“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
If today happened to be your wedding day all over again or the day you made a life-long commitment to your partner, what would you say? With knowing what you know today, would you change your vows?
This isn’t about having regrets for what you should have said, it’s about taking advantage of the opportunity you have each and every day to reconnect and to restate your commitment and love. We don’t need a formal ceremony to do this; we can do this over our coffee and corn flakes, too.
Love in the beginning can be very idealistic and naive. It is full of hope and promise, but with very little information that would tell us how our partner needs to be loved. The key to a lasting relationship is to accept and support your partner’s needs. Your commitment to those needs makes all of the difference in your partner’s happiness – and your own.
Experience gives us a more precise lens to see the world. Experience in our intimate relationships tells us where the landmines are located and where the joy and pleasure can be found. Use this experience as an ally to better understand and appreciate your partner. Use this experience to give your partner more of what they asking for and more of what they need.
So, we come back to the question “what would you say today?”
“Once you choose hope, anything's possible.” - Christopher Reeve
I love the Christmas season. The next several days will be filled with excitement as Mary Beth and I finish our Christmas shopping and make final preparations to extend the Christmas spirit into our home. Gifts need to be wrapped and shipped; several holiday parties are scheduled, and our favorite Christmas treats are waiting to be prepared, and eaten, with joyful gusto.
Through the busyness of our lives, though, it can be easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. We buy the gifts, decorate our homes and reach out to family and friends not because there is an obligation to do so, but because by perpetuating the Christmas tradition, year-after-year, we are saying it matters to keep this time of year sacred.
Christmas provides us with the opportunity to see the gifts of hope that are still in style; are in the perfect color and just the right size to wear all year long.
However, it can be easy to be hopeless right now. The world is far from perfect. The instability of our economy and the recent events in Mumbai has some of us scratching our heads and wondering why we even bother to keep hope alive.
For me, the reason is clear – hope is a wonderful gift I have been given that helps me see the goodness that exists all around me and in me. Hope sustains my belief that no matter what happens, incredible value and grace can be found in the experience.
In times like these, when the external world is absorbed in "lack, lack, lack", it's more important than ever for you to shift into abundance... and stay there. Yet, when I analyzed the responses to my recent survey (on the challenges you face in your business), the majority said they were having trouble getting out of fear and living in abundance. So, in this article I'll be sharing one of the most powerful tools I use to shift into abundance... no matter what's happening around me. This is a process I use practically every single day to keep myself in the ...
"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Kansas City is beautiful at Christmas. Our Country Club Plaza shopping district is covered with beautiful white lights from one end of the plaza to the other. The simple magnificence of the mayor’s Christmas tree reminds us of the strong family values and generous community spirit that make KC a place we want to stay even after our children are gone. And neighbors festively decorate their homes and extend the cheer to the outside of their houses as a way of inviting everyone to be a part of their Christmas,
But perhaps the best example of Kansas City’s Christmas splendor and generous spirit can be found in the legacy Larry Dean Stewart, the original Secret Santa, left for all of us.
Mr. Stewart, who died last year from cancer, created the mission and defined the role of Secret Santa’s worldwide. In fact, the Society of Secret Santas is built upon the tradition Larry Stewart established in Kansas City.
