This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day. Sixty seconds on Wisdom, Success and Personal Growth. We’re focusing on growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

Make a habit of finding balance. Stop; close your eyes and just listen to your breath fill up your lungs and then exhale. When you do this for thirty seconds, it provides for an emotionally calming reaction in your body. Remember trying to balance a ball, or balance yourself in the water by floating, or balancing on a
beam in grade school? You have to stop the outside world and focus on your internal mind and body to get that balance. That is how you will find it in “life” as well. Stop for a moment and steady yourself. And, then make a habit to write down the calming thoughts that come to mind.

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.”–Mark Victor Hansen

Make a habit of finding balance by getting enough sleep, exercise, and eating healthy. And then, relax.

This has been Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day.

…Now, go out and be fruitful.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day. Sixty seconds on Wisdom, Success and Personal Growth. We’re focusing on growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

What kind of role model are you? When you make a habit of being a good role model, to your kids, your business colleagues, your friends and family – you are helping to create a more successful environment, even for yourself.

It is in our human nature to seek and look up to heroes. When you are a positive role model, you become a hero to many. But, make it a habit without seeking accolades. Become a positive role model for the mere purpose of helping others grow in wisdom, success and personal growth.

A role model doesn’t just pay flattery to others, they practice what they preach!
So, what kind of role model will you make a habit of being?

George Orwell once said, “High sentiments always win in the end. The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.”

This has been Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day.

…Now, go out and be fruitful.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day. Sixty seconds on Wisdom, Success and Personal Growth. We’re focusing on growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

Haven’t we all made mistakes? I know that I make them daily, and I’m sure that you do too. I don’t beat myself up over them though. I look at my mistakes as an opportunity to grow. Sometimes, it’s as simple a mistake as sending out an email that might have a typo! Oops! Some mistakes are huge! Sometimes, I even forget people’s names and make the mistake of calling them by the wrong one! Now, that’s embarrassing! I learn from my mistakes. From the minute, to mundane, to the monumental mistakes, it’s all part of the learning….. and growth process.
Make it a habit to learn from your mistakes. Whether you’ve made a mistake on the job or in your personal life, it’s important to remember to not take yourself so seriously. Allow yourself room for mistakes and missteps. It’s part of being human. If you can just learn to own the mistake, look at it as part of your personal learning curve and then set it aside, you’ll discover that those mistakes
made are not detrimental, but actually helpful to your professional and personal growth. Starting today, forget what is gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to what is coming next.

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 growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

I’ve said this before, and I can’t say it enough. We all want to have friends. “One way to have a good friend, is to be a good friend.” Are you a good friend? What constitutes “friendship” to you, and how can you develop a habit of being a good friend? Does friendship mean somebody to do things with, or somebody to talk to about your most personal matters? Is friendship based on mutual respect, common ideas and interests?

Do you have any idea what being a good friend looks like?

“A friend is someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else.” ~ Author Unknown

 How many times have you gone out to a business function or meeting, or attended a party and felt like you had to “put on an act” just to get through the occasion. Was there somebody there who could see through your mask? That’s a friend.

Make a habit of being a good friend, and you’ll find you have more than you could possibly need!  

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

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day. Sixty seconds on Wisdom, Success and Personal Growth. We’re focusing on growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

How often do we hear, “Let’s keep in touch”, and then never follow through?! Make a habit to keep in touch.  And thanks to social media, we can do it fairly easily today! But, do your best to make a habit to send that text; actually make that phone call or send your promised email. ‘Like” or “share” something or make a comment on Facebook, Twitter or any other favorite social media, to an individual, not a general status update. Have we lost our ability to truly stay connected human to human?

Give a hug; a smile; connect with somebody. I know you’re busy, but connecting has health benefits and boosts your mood!

And, when someone does it for you, respond. Don’t just simply say, “let’s keep in touch”. Make keeping in touch a habitual activity, not just for today, but every day. It’ll build your personal and professional connections and foster’s growth!

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 growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

Setting a goal is futile if you’re not going to do the work to reach it. I teach about smart goal setting and making them realistic. Make a habit to challenge yourself every day. Two more phone calls, one more dollar in a savings account, or one less cup of coffee (that’s a huge challenge for me), or one less angry word. When you accomplish the small challenges, then you can start with habits to make bigger challenges, like higher education, or saving more money. “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” the French poet and journalist Anatole France,  said that. And, William J. Bennett in The Book of Virtues wrote, “Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty.”–

Nibble on that challenge 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.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day. Sixty seconds on Wisdom, Success and Personal Growth. We’re focusing on growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

What? Me worry? Calvin Coolidge so wisely said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Make a habit to be persistent, and stop worrying so much about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow.

Worry gets you nowhere fast, and you’ll have nothing to show for it. When I find myself worrying about a problem, a situation, or an issue, I take a break from whatever I am doing and think about all of the things that can go right. I press on.

Make a habit to just stop worrying so much. Things have a way of working out in your best interest anyway!

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 growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

What is your most prized possession? Is it your house? Perhaps your new car? Is it a piece of jewelry handed down for generations? Is your most valuable asset what is in your bank account? What is your legacy?

According to Billy Graham, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”

Today, make a habit to value people over things. We all know we can’t take our stuff with us when we go, and what you leave behind will probably be fought over anyway. I’ve seen that happen countless times.

Make the habit of placing value on the people in your life. How they remember you will be much more valuable than any object you will ever leave behind.

Maya Angelou said, “Somehow, we have come to the erroneous belief that we are all but flesh, blood, and bones, and that's all. So we direct our values to material things.”
Make a habit to value people over things.

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 growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

You look very nice today!

I just love what you did on that project!

Have you lost weight?

Everybody likes a compliment. Mark Twain believed, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

I know that when I receive compliments, it sets the tone of my day and I too can live off of just one compliment! Try feeding someone something so nutritious by paying them a well-deserved compliment. Make it a daily habit to compliment one person every day! It’ll have a mutual benefit for you too, they’ll remember that you honored them by noticing and then commenting on something positive.

Sharing a compliment should be a habit to practice 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.

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This is Kelly Orchard’s Apple A Day. Sixty seconds on Wisdom, Success and Personal Growth. We’re focusing on growth with 30 Days of New Habits.

What does it mean to you if I told you to make a habit to accept responsibility? We talk about who is responsible for job tasks, or chores at home, or just being a “responsible citizen”, but what does it mean to you, to “accept responsibility”, and make it a habit?

My take on that is that I accept responsibility for my feelings, my behaviors, my attitudes and my actions. They may not always be “right”, or “perfect”, but I accept responsibility for them!

I usually try to find the good in most situations, but I occasionally feel the stress and pressures of everyday life. I take responsibility for my failures, my mistakes, my successes and my attitude.

Just think, “If we do not feel grateful for what already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?”

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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