Journey to Joy

There is a saying that people change for one of two reasons … they either learn enough that they want to, or they hurt enough so they have to. Many times I’ve made the decision to deliberately change—for both reasons. When life sucks, it’s a teacher and a motivator. At the time, the guy I…

Have you ever noticed people try and age you? When I was a kid and acting in a way my mom didn’t like, she’d say: “You are almost (fill in any age here)!” Meaning I was too old to be behaving the way I was behaving. It didn’t matter that my Birthday was just a…

The best gift you can give to your children is not your time. It is not books. It is not college funds. It is not the best private school. It is not the biggest Pinterest-themed Birthday parties. It is not your amazing cooking. It is not your immaculate house. It is not your crazy-good multitasking…

You can learn something from everyone who crosses your path. Some people provide those what-not-to do lessons, and others will offer you little gems of wisdom. I love soaking up thought-provoking insights and bits of wisdom from other people. Not too long ago, I was at the art studio of painter Jonas Gerard who told…

“The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly—that is what each of us is here for.” Oscar Wilde My husband and I own lots of personal development books. If you scanned our bookshelves, you’d find lots of titles about goals, fulfilling your potential, happiness and success. We get teased for our collection….

I always tell my husband I am lucky because most men aren’t like him. He laughs. I tell him he should hold seminars for other men on how to be better spouses, or just better men. He laughs more. He thinks I am just flattering him. I base my (admittedly biased) opinion on some of…

I’ve always thought there are no coincidences. And while my husband and I love to plan our days, it amazes me how life can toss your To Do list out the window and show you what’s truly important. Any day you wake up, everything can change. When I woke up on January 11th at 6:30…

“Sometimes life knocks you on your ass—get up, get up, get up! Happiness is not the absence of problems; it’s the ability to deal with them.” – Steve Maraboli I was reading an article in a parenting magazine that said there are two types of parents—frenzied/stressed or calm. I immediately thought, “That can’t be true….

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” –Sigmund Freud I was about 20 when the movie Pump Up the Volume came out. I loved it. At the time, the hotness factor of Christian Slater was a big draw … but it was really the message of the movie I loved the most—talk hard,…

If you asked me to rattle off a few of my flaws, my big mouth would probably make the top of the list. I am not great at keeping my opinions to myself. I sometimes offer advice when it was never asked for, and I reveal more on Facebook than my husband would probably prefer….