bettyliedtke – Page 50 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

An early-morning conversation brings the answer to a prayer

I arranged for my columns to get posted on my blog automatically while I was in Uganda, but this one somehow slipped off the schedule. It should have been posted on August 8. I hope you will still find it timely and relevant. I was sitting outside on the steps of our deck one morning last week, notebook and pen in hand. I was doing the morning ritual I refer to as my Prayer Exercise, which is a combination of praying, journaling, and asking God [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 25th, 2014|Columns, Faith, Family, Writing|Comments Off

Piecing together the puzzle of life

I am currently in Uganda. While I am gone, the Villager is rerunning some of my early favorites. The following column was first published on December 2, 2004. People can really be a puzzle. By that I don’t mean they’re confusing, although they can be that, too – especially if they’re teenagers or members of the opposite sex. What I’m talking about is more like a jigsaw puzzle, where every piece is a little different from every other one, even though they all have the same basic structure. [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 22nd, 2014|Columns, Uncategorized|Comments Off

A big impact comes from a tiny statement

I am currently in Uganda. While I'm gone, the Villager is rerunning some of my early favorites. The following column was first published on February 6, 2003. Someone called me “Tiny” the other day. Which was a whole lot nicer than Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy or Dopey. We were at Curves, and were right next to each other on the exercise equipment. She looked at me the way you look at someone you recognize, but can’t quite place. “Do you work for the city of Chanhassen?” she finally [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 15th, 2014|Columns, Health and Well-being|Comments Off

How to succeed? Dream big, start small

A few months ago, I attended a speech contest in which one of the contestants spoke about dreaming small. She said early on that that’s what her parents always encouraged her to do. At first I thought it was a set-up for a punch line, or that she’d be talking about how she had to overcome a “think small” mindset in order to dream big and achieve great things. And since I teach, preach, and coach people about dreaming big and achieving their dreams, this [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 1st, 2014|Accountability, Achieving Dreams and Goals, Coaching, Columns, Success|Comments Off

Having too many choices leads to communication breakdown

“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” That line is from the 1967 movie, Cool Hand Luke, and is one of the top movie quotes of all time. And even though it’s almost 50 years old, I think it’s even more true and relevant today than it was back then. It’s ironic that today we have more ways to communicate than ever before. In addition to the really old-fashioned ways like talking face to face in person, or voice to voice on the phone, [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 25th, 2014|Columns|Comments Off

What’s stopping you from reaching your goals? You are!

“Betty, I’m ready to get out of my own way.” The words were music to my ears, even though I got them by way of a Facebook post. They were from a former coaching client of mine, and she’s someone I’ve been urging for a long time now to visit Toastmasters. She’s written two children’s books, started her own company, and is eager to get out in the world to do readings and presentations, and to promote her books and her business. Anyone who is [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 18th, 2014|Accountability, Achieving Dreams and Goals, Coaching, Columns, Toastmasters|Comments Off

Jumpstart your goals for the rest of 2014

Sometimes, a plan that seemed like a great idea at the time turns out to be not so great after all. Often, though, it just needs a little tweaking. I think that was the case with my New Year’s Resolution this year. I decided that I was going to complete a new project every week throughout 2014. My first project was to compile a list of 50 projects and goals I wanted to complete, and I’m happy to report I was able to check that [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 11th, 2014|Achieving Dreams and Goals, Columns|Comments Off

An emotional goodbye offers a promising hello

They’re a lovely family. A young couple with a little boy and another baby on the way. I met them last weekend while my sisters and I were cleaning out my dad’s house and preparing for the estate sale on Saturday. I’ve always found the term “estate sale” to be misleading. It sounds like the sale of precious and valuable furniture and antiques from wealthy patrons who lived in grand houses. And I’m sure that in some cases, that’s exactly what it is. But it’s [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 4th, 2014|Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off

Pillowcase Dresses and Washable Silk Can Change Lives and Attitudes

They are ladies I haven’t even met in person, or that I’ve known for only a short time. Yet they are doing something very special for people who are very special to me. And that makes them saints and heroes in my book. Late last year, a friend of mine told me about dresses that her sister makes out of pillowcases, and she asked if I would be interested in taking some of them with me on my next trip to Uganda. I immediately accepted [...]

By bettyliedtke|June 27th, 2014|Columns, Making a Difference, Respect, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

A survivor’s story inspired us all

“Do you know Jackie Pflug?” my friend Dianne asked me recently. “Have you read her book?” The answer to both questions was “No,” although I recognized the title, Miles to Go Before I Sleep, as a line from my favorite Robert Frost poem. Once I learned the subtitle of the book, A Survivor’s Story of Life After a Terrorist Hijacking, and Dianne started telling me more about the book and the author, things began to click in my memory. The memory was rather fuzzy, however, [...]

By bettyliedtke|June 20th, 2014|Buried Treasure, Columns, Gifts and Talents, Writing|Comments Off

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