Little Detours

You have all the answers you will ever need. They’re inside of you. How do you access them? Consult your own soul.

Too many of us run around interviewing friends and family and strangers for the answers we need.

To really hear the wisdom within, you have to take time away from the noise and stay silent and listen. When you consult your soul, it will say “Yes” or “No” loud and clear.

How do you put the oxygen mask on yourself?

First, you give yourself permission to do so. The care and feeding of you is up to you and no one else.

Take back the remote control of your life. Own it. Your time is your time. Don’t give yourself away so there’s nothing left of you for you. Before you give any of your time away, ask what you’re trading in for it. Is it worth the trade?

Put the oxygen mask on yourself first, and everyone around you will breathe a little easier, too.

The secret of life is no secret. It’s sprinkled all over your life.

The secret of life is to find God in the present moment. If you do that, you’ll discover the secret of life is no secret.

It’s a baggy pair of overalls. Poems by Mary Oliver. Music by Louis Armstrong. Chocolate by Godiva. And so, so much more.

It’s celebrating what already is, right here, right now.

There’s an old saying: If you’re five minutes early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late and if you’re late, you’re fired.

Being late causes stress for you and everyone else.

After being late most of my life, now I’m almost always early. I add a little extra time to drive anywhere so I don’t risk getting a speeding ticket or fueling anyone’s road rage. Arrive early and you’ve scheduled in room to breathe.

Instead of being predictably late, arrive early and be the one everyone can count on.

Whatever you put your personal magnifying glass on grows. So why not put it on the good?

A beautiful soul named Larry Petrus taught me that. He saw and magnified the good in every stranger he met.

Whatever you focus on grows, so train yourself to magnify the good in the marriage you have, the house you have, the job you have, the family you have, the body you have. When you practice seeing the good and the God in everyone, and you’ll see it more often than you ever imagined.

We all judge ourselves too harshly when it comes to doing our best. We raise the bar too high, setting it at perfection, and give ourselves a failing grade for anything that falls short of that.

A beautiful teacher named JoAnn Hollis taught me that even at our worst, our work can still be a great gift to others. It’s not ours to judge, just to complete.

No one should climb a career ladder alone. Carry someone else up as you make the ascent. Empower others to be their best selves and you make the world better for everyone.

Whatever career ladder you’re headed up, take someone with you.

The most quoted rule for Book Clubs is this: You do not talk about Book Club.

Okay, so a Book Club shouldn’t feel like Fight Club, but there are rules to follow. You read just one book at a time. Conversations go on as long as they need to. If it’s your first night at Book Club, you have to talk.

Find out how to create the best book club and read the best books. And remember, What happens in book club, stays in book club.

How many pages do you give a book before you stop reading? I give a book 40 pages. If it doesn’t make my Wow Meter go wild, I stop reading.

No boring books. I don’t read anything that feels like homework. That’s one of Regina’s Rules for Reading.

Listen to the rest of them, like: Agree to disagree: Just because everyone else likes a book doesn’t mean you will. Take “Ulysses.” Please, take it!

A library card is a passport to the world.

It will take you anywhere in the world. With a library, you don’t need a passport to go to Peru. You don’t need airfare to tour the Mediterranean. You don’t need reservations to travel the Riviera.

If you can’t afford a vacation, the library is your vacation. If you need a job, the library offers limitless opportunities to craft your resume, learn new skills or build your confidence.

A library isn’t a luxury, it’s a lifeline.