“Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.”

― Harper Lee

Summer is that time of endless possibilities—three whole months when adventures of any sort could happen. Even better, summer is when so many great memories are made, and luckily those memories don't have to be expensive!

After a grueling week, you finally have some downtime. How will you spend it? Running errands? Cleaning house? Squeezing in a little extra work? Maybe you’ll do absolutely nothing— recharging the batteries, so to speak. If you have kids, you may notice that neither of those options produces a very enjoyable day off, particularly when they insist on spending some time with you.

In an iconic Calvin and Hobbs comic strip, Hobbs is reminding 6-year-old Calvin that his leaf project for school will soon be due. “You haven’t even started.”  

“I work better under pressure,” Calvin responds.

“You only work under pressure,” Hobbs grumbles.

When it comes to taxes, many of us can relate to Calvin. The forms, the hassles, the annoying number crunching and obscure rules can make it a nuisance we’d rather not deal with. On top of that, you need to plan for the future as well as deal with the present, which means not only filing this year’s taxes, but gearing up for next year’s as well.

Do you always put up your Christmas tree on the first weekend in December?  Is It’s a Wonderful Life firmly entrenched in your holiday viewing list even though you’ve seen it more times than you can count?  Do you faithfully go down to your local playhouse every yuletide to watch this year’s version of the Nutcracker?

Can there be anything more enjoyable than creating memories year after year with your family and friends?

Many of the stories during the holiday season often evoke thoughts on the possibilities of magic and miracles. And in that spirit, we would like to wish you the greatest gift of all: a wonderful life. But no matter how much we wish it, remember that most of that magic will have to come from you and your efforts to make it so, just like George Bailey.

This holiday season we wish you hope.

Many people may confuse hope and faith, and while they can be interchanged, think of faith as being almost certain the sun will rise tomorrow, and hope as feeling that even if the sun doesn't rise, it could still be a good day.

Free stuff? From the government? OUR government?

These days you’re more likely to hear about government cutbacks than bold new initiatives.  Whether it’s in the form of a stripped down IRS or another looming government shutdown, it seems Uncle Sam is tightening his belt. But just because the Feds are running a little leaner doesn’t mean there still aren’t some freebies available for you at the many dot.gov sites.  From free online recipes to interactive travel guides, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.  Here are just a few:

You may enjoy your work, but do you oftentimes feel as though you aren't getting anything done, despite the long hours you're putting in? What about the rest of your life? Do you have time to enjoy being with your family? Or do you feel like there's just too much pressure like you're on some crazy roller coaster, trying your best just to hang on?

One of the best-selling time management books on Amazon addresses these issues and offers sage advice on how to deal with them. Greg McKeown's Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less argues that if people were more selective about what they consider essential then they would have more control over their own choices. Too much of what we spend our time on tends to be trivial, which not only threatens our success at work, but trickles down into our personal lives as well.

As the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks approaches, you might consider starting a new tradition to commemorate the day — a September 11 journal.

Keeping a journal is a way to not only keep the memories alive, but can help you sort out the emotions you may feel about the event. Whether you decide to show it to anyone is up to you; you may decide thirty years from now that you want to share it. You might choose to keep the journal on paper, online, or perhaps create a photo album.  

It doesn't matter that you're no longer a school child—the prospect of summer can still get you excited about the prospects of adventure: family reunions, school reunions, vacations, day trips, sports, you name it. But nothing can spoil a great time in the hot weather more than… well, the hot weather.

Here are some tips for taking care of yourself and your family this summer:

You gripped the steering wheel so tightly during your commute to the office that you left claw marks. The frown lines that sometimes visit your forehead have now taken up permanent residence and invited their relatives to stay. 

In other words, you might be under a little bit of a strain.

Stress is nothing new. It's been around since the beginning of time, and it doesn't appear to be going out of style any time soon. How we deal with it will go a long way to determining how productive and happy we end up being.

“I wish they made days that had more than 24 hours in them so I can get all of this done.” If you find yourself saying this too often, it may be time to delegate some of the responsibility for running your business. Though it’s tempting to want to keep your finger on the pulse of every little detail, it becomes more and more difficult as the business grows. If you haven’t seen the recent movie, The Intern, with Anne Hathaway and Robert DeNiro, check it out as an example.

Trying to be everything to everyone can leave you unfocused. You may end up forgetting deadlines or glossing over details because you have so many other things on your plate. You may even be forced to re-do some of your work, adding another job to your ever-growing list. By assigning less executive-level or more routine tasks to others, you free up more time to use on the core aspects of your business. 

Your goal during the holidays should be to enjoy yourself and your loved ones, but that's practically impossible to do if you're feeling too much stress. Here are some things you can do to prevent that anxiety from spoiling your good times:

1. Pay attention to your health.
Too many projects and activities can stress anyone out, but don't let them keep you from taking care of yourself. Make sure you're getting plenty of sleep, eating properly, and exercising. Combat winter's dry air by taking steamy showers. Dress warmly and appropriately during cold weather. There's nothing like getting sick to take all the fun out of the holiday season.

For many of us, Thanksgiving is a time to relax— particularly after we’ve eaten a second helping of turkey and dressing and ‘tested’ the pumpkin pie once more just to make sure it still tastes like it did the first time.

Thanksgiving is also a time for friends, family and fun. From the comforts of our table to the annual holiday spectacles like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Dallas Cowboys’ yearly tilt, Thanksgiving has a lot to offer. With all the hustle and bustle of the day, it can be easy for us to forget another important part of Thanksgiving: giving thanks.

According to the New York Times, the 2014 elections had the “worst voter turnout in 72 years.”  They went on to say “the national turnout was 36.3 percent; only the 1942 federal election had a lower participation rate at 33.9 percent.”

Did YOU vote last year?

What does it matter, you ask? “There are millions of people in this country, and I’m just one vote.”

If you were to describe your life at the moment, how many of us would use the word ‘busy.’ How many of you have never ending ‘to-do’ lists?

If someone asks you how you are – How many of you would reply ‘Good….but busy.’ Why are we so obsessed with packing our schedules, thinking a mile a minute, rushing around with no time to stop and smell the roses? There is an obsession with needing to do something all of the time, a cultural badge of honour. It’s not unusual to wake up and scroll through your feeds before even saying ‘Good morning’ to the person lying next to you, or checking in with yourself.

As a society we have never worked more hours in a week than we do now; we have never pushed ourselves so hard. Our list of things ‘to do’ never ends - it just keeps getting bigger. And are we happier for it?
 
When was the last time you just sat and did nothing? Reflected? Took time out for yourself just to ‘be’?
 
If this resonates with you or you’ve ever found yourself feeling stuck in cycles of stress, dissatisfaction and discontent, or unsure how to simply relax and find some inner peace, then the practice of mindfulness is for you.
 
Mindfulness is the art of living in the moment, rather than 2 minutes ahead or 2 weeks behind. This style of thinking allows you to wholly experience everything in your life; taking time to focus on the present. The benefits don’t stop there. It’s also been found to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone), it allows you to handle stress better, and more recently, ‘mindful eating’ has been linked to weight loss.
 
So, how can I get involved?
 
Melli O’Brien, of MrsMindfulness.com, presents The Mindfulness Summit; 31 Days of Mindfulness a FREE 31-day online summit this October 1-31st designed to bring mindfulness to everyone, giving you the opportunity to learn mindfulness from the comfort of your own home, from some of the world’s most respected teachers.