This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Vincent Van Praagh teaches, “Life is about change and growth. Have the courage to step out of self- imposed expectations and try a brand new experience.”

Have you suffered a failure or crisis recently? Making a comeback after a crisis; whether it’s a failed business, or a failed relationship, or failing health, is definitely challenging. What do you do when it seems as though everyone else’s life and career path has been always going uphill? They talk about all of their successes
and where they’re at and how they’ve won all these awards and you’re still struggling to find out how you come back after a crisis? Your priorities are changed, and your focus is different, and you think that maybe you want to change careers. When you discover this, understand it takes time. Don’t compare yourself to others success or how their life is going, because you never know
what’s just around the corner for that individual either or where they’ve been to get to where they are today. Be grateful for your own experience.

This has been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Let’s imagine that moments in our lives are like leaves on a tree, our Life Tree. Then that one bad moment that you had today, does it have to destroy your entire life tree? What about 10 bad moments? 20 bad moments? 50 bad moments? Whatever is happening, if it’s negative, its only one moment on your tree. Maybe it’ll be a hundred moments, but think about the entire span of your
life – and all those leaves that grow on the tree. If you consider that moments are just leaves on your tree of life, then you can consider that, “okay, there is always going to be a bad moment here and there, but in the bigger scheme of things, the bigger picture, each moment is just one leaf on this massive tree that you are continually growing. And, you know, just like when the fall comes, and the winter comes, those leaves fall off. So those moments, those bad moments, can be forgotten if you let them. So, consider the moments in your life as leaves that grow on your tree of life. And be thankful for the leaves, the moments, they are fleeting.

This is been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

If you don’t grow, you die. That is relevant to so many things. What happens in our relationships if they don’t grow? What about your business? It either grows or it dies. Are you happy with where you’re at right now? Or are you seeking growth? We want our relationships to grow, we want the love to grow, we want the plants we put in our yard or our house to grow. We water them, we tend to
them, we take care of them. So what are you doing for yourself? How are you growing emotionally? Mentally? Intellectually? Spiritually? These are the key components to growth. Are you expressing gratitude for your own personal and professional growth? If you’re not seeking to learn new things, to experience
more life; to grow, then what are you doing? You’re stagnating. You’re staying put. And how can you be thankful for that? Practicing gratitude and thankfulness in all your experiences will encourage growth.

This is been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

“Never let success get to your head. Never let failure get to your heart.”

What are your strengths? Has anyone ever pointed them out to you, or have you ever thought to discover what you’re really good at? I’m good at writing, dancing, being creative, helping people, coming up with solutions to problems. I’m not very crafty however, nor do I enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Some people do. And I envy them. Those aren’t my strengths. I am however thankful for
my strengths that I do acknowledge. Make a list of your strengths. And then be grateful for each and every one of them. Don’t compare yourself to other people and their strengths.

“Stop hating yourself for everything that you aren’t. Start loving yourself for everything that you are.”

Be grateful for the strengths you have.

This is been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Are you brave? I think that I have always been called brave, for a number of reasons. I remember a few years ago, after I had recovered from a serious illness with my heart, I volunteered to dance for a charity event. My dance partner and I worked very hard choreographing a dance number and creating unique costumes
for this function. When our performance was over, an acquaintance shared with me how cute she thought the dance was and then she called me brave. I wasn’t sure how to respond to her. Was I brave to be out there dancing? Was I brave to wear the costume that I did? My perspective was; I was grateful that I was healthy enough again to be able to dance on stage. Yes I was older than my previous years dancing on stage; I was heavier than I was would have liked to have been, but I was grateful that I was healthy enough to dance. As you age, be brave; be bold; be thankful for what you have. Today is a gift. Don’t let anything stop you from
being brave.
This is been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Are you grateful for our own personal growth?

When you were a kid, and somebody hadn’t seen you for a while, you might hear them say, “Look at how you’ve grown!” We even do that when we watch our plants grow, we watch our bank accounts grow, we watch our communities and churches grow; we get so happy and so proud when they’ve grown. My personal philosophy is, that is the purpose of life.

Growth. Be grateful for your experiences that cause you to grow. We grow from struggles, trials, failures, and a multitude of life experiences. Try not to look at it as weakness. Look inside and be grateful for how you are growing emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Now, that is where that growth truly begins.

And remember, “Be grateful for people in your life who truly love you, motivate you, encourage you, inspire you, enhance you and make you happy. If you have people who do none of that, let them go!”
This is been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

I recently facilitated a Women's retreat with some colleagues. All of us brought something different to the table; mental health psycho – education, spirituality, physical health and art as a therapeutic exercise.  
As the participants worked on their paintings, I saw them all come to life. The artist described their brush strokes in such a way that resembles life. She said, “Don't be so rigid, let yourself go free, allow for some messiness, it only makes your painting more unique.”  
I shared with the group how it resembles life. ..... Be grateful for those moments that teach you lessons. The messiness.
As Caroline Myss wrote, “The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”  

And everyone's painting, although stemming from a similar model, had uniquely their own creation. It was beautiful. And a little messy. Like life.  

This is been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Be grateful for detours on your daily adventure. You never know what kind of blessing is just around the corner. Not too long ago, I had a meeting in Los Angeles. “What can we learn from this?” asked the young Starbucks Barista.
When I got to the counter to get a cup of coffee, my frustration must’ve been written all over my body language. I shared my tale of a dead cell phone, that my car charger had failed and I had no clue where my destination was. I was completely relying on the kindness of strangers for help. A cellular store was charging my phone and the Starbucks Crew gave me a safe place to land. What
did I learn? Number one – Always print your directions if you’re prone to getting lost like I am. Number two – Be thankful for detours that provide for adventure. I made it to my destination, a little late – but with a great story to tell that created dialogue for bonding and relationship building.

This has been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Is happiness something you can chase, or is it foolish to even try? I found some interesting snippets of information in Psychology Today. This little nugget came from a 2013 issue. “Everything in moderation,” cautions a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside. It’s fine to want to be happier – as long as it doesn’t slide into an obsession. Don’t keep thinking: is this working? Am I happy?
Put your effort into being a kinder person, improving your relationships, and savoring daily pleasures.”

It’s hard to think happy thoughts every moment of the day, so try just being a kinder person. For example: today I held the door open for somebody walking into the gym. It made me feel better, and it was an act of kindness that wasn’t asked for. And it made be happy. Will you try it?

But don’t mistake gratitude for an IOU. Don’t feel obligated to repay the favor. It’s not about keeping score; that will just foster negative feelings between you and the other person. Be kind, because it makes you happy.

This has been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day. Sixty seconds on wisdom, success, and personal growth. We’re focusing on 30 days of growth with gratitude and Thanksgiving.

When you achieve success at something, whether it’s work or at home or at school, make sure that you thank the people that helped you get there.
Whenever I see somebody giving a speech for an award that they won, it’s so rewarding to see them speak kind words about those who helped them get to that point in their career or level of achievement. We often forget those that we’ve left behind when we achieve success. Try thanking somebody today for helping you get to where you are. But, while you’re at it, make sure to give yourself some credit where credit is due, don’t sell yourself short. The desire to show humility, can often be misinterpreted as low self-esteem. Tryon Edwards said, “True humility is not an abject, groveling, self- despising spirit; it is the right estimate of ourselves as God sees us.”

So be grateful for your achievements, and thank those who helped you along the way. Might be a good day to make the call to someone today.

This has been Kelly Orchard’s Apple a Day… Now go out and be fruitful.

Kelly Orchard's Apple A Day is also available in print.

Click here for more!