Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? -Henri Nouwen

“Did I let go of resentment?  Did I forgive?  Did I love?” asks Henri Nouwen, author of over 40 books on spirituality.  He was a Catholic priest who taught at universities including Harvard and Yale Divinity Schools.  He died in 1996 after living the final years of his life with people with mental disabilities at the L’Arche-Daybreak Community in Canada.

“These are the real questions,” he continues.  “I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits here in this world and the life to come.”

This week, I encourage you to smile often and bring a smile to others!

Enjoy a happy and productive week –

Stephanie

You’re never more than one thought away from a whole new experience of being alive.  -Michael Neill

“Just because a thought is in your head doesn’t mean that it’s true,” explains Michael Neill in a 2014 TEDx Talk.  “What it means is we’re not afraid of what we think we’re afraid of.  We’re afraid of what we think.”  Michael Neill is a transformative coach and the author of The Inside-Out Revolution and The Space Within.

This week I invite you to consider your thoughts.  And are they all true?

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. -Carol Dweck

“This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives,” explains Carol Dweck, author of Mindset:  The New Psychology of Success.

This week, I invite you to consider your growth mindset. Are you stretching yourself and sticking with it, even when it’s not going well?

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do. – Mother Teresa

What proportion of your day are you smiling? The benefits of smiling are numerous. When you smile you elevate the moods of those around you.  Mother Teresa also said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”  And, importantly, when you smile YOU feel better!

This week, I invite you to smile often, and enjoy a happy and productive week!

Very best,

Stephanie

“Thank you” is the best prayer that anyone could say.  -Alice Walker

“I say that one a lot,” explains Alice Walker.  “Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”  Alice Walker is an American novelist and writer, poet and activist.  She wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Color Purple.  In 1985, it was released as a movie, directed by Steven Spielberg.

This week, I encourage you to say “thank you” a lot!

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

Nothing can happen to you that is not positive.  Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. -Joseph Campbell

“Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life,” explained Joseph Campbell.  “It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge.  If you bring love to that moment – not discouragement – you will find the strength is there.”  Joseph Campbell was a professor of mythology and wrote many books including The Hero With A Thousand Faces.

This week, I encourage you to reflect on a crisis you might be experiencing.  And can you see the opportunity in it?

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

Successful people are dreamers who have found a dream too exciting, too important, to remain in the realm of fantasy.  -Earl Nightingale

“Day by day, hour by hour, they toil in the service of their dream until they can see it with their eyes and touch it with their hands,”  explained Earl Nightingale, a pioneer in the personal development field.  He developed a 5-minute daily radio program, Our Changing World, which became one of the longest running and most widely syndicated shows in radio.

This week, I encourage you to think carefully about your dream.  And are you working in service of achieving it?

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened. -Mark Twain

Do you spend time worrying or imagining worst-case scenarios?  Unfortunately, this is a common tendency for many people.  Humorist Mark Twain reminds us of the futility of worrying and negative thinking.  Born in 1835, Mark Twain authored classics of American literature.  He was also a humorist, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer.

This week, I invite you to imagine best case scenarios.

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

Happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you have, it depends solely on what you think.  -Dale Carnegie

Did you know your thoughts cause your feelings?  And that you have control over your thoughts?  When you start building awareness around your thoughts and learning to interrupt negative thinking, doubts, worries or cynicism, you can feel better and happier.  Dale Carnegie was an American writer who was a pioneer in the self-improvement and public speaking training industries.   He wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People, one of the best-selling books of all time.  He lived from 1888 to 1955.

This week I invite you to take inventory of yourself – and what is the quality of your thoughts?

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie

The greatest natural resource in the world is not in the earth’s waters or minerals, nor in forests or grasslands.  It is in the spirit that resides in every unstoppable person. -Cynthia Kersey

“The evidence of the unstoppable human spirit is everywhere,” writes Cynthia Kersey, author of Unstoppable…45 Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You.  She is also Chief Humanitarian Officer of the Unstoppable Foundation, whose mission is to ensure that every child on the planet receives access to the life-long gift of education.  The organization impacts millions of people worldwide.  Cynthia explains, “No obstacle has been too great for people who possess an unstoppable spirit.”

This week, I invite you to check in with yourself – and is your spirit unstoppable?

Enjoy a happy and productive week!

Stephanie