I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. Not anymore. I have seen too many…and made too many myself…that hit the New Year running, only to find them limping along by February, and completely petered out by the Spring thaw.
 
I have learned that the best moment to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is now. NOW. Not “after the holidays”, or “after the kids are out of school”. Not “once the kids are back in school”, or “Monday”. NOW.
 
Occasionally a potential client will call me in the Fall, anxious to begin their new goals to overcome a challenge or build their business, only to determine that they’ll “start after the holidays”. I just smile and tell them to let me know when they are ready. Unfortunately it isn’t uncommon to talk to them 6 months later and realize they never started at all.
 
Well, whether you believe in New Year’s Resolutions or not, tomorrow IS the start of another new year! If you have dreams and goals, which I hope you do, how will you pursue them in a way that won’t peter out by spring? How will you keep your “why” fresh in your mind each day? Who will you make a part of your team? Will you get a coach? A mentor? A friend?
 
You see, growth is for every day. Not just January 1st. It is what makes us happy, fills us with purpose, and fulfillment. It improves our relationships, helps us increase our talents, and therefore the service we can give to more people. Progress is the reason we are here in the first place.
 
If I can help you in your quest to thrive, please don’t ever hesitate to contact me…whether it’s January 1st or not. 

How great can one person become? Does it depend on how much you've been loved? Does it depend on how much education, money, or free time you have? Does it depend on your weight? Height? Skin color? I am here to attest, it absolutely does NOT.
 
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Everyone can be great, because anyone can serve." Serving makes us great. Serving fills us with love. Serving makes us happy, and anyone can do it.
 
You can serve at ANYTIME. Even now, as I write this alone in a motel room, I can think kind things of others, send uplifting texts, go for a walk and smile at the people I meet. I can express gratitude to the teenager handing me my lunch order, or the waiter filling my glass of water.
 
Too often we think that "serving" has to entail a lot of time, which we are already short on. I believe that some of the best service you can give someone is your focus. SEE them. HEAR them. Recently I attended a beautiful reception in my husband’s honor. I’m so proud of him and the contributions he makes to our society. I am also used to attending these functions where I know practically no one, and I am perfectly happy to blend into the background. At one point, as I stood outside a circle that was gathered around my husband to congratulate him, a lovely woman glanced back and saw that I was there. She immediately took a couple of steps back and made me a part of the circle. I thought to myself, “What a kind thing to do!” and I doubt she has any idea how that simple action served me…how it said without words, “You belong here.”
 
Recently the movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood has taken the nation by storm. There is no swearing. No violence. No inappropriate scenes. But those are the things usually throws into movies to make them sell. So why is this movie about a man who made children’s television shows so popular? I suggest it is because
Mr. Rogers knew how to love people. He saw them. He heard them. He cared about the person in front of him at every given moment.  
 
I think we all would like to “be great” in some way. We all want to leave a positive mark on the world. My husband has a saying that he tells our kids often, "Be good. Be great." I love that saying because it is not about setting unachievable expectations. That's simply teaching our children to serve. It’s a reminder that greatness isn’t achieved by money or fame. Greatness is having a heart to love others. And everyone can be great because anyone can serve.

​I must be the world’s worst plant owner. I do have plants, but my kids will tell you, don’t give me something that needs a lot of fussing. You’re bound to end up with sticks in dirt. For some reason, remembering to give it a little drink of water now and then just seems like an insurmountable task.
 
I do have one plant that I bought back in 1991 that is still alive, despite my multiple attempt to kill it with neglect. It has been brought back from the dead more times than people in the New Testament. I have literally left it in the garage until it was nothing more than a lonely stick in a pot of dust, and yet when my inner-scientist chose to begin throwing some water on it, it amazed us all with its ability to forgive…to bounce back…to survive. It has earned its rightful place in our home.
 
Perhaps my weakness with plants is God’s way of teaching me that when we water and nourish a thing, it grows. And when we neglect it…that’s right…it turns into the Sahara and withers away.  The same is true with habits…all habits…whether good or bad. That which we give our time and attention to grows. That which we ignore and leave unattended will dry up and disappear like last year’s reality show.
 
When we are striving to develop new habits in our lives, it can often seem daunting to give it the little bit of attention it may require. But ask yourself this? Which habits are you watering? And which habits are you neglecting? Every time you water an old habit that you would rather put in the compose bin, you keep it alive a little longer. And every time you nourish a new and improved habit, whose fruit you long to enjoy, you also keep it alive a little longer. With consistency of time and attention, the new habit will send roots deep into the earth, developing resiliency, absorbing more nutrients, and providing sweeter, more plentiful fruit.
 
And might I add that when we invite the Savior to join us in our efforts, He supplies us with the living water that can breathe life back into deadest of sticks. It’s as simple as that.  So…which habits will you water?

I waited and waited for the water to turn hot so that I could rinse off the face wash of my nightly routine. It didn’t take long to realize that something was wrong and I resigned myself to the rude awakening of the still-chilly substance coming out of the tap.
“Honey…,” I yelled, “the water heater is busted again.” Confused, he came in the bathroom and turned on the hot-water faucet. Immediately steam began to gather on the mirror. Questioning glances were quickly followed by belly laughs as I realized I had turned on the cold faucet, but expected hot water. What can I say? The blonde on my head is real.
How many times have you been convinced that something in your life is broken? We say things to ourselves like, “I don’t have what it takes,” “I’ll never be able to do that,” or “it just doesn’t work for me.” But the truth is, true principles are always true principles, and if you follow them, the results will come.
In the Doctrine and Covenants we read that “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” If you step off of a cliff, the law of gravity will let you fly…for a moment…until you come to a painful and abrupt stop. If you get in a properly functioning plane, the law of gravity and lift will allow you to fly around the world, and the only pain you are likely to feel will come from the endless reruns of The Prince of Bel Air.

​The Diving Bell Spider is the only species of spider to live almost entirely underwater. Though it is not amphibious, it rests, mates, catches and eats its prey, lays eggs and winters all under water.
How can it do this if it still needs to oxygen to live? Simple…ok…simple for her. She surfaces only long enough to trap oxygen in the fine hairs of her abdomen, and then stores that oxygen in an intricate silk web underwater. Each trip to the surface replenishes her supply and adds to her collection. In this self-made home-sweet-home, the Diving Bell Spider has learned to adapt to an environment normally hostile to survival to one such as her, but Bell…my hero…has found her own unique way.
In the quest to find peace from destructive behaviors and beliefs, there are naysayers everywhere. People come out of the woodwork to crush your dreams, or share their own stories of failure, as if you should “not get your hopes up too high.” We hear statistics on the number of people with eating disorders, failed business attempts, divorces, and relapses. It’s enough to make you tear down your web before you even start to weave it.
But Bell doesn’t listen to the killjoys of the surface. Instead, she makes her home in the depths of the impossible, where the neighbors are distant, the water is clean, and the fishing is fantastic.
I’ll be the first to admit that when I run up against obstacles, my first thoughts tend to resemble more of  the “I can’t” model. But, like my friend Bell, I’m here to tell you that it is possible to challenge those thoughts and turn them into powerful considerations of “how can I?”
We can fill our bubble with life-promoting oxygen, like spiritual strength, good people, and true principles, that will keep us going regardless of how threatening our surroundings may be. And, just like Bell, we must replenish those supplies continually…never assuming that we’ve arrived in some super-bubble state that will protect us for life. Thank you, Bell, for reminding me that we can live a life of success and significance, and that peace, like oxygen, must be cultivated and sought after, one breath at a time.