past year, a drastic drop in … Continue reading Frustrated By High Home Prices →

Be a Hero Are you one of those people that other people always come to with their problems? It’s easy to become frustrated when your day is interrupted by a crisis you didn’t know existed until now. There are a couple of “attitude adjustments” that might help you cope when you don’t feel like rescuing … Continue reading What You Put Out Will Come Back! →

Honoring Labor Day Summer seems to have passed in the blink of an eye, soon making way for autumn festivities and the joys of pumpkin carving. But before we bid adieu to summer, let’s pause and reflect on the significance of Labor Day before we embrace the seasonal shift. Labor Day, observed on the first … Continue reading Honoring Labor Day →

Age Doesn’t Matter Whether you’re 23, 43, or 73, ask yourself this wonderfully refreshing question: “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Regardless of our age, it’s so easy to lose sight of the specific “somebody” we always wanted to be. What’s more, the “somebody” we had in mind in our 20’s … Continue reading Age Doesn’t Matter →

Expecting the Unexpected Weddings. Graduations. Birthdays. Holidays. An endless list of important occasions. We all have major events in our lives and others’ lives in which we participate. We and people close to us have sometimes exerted tremendous effort organizing celebrations with the intention that everyone involved will enjoy themselves. In other words, we are […]

Back to school! Turns out the children are listening, too.The question is, what are they learning and what are we teaching? No matter whom we interact with, we should all take some time to reflect upon how our practices are matching up to our ethics and beliefs. We all have the potential to produce a … Continue reading Back to school! →

Focus on the Negative From Wellsprings of Wisdom: Fascinating Stories and Parables that Guide and Inspire by Ralph Louis Woods comes this thought-provoking story: “A successful businessman was invited to address a group of young executives on the subject of opportunities. He began his talk by tacking to the wall a big sheet of white […]

People will probably forget what you said and they will possibly forget what you did . . . but they will never forget how you made them feel! Either a good or bad word from someone will stay with you for a long while – but how they made you feel in what they said … Continue reading People will probably forget what you said… →

Committee Comfort It has been said that a camel is just a horse that was created by a committee. You’ve probably witnessed the process yourself. Put any twelve decision-makers in a room together, and they can’t seem to make a decision at all. Worse yet, they create something that suits the members–a camel of their … Continue reading Committee Comfort →

Take Off the Bandage! What do transparent tape, “sticky” notes and adhesive bandages have in common? Each has a different function, is made of a different material, and serves its own purpose. Oh sure, you can say they’re all necessary supplies – and you’d be right – but look a little deeper for their common […]

Can We Control the Weather? Problems with the leadership at work, current world events, too much rain, heat or cold–we can easily get stuck in frustration and worry about things like this, eventually affecting every aspect of our lives. Thing is, how do we free ourselves of so much negativity? Complaining doesn’t help, unless you … Continue reading Can We Control the Weather? →

If You Were the Carpenter A story written by an unknown author goes like this: An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his contractor employer of his plans to leave the house-building business and finally spend more time with his wife and family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. … Continue reading If You Were the Carpenter →

6 Metro Phoenix hot spots for luxury homes The Phoenix area is vast. It’s home to millions of people, a number of suburbs and countless individual neighborhoods. As one of the biggest metro areas in the country (both geographically and population-wise), Phoenix has carved out unique luxury real estate enclaves that offer a distinct character … Continue reading 6 Metro Phoenix hot spots for luxury homes →

Time’s a-Wastin’! Wouldn’t it be nice to have an account where we could save time? I could have saved literally millions of minutes so far. We have our methods for “saving time:” cooking in our instant cookers, using mobile deposit, or shopping online. But do we actually do anything with that “saved” time? A study … Continue reading Time’s a-Wastin’! →

Stop Building Castles In the Air What are you daydreaming about? Writing a novel? Starting a non-profit to benefit youth in your community? Want to rise to the top 1% of your profession? No matter what the dream is, you need to start with the basics. Begin building the foundation that will support the eventual … Continue reading Stop Building Castles In the Air →

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Waiting for your ship to come in? Think you need to win the lottery to become a millionaire? Don’t hold your breath. Unless you are one of the lucky few, you’ll have to make your own million. And here’s the best part–it’s not impossible! Consider this method for becoming […]