It's true that success is the combination of belief and time. The more belief you have, the less time it takes.

It's true that success is the combination of belief and time. The more belief you have, the less time it takes.

Missionary Reassignments Due to Pandemic and War with Ammon Hasson.

Our son Ammon Ammon recently had the opportunity to join Caralee Clark Bailey & Anjuli Nielsen Plouzek on their podcast where he was interviewed about the details of his mission serving in Washington D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, and Berlin, Germany for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arise-with-christ/id1661178504

It was an inspiring conversation for me personally, and as we wrap up the Christmas season I highly recommend listening in an effort to carry that Christmas spirit into 2023.

Study On Kindness.

When you are kind, your brain’s reward center lights up as if you were the recipient rather than the giver!

Read these facts from a study on kindness to learn more.

Kindness Increases…

Energy.
“About half of participants in one study reported that they feel stronger and more energetic after helping others; many also reported feeling calmer and less depressed, with increased feelings of self-worth” (Christine Carter, UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science Center).

Happiness.
A 2010 Harvard Business School survey of happiness in 136 countries found that people who are altruistic—in this case, people who were generous financially, such as with charitable donations—were happiest overall.

Serotonin.
Like most medical antidepressants, kindness stimulates the production of serotonin. This feel-good chemical heals your wounds, calms you down, and makes you happy!

Kindness Decreases…

Pain
Engaging in acts of kindness produces endorphins, the brain’s natural painkiller!

Stress
Perpetually kind people have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population!

Anxiety
A group of highly anxious individuals performed at least six acts of kindness a week. After one month, there was a significant increase in positive moods and relationship satisfaction and a decrease in social avoidance in socially anxious individuals (University of British Columbia study).

("Kindness Health Facts," https://www.dartmouth.edu/.../emotional/rakhealthfacts.pdf).

Panama 2022 - Recap of Amare Global Leadership Retreat

We had an unforgettable experience last week in Panama at our annual Amare Global leadership retreat. One of the highlights was a service project we participated in that was arranged by the company. I know there are MANY companies that do these types of events, and I hope more occur in the future.

We visited a school on the outskirts of the big city and painted classrooms, exterior walls & playground equipment, made improvements to the landscape with new plants and more. We even had the opportunity to sit and do crafts and other learning activities with the children. Afterwards the school children performed several dances with local music and clothing.

The beaches, visiting the Panama Canal, and all the other activities were amazing too, but the time at that school will not be forgotten by any of those who participated.

Veterans Day 2022

On this Veterans Day we fly our American flag in front of our home, 

and every day we are grateful for all you vets out there!

And we this week are extremely grateful our son Ammon survived this incident without a scratch and will be able to continue in the Utah National Guard and begin his basic training with the U.S. Army in January. Unfortunately his Toyota Rav did not fare as well during the plunge into the river. Cars can be replaced, people can not. The river in the canyon up to Sundance is a good place to RIP, for a car. (Although he did have it pulled out).

 

Fun Feels Good

Our daughter Sarah and her husband Ryan designed and created this new card game called "Fun Feels Good" for kids and they just listed it on Amazon. Great gift for the holidays or anytime. Thanks for supporting their new venture!!

Click here to order:

His Power Brings Peace.

 

Pay The Price.

 

...I no longer have any doubt.

Although there are many things about this life that I do not understand, there are some truths about which I no longer have any doubt.

Taking Action Is Key!

 

Reap - Sow.

 

Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable.

10 things that can help one get comfortable being uncomfortable. (Hint: Uncomfortable doesn't have to be permanent.)

1. Reframe what it means to be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable doesn't have to mean something bad. Uncomfortable simply means you may be doing something that you haven't done before.

2. Practice doing uncomfortable things. The more we practice doing things that are outside of our comfort zone, the better we will get at embracing discomfort.

3. You won't always feel uncomfortable about the same things because your comfort zone will expand. This quote by athlete Alex Honnold reminds us that our comfort zone isn't static: “My comfort zone is like a little bubble around me, and I've pushed it in different directions and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fall within the realm of the possible."

4. Realize that everyone feels uncomfortable at times and that we're not alone. Everyone around us also deals with discomfort and that it's part of our shared humanity.

5. Have big goals and let them drive you forward through the discomfort. Swimming legend Michael Phelps encourages us to have goals that stretch us: "I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time."

6. Consider the long-term negative consequences of staying in your comfort zone.

7. Choosing to avoid uncomfortable feelings offers immediate short-term relief, but avoidance can lead to long-term consequences.- We can make our comfort zone more uncomfortable as this will make the alternative more appealing. Use the discomfort of your status quo to push through discomfort.

8. Stop comparing yourself to others and focus on your own personal growth. Most of us are at a different level and we grow in their own way. 

9. See your discomfort as a necessary part of growth. Teach yourself to see your discomfort as a sign that you're growing.

10. Stop procrastinating and just do it now. Act now because uncomfortable things generally get harder the longer you wait.

Myths vs. Facts

 

6 Key Ingredients for Inspirational Leadership

 

What Is Integrity?

As I was reading the Good Book today I realized that Job's integrity was another source of spiritual strength during his inflictions. What is integrity? I believe it is doing what is right regardless of the immediate consequences. How we act and think in our private lives and in public, makes all the difference.

11 Characteristics of Truly Inspiring Leaders.

 

He's Home!!

Our son Ammon Hasson returned yesterday from serving his two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in three different missions. He was called to serve in the Ukraine mission, but due to the pandemic, he was reassigned to serve in Washington D.C. - sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ as a full-time volunteer missionary.

Once international travel resumed, Ammon was able to go to Ukraine and loved it there!

We all know what happened in February, so he was reassigned once again to serve in Berlin, Germany and finished his mission there this week. 

It is a great blessing to have him home and to hear how his love for our Savior has grown as well as the love he developed for those he interacted with during his two-year mission. 

Now it's time to enjoy lots of family and friends welcoming him home this weekend. And he is definitely ready for the next chapter and we are confident it will be packed with just as much excitement as the past two years!

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable.

9 things that have helped me to get comfortable being uncomfortable. (Hint: Uncomfortable doesn't have to be permanent.)

1. Reframe what it means to be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable doesn't have to mean something bad. Uncomfortable simply means you may be doing something that you haven't done before.

2. Practice doing uncomfortable things. The more we practice doing things that are outside of our comfort zone, the better we will get at embracing discomfort.

3. You won't always feel uncomfortable about the same things because your comfort zone will expand. This quote by athlete Alex Honnold reminds us that our comfort zone isn't static: “My comfort zone is like a little bubble around me, and I've pushed it in different directions and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fall within the realm of the possible."

4. Realize that everyone feels uncomfortable at times and that we're not alone. Everyone around us also deals with discomfort and that it's part of our shared humanity.

5. Have big goals and let them drive you forward through the discomfort. Swimming legend Michael Phelps encourages us to have goals that stretch us: "I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time."

6. Consider the long-term negative consequences of staying in your comfort zone.

7. Choosing to avoid uncomfortable feelings offers immediate short-term relief, but avoidance can lead to long-term consequences.- We can make our comfort zone more uncomfortable as this will make the alternative more appealing. Use the discomfort of your status quo to push through discomfort.

8. See your discomfort as a necessary part of growth. Teach yourself to see your discomfort as a sign that you're growing.

9. Stop procrastinating and just do it now. Act now because uncomfortable things generally get harder the longer you wait.

Get Your Daily DOSE.

 

Why I don't use Tik Tok.

TikTok’s time bomb: how the app wields massive influence on America’s attention — and potentially its direction.

So many Tok clones... No one’s safe from vertical videos. US social giants have desperately tried to replicate the success of TikTok, the short-video app that’s captured Gen Z's consciousness (call it "GenT"). One of the biggest threats to Meta, Google, Snap, and Twitter isn't slowing social usership in general — it’s slowing usership because of TikTok.

44 mins/day: Last year people spent more time on TikTok than on Facebook. The Tok may’ve even surpassed time spent on Insta and YouTube worldwide.

1.6B brains: TikTok has more monthly users than Twitter, Snap, and LinkedIn combined.

The news: TikTok just added new screentime controls to make its app seem less intensely addictive (think: break reminders).

The reality: It likely won't help. The app’s already shortened kids’ attention spans to where many can't even sit through a movie or a class.

Dancing to the (algo)rhythm... To curate your feed, TikTok's mysterious algorithm figures out what engages you. And while that’s mostly lip-syncs, cat pranks, and makeup hacks, there's a dark side to TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance — which China’s gov’t owns a stake in.

Dangerous content: In addition to life-threatening viral challenges (like holding your breath until you faint or OD'ing on Benadryl), TikTok's algo has sent teens down rabbit holes promoting eating disorders, porn sites, and gun violence.

Misinfo: Many get their news on TikTok, but no one really knows how info (and misinfo) spreads there. Recently TikTok’s been flooded with videos pushing Russia's narrative on the Ukraine war — which China supports.

Censorship: TikTok has cracked down on topics at China’s behest (think: the Uyghur crisis). Any interference from the Chinese government could wreak havoc on US elections and an already divided American democracy.

THE TAKEAWAY

Attention = influence… We’re not talking fitness gurus. Commanding attention means directing attention, and TikTok’s captured the mind of a generation. The concern of the (now dead) Tik Tok-ban saga was that ByteDance could pass US data to China. But the real concern is likely TikTok’s influence to direct attention, and the obscurity around who’s really pulling the strings.

Be Kind.

 

💔 Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit.

 

Good vs. Evil

 

Our Habits Decide Our Future.

 

Gut & Immune Health

 

Stock Tip.

Called my stockbroker this morning and asked him what I should be buying.  He said, "Canned goods and ammunition!"

Always Clap