Valuing Yourself and Your Needs (As a Parent): This is about taking care of your OWN needs as a parent because when you consistently put yourself last to be taken care of and habitually continue to sacrifice your basic necessities to make everyone else happy…Essentially, what you’re teaching your children is that they’re here to be of service to others, then themselves. In other words, you’re teaching them to take advantage of you and use you as they please, which in turn communicates to them that they’re most likely to be used. To prevent this from happening, you need to set consistent limits that protect you from demands that could be overbearing and unfair. That way, you’re communicating that your basic needs are just as important as theirs. It’s true…often times parents that are constantly sacrificing themselves are idealized and praised by other parents. You know… the ones that have no hobbies, no friends and no avenue of enjoyment. Is this really desirable? Parents constantly stressed about the needs of others in the family are usually irritable, and unmotivated to try anything new, fun or exciting. How can parents do this long term with no outlet? Instead, us parents need to enjoy ourselves and focus on being re-energized. When you take good care of yourself, you provide the means to take better care of your children. Going out to dinner or cocktails, trips to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, date night with your spouse or even some alone time reading or going for a walk allows you to be a more productive, interested and patient parent.”

“Make a decision today that, from now on, you are going to eliminate all the “if only’s” from your life.”

“Get it 80 percent right and then correct it later." Run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes. Don't expect perfection the first time or even the first few times. Be prepared to fail over and over before you get it right. The biggest enemies we have to overcome on the road to success are not a lack of ability and a lack of opportunity but fears of failure and rejection and the doubts that they trigger. The only way to overcome your fears is to "do the thing you fear,”

“As Pat Riley, the basketball coach, said, "Anytime you stop striving to get better, you're bound to get worse.”

“A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.”

“The price of success must be paid in full, in advance.”

“The most important contribution you can make to your company is to be a leader, accept responsibility for results, and dare to go forward.”

“rule, once again, is that every minute spent in planning and creating checklists will save you ten minutes in execution and getting the job done

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.  Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?”

“There are a thousand excuses for failure but never a good reason.” —MARK TWAIN”

“Courage is a habit that is learned by acting courageously whenever the quality of courage is required.”

“You can’t decide to value your child sometimes, and then put a game of Farmville, or golf, or a scrapbooking session before kids on other days. Values are non-negotiable like that.”

“This is the process of “systematic desensitization.” By confronting your fear, and by repeatedly doing the thing you fear, the fear eventually disappears.”

“Discipline is what you must have to resist the lure of excuses. It is self-discipline that enables you to “vote yourself off the island.” It is the key to a great life and, without it, no lasting success is possible.”

“knowing how to deal with change effectively is a primary requirement for living successfully in perhaps the most exciting time in all of human history ”