My Blog
The path to becoming Wagalicious
As I sit here eating yet another Samoa, I remember my single-digit days when Iâd don my green uniform, carefully arrange my badge-encrusted sash, and head out to knock on neighborsâ doors, Girl Scout cookie order sheet in hand. There was an iceberg in my stomach and my knees knocked as I pressed the...
Have you ever thought about harnessing up 16 sled dogs, putting them in front of a sled loaded with dog food, survival gear, and a few protein bars for you, and heading out for a week or two into arctic weather, 1128 miles of rugged trail conditions, and wildlife that might want to hurt you?
Yeah, ...
Today, letâs talk about hugs. Are you a hugger? I am. Whenever I feel a connection to someone my default is to want to hug them. Not everyoneâs a hugger, though, so occasionally the hug impulse has to be squelched.
Why do humans hug? Have you ever wondered about that? Turns out, hugging is addictiv...
âTis the season that those of us in the northern hemisphere bundle up. And those of us with dogs, especially the small and relatively hairless ones, bundle their dogs up, too. If thatâs you today, you have unwittingly celebrated todayâs fun holiday â itâs Dress Up Your Pet Day.
Iâm not ashamed to a...
Last week a dear friend asked me a question, and Iâm going to ask you the same one: do you make New Yearâs resolutions?
My answer is no. Iâve been on this planet long enough to have experienced my pattern of good intentions and so-so results when trying to make life changes in the middle of winter,...
Oh, we human beings cherish endings and beginnings. From baby showers to funerals, housewarmings to homecomings, and of course to the hoopla around the changing of the year, the celebrations for the milestones in our lives show us just how important these events are.
But why?
Many of the tradition...
If thereâs a high-water mark for brains, Alfred Nobel probably etched it. In his last will, signed in Paris on November 27th, 1895, he left the bulk of his fortune to a special prize fund. He passed away just over a year later, and his legacy lives on today with the awarding of this yearâs Nobel Pri...
Are you a veteran? Thank you! Are you the parent or sibling or child or spouse/partner of a veteran? Thank you! And yes, Veterans Day was yesterday â there are not enough ways to thank those who choose to serve in ways that most of us wouldnât. Veterans are vital to the survival of our country â tha...
What are you passionate about? What do you do to share your passion? When youâre sharing your passion, do you feel like youâre in your sphere of genius?Â
Today Iâm at the Saint Bernard Club of Americaâs National Specialty, a huge annual show held this year in Loveland CO. Do I have a Saint Bernard?...
Six seasons. One hundred eighty episodes. Syndicated in dozens of languages in countries worldwide. Almost 75 years since it debuted, the I Love Lucy show still attracts over 40,000,000 viewers each year.
Howâs that for a silly half-hour sitcom?
Turns out, the sitcom created as a showcase for Luci...
When you were 7 or 8, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a nurse. Nurses were glamorous â they wore white uniforms with matching white shoes and hats, and I was convinced thatâs what Iâd be. It wasnât long before I was on to the next thing I wanted to be â a veterinarian, then ...
Two hundred thirty seven years ago, in a document with forty-five hundred words, thirty-nine men took their lives in their hands, put quill pen to parchment paper, and defined a new way to look at governance. Today is Constitution Day, a celebration of the definition of the United States. For eleven...
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I donât want to overwhelm you with this, but do you feel overwhelmed a lot? If I gave you an exhaustive list of what creates feelings of overwhelm in people, just reading the list could overwhelm you!
SoâŚletâs not do that, shall we?
Feeling overwhelmed is very common. Each da...
Responsibility. That word can cause feelings of dread, perseverance, or pride. It can make your heart sing or sink. It can make you feel very grown-up or like you want to ditch adulting forever. How can so many emotions be wrapped in one simple word?
The answer â because itâs not simple.
Responsib...
Do you love dogs? Yeah, me, too. Weâre in good company â a third of the worldâs households have at least one dog, and most people consider their dog (or dogs) to be part of the family.
That describes my family â we had a dog as soon as Mom thought my youngest brother was old enough to understand th...
Thereâs a 40th anniversary today that you might not know about. Have you ever been part of one of the âfirst Tuesday in Augustâ neighborhood festivals? Maybe your neighborhood or town had a cookout, or a little parade? Chances are, police officers were everywhere at the festival.
Not only were they...
Every four years, we Americans forget who we are. We forget that we have power. We forget how to use that power. We forget to be civil as we use our voices and our fingertips, and sadly, sometimes fists and other weapons, in our attempts to move hearts and minds to our way of thinking.
You can make...
Quick â name a teacher who helped shape who you are today. If youâre like most people, and like me, you can name a few.
Mrs. Sharrett, my 4th grade teacher, who made paying attention pay off. She used operant conditioning on her willing subjects, making intentional mistakes and paying the first stu...
What do you have such a passion for that you give up your free time to support it? For some people, thatâs a sport they play. For some, itâs a hobby like sewing or gardening. And for some, itâs being part of an organization in some sort of volunteer capacity. And whether you know it or not, the worl...
Itâs a week before spring officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere, so maybe a little bit early for spring cleaning. Itâs a month before tax returns in the US are due to be filed, and if youâre like me, perhaps youâve found a lot of things to do instead of getting organized for that chore.
Toda...
Quick â whatâs your name? I bet you know the answer to that question by heart, right? One of the first things parents teach their babies is how to recognize and use names â mama, dada, doggie, and the childâs own name. But whatâs in a name and why are they so important that they get an entire weekâs...
Today letâs talk about leaders, and the leader that lives inside each of us. Itâs easy to think about leaders as those who are somehow above our level â the president of your division, the president of your company, the president of the United States â and those are all leaders.
Did you know that y...
Have you ever built a gingerbread house? Iâve admired them, wished I could taste them, and never actually built one. Some of them look wonderfully basic and homey, some can be very elaborate, and I wonder how that gingerbread tastes after sitting around through the holidays. Have you ever had a bite...
Today is the day for an observance you probably donât know about. By the end of this newsletter, I hope youâll be planning ways to make this day a better one for you and those you love before October 10th 2024. Todayâs observance is all about something I work with veterinary teams to improve â menta...
Do you have a dog? Two? More? Are you dogless and get your dog love from friendsâ dogs? Or maybe youâre someone who just doesnât see the appeal of dogs?
If you love dogs, youâll probably love this article. If not, read on anyway because thereâs probably something here for you despite your distaste ...
Whenever leaders get together to talk about whatâs working in their businesses, staff recognition is always high on the list. As a matter of fact, on nearly every list of the top ways to reduce turnover and increase employee engagement, recognition and/or encouragement make the list.
Happy National...
When the word âleaderâ is bandied about, most people donât think of recording artists. They usually think of world leaders, prominent business leaders, religious leaders â not famous musical performers.
Thatâs a mistake because much can be learned from them. As an illustration, letâs look at the li...
Countries are at war. Banks are failing. The stock market is teeter-tottering. Inflation is behaving like a spoiled brat, refusing efforts to control it. Politicians are taking dirty laundry and gleefully hanging it out for all to see. And all of this is coming in the wake of a worldwide pandemic, w...
Itâs the last day of the first month of the new year. And itâs cold. OK, itâs winter and itâs supposed to be cold. Seriously, Mother Nature â 18 in Maine, 4 in North Dakota and minus 1 in Minnesota? The freezing temperatures are coast to coast, north to south, and make me want to hibernate. You, too...
Quick â when was the last time you gave someone a compliment? I hope it was sometime today, because today is National Compliment Day. Actually, I hope youâre in the habit of giving compliments. If not, keep reading, because giving compliments to others has many benefits for you!
Since smiling is a ...
Quick â when was the last time you gave someone a compliment? I hope it was sometime today, because today is National Compliment Day. Actually, I hope youâre in the habit of giving compliments. If not, keep reading, because giving compliments to others has many benefits for you!
Since smiling is a ...
Welcome to the first âofficialâ workday of the new year. Around half of Americans make resolutions to start a new year, and of those, fewer than 10% will follow through and succeed at their newfound resolve. Of the other 90+ percent, most will quit this week. This.Week. Ouch!
Before you get all bum...
Are you surrounded by strong people or weak ones?
A great way to discover the answer is to hear how they talk to others. Strong people offer uplifting comments, offer help in a non-condescending way and talk well about their colleagues even when theyâre not around. Weak people gossip, tattle-tale a...
Great relationships â like great marriages â happen because people choose where to focus. People get along for a while and then they start noticing things they donât like. Instead of focusing on what they do like, they get fixated on what they donât like. Before you know it, feuds are happening on t...
Are you an adapter or a leader?
Adapters are chameleons â they scope out the lay of the land and blend in. Leaders scope out the lay of the land, see what needs doing and set about doing it. Thatâs why you often hear people say that certain leaders have great vision â theyâre on the lookout for way...