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Browse published articles attributed to Dan Ohler, with full-archive search.
Yahoo, it’s spring! It’s a great time to focus on the garden – and relationships. They are the same, aren’t they? Imagine this… As the grass began to grow, I knew it was time to connect with nature and get our garden ready for another productive year. It was fun to work in the garden that sunny day. There was that distinctive rich, sweet smell.
Definition of Honest: truthful; trustworthy; genuine; open Soooo, are you an honest person? Your response is likely, “Yes.” However, if we look deeper in our lives, we may find our response is not totally true. And if we are really honest with ourselves, we may find that our lack of honesty can lead to devastating results in our relationships. This became clear to us on our recent trip to the Caribbean. We met and saw many couples who seemed to have fabulous relationships. They laughed, teased, played, and seemed totally in love.
Goals – what is their purpose? Are they something: - we’re “supposed-to-write” to be successful?rn- to check off the list and move on to the next?rn- to keep us on track?rn- to help us stretch ourselves to learn, grow, and develop new skills and talents?rn- to help others, or to improve the world?rn- ?? I believe that we all have goals, whether we write them or not. And there are many reasons for setting and accomplishing goals.
My brother, Emil, is a genius as well as being an exceptionally talented kayak paddler. Since one of my goals this summer was to learn how to pilot a kayak, it made sense to ask Emil for his help. Picture this: A sunny, warm day on Crimson Lake in West-central Alberta. There were six student kayakers, bobbing like corks on the waves, eager to hear the words of direction and wisdom from the master of the craft. Emil’s first three phrases are indelibly imprinted in my mind, with immense life implications for you and me.
Recently, we traveled to Southern Alberta to visit with Carol’s side of the family. Are they in-laws, out-laws, or maybe some of both? Regardless, I love them all. As we approached our destination, we chatted about our expectations of how the landscape would look, based upon our memories. ...
There were horns blaring, tires screeching, and fingers waving in the air from several drivers I could see. From the expressions on their faces, I don’t think the middle-finger wave was to say, “You’re number one!” Luckily no one was physically hurt. But I’m guessing there was stress, anger, and emotional pain felt by the people directly involved, and by others who were close-by. This incident was in Edmonton, Alberta.
Spring is in the air. It is a time of new life. There are green grass, kittens, puppies, and rhubarb. Rhubarb? The darned stuff is the first thing to show up in the garden. For those of you who don’t know about rhubarb, it grows from a huge root-ball under the soil. A mass of stalks shoot through the soil – each topped with a leaf the size of an elephant’s ear. OK, a small elephant’s ear, but the leaf is big. The stalks are red near the ground, greener toward the leaf, and they grow to be the diameter of a coffee cup and as long as a tall person’s leg.
Carol said, “At the Showcase, we can buy some Christmas presents.” “We’ll see,” I said. “If there is something we can use, OK. Otherwise, let’s not buy stuff.” Those two small, seemingly insignificant statements led to a 40 minute conversation of clarification, and much deeper understanding betwee Carol and me.
“I’m going to make those marketing calls. Yup, tomorrow I will.” “Dang, there’s the alarm. I’ll hit the snooze button – just one more time.” “I’m going to start an exercise program. I’ll look into it next week.” “I’ll get that GST report done – one of these days.” “I’d really like to tell her how I feel about what she said to me. But not now. Maybe there will be a good time later – maybe.” “Let’s get together for a visit.
Definition of Honest: truthful; trustworthy; genuine; open Soooo, are you an honest person? Your response is likely, “Yes.” However, if we look deeper in our lives, we may find our response is not totally true. And if we are really honest with ourselves, we may find that our lack of honesty can lead to devastating results in our relationships. This became clear to us on our recent trip to the Caribbean. We met and saw many people who seemed to have fabulous relationships. We also had numerous coaching sessions with people who were struggling, literally.
Recently, we traveled to Southern Alberta to visit with Carol’s side of the family. Are they in-laws, out-laws, or maybe some of both? Regardless, I love them all. As we approached our destination, we chatted about our expectations of how the landscape would look, based upon our memories. We tend to expect it will be the same as we’ve experienced it before, which creates a familiar feeling. But it was different. Each time we go there, we see more houses in the countryside and expansion in the towns. The growth is not necessarily right or wrong, it is just different.
In the last article, How-To Attract the Perfect Mate, Job, Neighbourhood - Part 1, you created a profile of your âidealâ mate, job, business, neighbourhood, or whatever it was that you chose to focus on, and attract into your life. If you didnât accept the challenge in that article, or missed reading it, please go back and complete that now. Youâll be glad you did.nnHow has that worked so far for you? Were you able to clarify and focus on what you want to create for y
"There was an old owl who sat in an oak. nThe more he watched; the less he spoke.nThe less he spoke; the more he heard.nWhy canât we be like that wise old bird?" nnThatâs an interesting hoot that deserves some pondering.nnOne of the biggest causes of stressed or broken relationships is ineffective communication. Both people speak but nobody sits quietly, watches, and listens.nn âHe (or she) just doesnât listen to me!â nnIn our business, we hear this frequently about
Jessamyn West said, âYou make what seems a simple choice: choose a man or a job or a neighborhood - and what you have chosen is not a man or a job or a neighborhood, but a life.ânnWhoa partner! Letâs think about the truth in that.nnHow many people do you know who seem to have chosen a life-partner because they found a spark of what seemed to be love â but it didnât last? Did you do this?nnHow many people do you know who seem to have chosen a job or business because
Summertime and wedding celebrations – they seem to go together like… nnHmmm, let’s contemplate the possibilities: n n• gorgeous women with custom-designed gowns and 3-hour hairdos – blowing uncontrollably in the squalln• attractive men – standing for hours in sweat-soaked suitsn• lost or sun-drooped flower arrangementsn• misplaced wedding ringsn• arguments about outdoor protocoln• hail storms in the photo garde
Yahoo, itâs spring! As the grass began to grow, I knew it was time to connect with nature and get our garden ready for another productive year.nnIt was fun to work in the garden that sunny day. There was that distinctive rich, sweet smell. It was a very pleasurable experience to work the soil, plan where things would be, and to picture in my mind how it would look when we harvest and savour the fruits veggies of our labour.nnAfter the seeds were carefully planted, there was