Hey everyone! Since my new book has officially launched (Yeah! Yahoo! Yippee! Hooray! Finally!!!), I wanted to share with you a short, fun and wee bit crazy video about the book (it’s less than two minutes long), along with seven life lessons learned while writing the book. Here they are: 1. Book Writing Ain’t Easy…
Loss is an inevitable part of life. No one is immune. It comes in all shapes and sizes – you lose someone you love dearly, an important relationship ends, your job is terminated, your kids leave home, your health is compromised. How you handle loss greatly impacts your happiness and well-being. If you don’t grieve…
We all judge others to some degree. We judge people based on how they look, the car they drive, what they do for a living and so much more. Judgement, however, comes with a heavy price. The more you judge others (or yourself) as good, bad, better or worse, generally, the unhappier you are. Someone…
Life inevitably has times when it feels hard, sometimes very hard. Today I share one of my greatest life lessons about the vast divide between self-pity and self-compassion. The one you practice most matters a lot. Self-pity closes your life down. Self-compassion opens it up. With self-pity you feel sorry for yourself, play the victim…
If you drive about one hour north-west of Toronto, there is a restaurant called “Mono Cliffs Inn.” In the basement is “Peter Cellars Pub.” Wayne has run the pub for almost 20 years and has many fans for good reason. Wayne knows how to say hello. He greets every person he meets with genuine enthusiasm,…
A few weeks ago I attended a three day self-development workshop. It was exceptional. One of the workshop rules was “no small talk at any time” including at lunchtime and during breaks. This meant no talking about the weather, the traffic or what I ate for breakfast that day. All conversations had to be meaningful…
If you want real freedom and true joy, master the art of acceptance. Most of us think we have far more control over life than we do. We live in huge denial of how powerless we really are. We believe we can control what other people think, say, feel and do. We believe life can…
There is great wisdom in the lyrics of many songs. In the song “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, a mother shares her wishes for her only son. There is great truth in her words (if you haven’t listened to this song in a while, listen to it here). Words that have meaning for me, include: …
On December 5th, 2013 Nelson Mandela died. He was a man who personified freedom and what it means to be free. There is much we can learn from this man, including and perhaps most importantly, the following: “there is no easy walk to freedom.” Reflect on this statement as it applies to your own life. …
When you walk into a room, do you bring sickness or health? I’m talking about both physical and mental health. Good physical health means your body is in good working order. You eat healthy, exercise regularly and get enough sleep. Your weight is healthy and you’re free from disease. Good mental health means you have…
To a large extent, your virtues define who you are and what your life is like. Your ability to be honest, compassionate and never give up, for example, greatly impact how you interact with the world and how the world interacts with you. Are some virtues more significant than others? I believe one virtue lays…
On August 11th, 2013 my fifteen year old daughter Shannon and I boarded a plane bound for Whitehorse in the Yukon. This was to be the trip of a lifetime – a ten day canoe trip covering over 300 km (185 miles) with eight other people on the Big Salmon River. On Day Five of…
St. John of the Cross, a Spanish priest, made the following statement… “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” What a thought-provoking declaration. Is there a better way to evaluate our lives than love? I don’t think so. It’s not about how much money we make or how big our…
Today is Mother’s Day! It’s a day to celebrate motherhood and what it means to be a mother. What do you love most about your mother? What did she teach or give you that you are most grateful for? If you are a mother, what do you think your children value most about you? Here…
In November of 2012 one of my dearest friends, Teri, climbed to an altitude of 5,364 metres to reach base camp Mount Everest in Nepal. She climbed with a group of 15 people led by “Live Out Loud Adventures.” This was her experience. The scenery was truly magnificent – the snow, the waterfalls, the rivers,…
