The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on May 26, 2011. I was recently asked to be a guest speaker at a Toastmasters Club’s 65th Anniversary Open House. They wanted me to speak about what Toastmasters has done for me. That was easy. It’s done more for me than I had ever imagined was possible. And it’s something I love to talk about to others....
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on May 19, 2011. It’s doubtful that anyone would ever mistake me for a sports star or a rock star. But I was treated like both last weekend. And I enjoyed how it felt. It was at the Eastern Carver County Relay for Life, where I was one of the speakers at the Opening Ceremony, and a participant in the event. But it wasn’t for either of these roles that I was given the star treatment. It was in my role as a cancer survivor...
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on May 12, 2011. The last time I slept outside in a tent was eight years ago. It wasn’t even a tent, actually, but a large cardboard box. I was chaperoning a homeless awareness experience my daughter was taking part in, which was designed to raise funds, as well as awareness, for the homeless. The thing I remember most about the event was how bone-chillingly cold I felt during the night. The chaperones, as well as the kids, were allowed to bring only one blanket, plus whatever clothes we were willing to wear or carry for 24 hours straight. And even though I was on the lawn of our church property, with my car visible in the nearby parking lot, I remember thinking – as I shivered and shuddered and dozed fitfully – that I might really die before morning.
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on May 5, 2011. The wedding was out of this world. I say that partly because it had an “outer space” theme, and partly because everything about it was stunning. But mostly, because – well, because it was my daughter’s wedding. Since she lives in Florida now, and since that’s where her husband is from – and I’m still getting used to saying the word “husband” instead of boyfriend or fiancé – that’s where the wedding took place.
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on April 28, 2011. Much of the world is preparing to watch the royal wedding this weekend. According to magazine polls and newspaper articles I’ve read, over 80% of us here in the states will be watching the ceremony as Prince William and Kate Middleton become husband and wife. Restaurants, organizations, and individuals are planning activities and events that include watching the ceremony on television as it occurs, even though the wedding will take place very, very early in the morning, our time...
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on April 21, 2011. The forecast we had for snow last week – followed by the layer of snow that we actually received – left many of us frustrated and annoyed, and saying things like, “What? Again?!” Enough, already!” “I thought we were finally through with this!” By the middle of April, most of us had finally said goodbye to winter, and were welcoming Spring with open arms....
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on April 14, 2011. A Dream Coaching client of mine made a great comment recently – the kind that makes me think I should be paying her for advice instead of the other way around. She said she’s started adding the practice of doing at least three things each day that she doesn’t feel like doing. That excuse, she said, tends to keep her from accomplishing tasks that she could easily finish and remove from her to-do list. It reminds me of the advice written on the cover of a journal a friend of mine has...
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on April 7, 2011. I had breakfast last week with a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. And if someone hadn’t told me she was a nominee, I never would have known it. She doesn’t look like Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, or the Dalai Lama, who are some of the people I think of when I hear the words, “Nobel Peace Prize.” Instead, Stephanie Smith looks like a suburban mom – which, in fact, she is...
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on March 31, 2011. “Impossible” songs inspire impossible achievements “To dream the impossible dream, To fight the unbeatable foe, To bear with unbearable sorrow, To run where the brave dare not go...” Many of you immediately recognized – and may already be humming – the opening lines of “The Impossible Dream,” from Man of La Mancha. It’s one of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite musicals....
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on March 24, 2011. At a workshop I attended recently, I met a woman who’s a Dream Coach. Not the kind of Dream Coach I am, who helps people work toward achieving their dreams, but the kind who helps people understand and learn from the dreams they have while they’re sleeping....