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Getting to know someone means sharing the fun

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on February 17, 2011. I had coffee with a new member of our Toastmasters Club after our meeting last week. She offered me part of the whole-wheat croissant she had ordered, and I took a small piece, just to have a taste. It was delicious, much more so than I expected. I thanked her for sharing it, and for introducing me to something I might never have ordered on my own....

By |February 20th, 2011|Columns, Toastmasters, Values|Comments Off on Getting to know someone means sharing the fun

Whether coming or going, enjoy the experience

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on February 10, 2011. I was in my 40s when my husband, kids and I moved from the Chicago area – where we were born and raised – to Roanoke, Virginia. It was the first of several moves we made to different parts of the country. After a few months of living in Virginia, one of my neighbors asked, “So, Betty, are you starting to like it here in Roanoke, or do you still miss Chicago?” My one-word answer: “Yes...”

By |February 11th, 2011|Coaching, Columns, Family, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Whether coming or going, enjoy the experience

Feeling secure is more important than feeling comfortable

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on February 3, 2011. My husband and I flew to Chicago last weekend. It was the first time I’ve been on a plane since full body scanners were installed at the airport and the controversy began over the pat-down of passengers who refused to go through full-body scans. A number of people have complained – and even initiated lawsuits – over the pat-downs they describe as an aggressive and humiliating violation of their rights and their privacy. For several years now, I’ve had to go through the full pat-down every time I travel by air. Not because of any issues over a full-body scan, but because I’ve had a pacemaker implanted due to heart damage caused by chemotherapy years ago...

By |February 4th, 2011|Accountability, Columns, Family, Respect, Uncategorized, Values|Comments Off on Feeling secure is more important than feeling comfortable

A strong step keeps you moving toward your dreams

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on January 27, 2011. “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” This is a new mantra that several friends and I are using to remind and inspire ourselves whenever our energy or our resolve starts to weaken or fade. Actually, the words come from the Bible – John 5:8 – so they’re not exactly new. But they’re new in how we’re using them in our lives...

By |January 28th, 2011|Coaching, Columns, Quotes and Sayings, Values|Comments Off on A strong step keeps you moving toward your dreams

Make a good habit even better

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on January 20, 2011. I think I’m on to something here, and I can’t wait to see where it will lead. I’m pretty sure it’s taking me toward better health and habits, and an even more productive beginning and peaceful close to each day. It started with the candle ritual I wrote about in my column last week. After receiving a scented candle as a Christmas gift, I began a tradition of beginning each workday by lighting the candle, making a cup of tea, and sitting at my kitchen table as I organized and prioritized everything I had to do that day...

By |January 21st, 2011|Columns, Values|2 Comments

A Christmas gift illuminates a bright new plan

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on January 13, 2011. Sometimes it’s a lightbulb that goes off with a flash of brilliance, giving us an innovative and exciting new idea. For me, it was a candle. Specifically, it was a scented candle that I got as a Christmas gift. And it’s become part of a new daily practice for me, one that has already put more peace and pleasure into my morning, and more productivity and efficiency into the rest of my day...

By |January 15th, 2011|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Values|Comments Off on A Christmas gift illuminates a bright new plan

Join me on a treasure hunt

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on January 6, 2011. I am embarking on a year-long, worldwide hunt for buried treasure, and I’m hoping you’ll join me. You don’t have to take a leave of absence from your job or family. You won’t need a passport, visa, or malaria shot. And you don’t need to purchase a telescope, gyroscope, metal detector, or any other equipment or supplies. The kind of treasure I’m looking for is any talent, trait, gift, or skill that can be of value in some way to the person who possesses it. It is buried treasure if the person who has it doesn’t recognize it, doesn’t know or believe it has value, or doesn’t realize what it is truly worth...

By |January 7th, 2011|Buried Treasure, Coaching, Columns, Professional Speaking, Respect, Values|Comments Off on Join me on a treasure hunt

New Year’s Resolutions bring new strategy for success

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on December 30, 2010. “Have a great week,” I said to a friend recently. “I hope you succeed at failing.” She laughed. Of course, she knew exactly what I meant. My friend is also a Dream Coach client, and we had just finished the session about how failure can lead to success. We had talked about transforming limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs, about the lessons and insights we can gain from our mistakes and missteps, and about the ways in which the failures in our past give us valuable information and resources we can use to help us succeed now in anything we set out to do...

By |December 31st, 2010|Coaching, Columns, Holidays|Comments Off on New Year’s Resolutions bring new strategy for success

Christmas bells bring music, memories, and peace

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on December 23, 2010. “Christmas bells, those Christmas bells, ringing through the land, bringing peace to all the world. And good will to man.” You may recognize those words as the chorus from “Snoopy’s Christmas,” a song about Charlie Brown’s pet beagle and his Christmas Eve battle against the Bloody Red Baron of Germany. The Red Baron was a World War 1 ace fighter pilot in real life, and also – occasionally – in the “Peanuts” comic strip. In the song, the Red Baron forces Snoopy’s plane down behind enemy lines. But then – inspired perhaps by the sound of Christmas bells from a nearby village – instead of shooting Snoopy, the Red Baron offers him a holiday toast and wishes him a Merry Christmas...

By |December 27th, 2010|Columns, Family, Holidays, Music/Singing|Comments Off on Christmas bells bring music, memories, and peace

A quiet request brings a joyful response

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on December 16, 2010. A friend and I went to a nearby restaurant last week for a breakfast meeting to discuss some plans and projects we want to get started on. She and I have very similar values and beliefs, but very different skills and talents. We complement each other well, and have already worked on several projects together. We had a lot to talk about and a lot of catching up to do, in both our personal and our professional lives. It was one of those conversations in which we had to keep making notes about other things that came up, so we could keep track of things we wanted or needed to talk about later...

By |December 17th, 2010|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Respect, Values|Comments Off on A quiet request brings a joyful response