Your Daily Dose of Hope

Latest Episodes:

Dolly Parton: Ambassador of Hope EP 70 Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

I once heard someone refer to Dolly Parton as in American treasure and I think that feels right. she's is beloved by people in the country music world and her popularity has exceeded Way Beyond her humble Tennessee upbringing.

I consider Dolly an ambassador of Hope because she’s always done things on her terms with thoughtfulness for others. In 2023 she published a beautiful book titled Behind the Seams, that is about all of her costumes and gowns and wigs and all of her clothes that she wore through the years.

As a young musician and performer, before she was the famous Dolly Parton she is today, she had the presence of mind to keep the clothes that she wore. Before she was a big star.

I find that hopeful. She came from humble beginnings and she talks about this in the book about how why she's always worn big sparkly clothes and high heels and the big wigs she explains that they made her feel beautiful and special.

The value of cherishing her clothes for herself it's such an act of hope. She did not know back in the '60s and '70s that she was going to be the Dolly Parton that we all know and love today, or maybe she did!

It reminds me that when we're willing to be true to who we know we are, be true to what we know is right for us, what makes us feel good, good things will happen.

Behind the Seams photo credit: Alexander Krivitskiy Unsplash

Your Are Allowed to be Happy EP 69 Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

Today I'm reading a post written by someone who made such a great point that hope and happiness are ours to treasure, even if things aren't perfect. 3 minutes of happiness!

Hope in Daily Moments EP 68 Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

Life Experiences That Give Hope

• Witnessing unexpected kindness - Those moments when

someone goes out of their way to help another without expecting anything in

return remind us of the fundamental goodness that exists in humanity, even

during challenging times.

We also know that our brain releases feel-good chemicals

when we show kindness to others, received kindness ourselves and witness the

kindness – it’s the ultimate win/win/win.

• Recovering from failure or setback - The experience

of falling down but finding the strength to get back up proves our resilience

and teaches us that difficulties are temporary, not permanent conditions of

life.

It’s often when we may need to ask for help or acknowledge

that we can’t do everything on our own. I want to be the kind of person that

people come to when they need support, and I also want to be willing to ask for

help when I need it.

• Reconnecting with old friends - When relationships

survive distance and time, it demonstrates that meaningful connections can

endure and even deepen, showing us that some bonds transcend circumstance. Are

you good at keeping in touch? That’s something I’d like to do a better job of –

my mom was great at this. She kept in touch with letters and cards – and then

phone calls with people for year. To this day, she still gets phione calls from

a woman who befriended her when they were stationed in Florida in the 60’s. Her

friend is in her 90’s and my mom is in her 80’s and they still do that.

So much of life feels planned – we have routines and

structure and I’m glad for that too – who wants chaos? Not me – a nice surprise

now and then – that’s cool. I remind myself and I want to remind you too that

you can Be intentional about the kind of day you want to have, the kind of

person you want to be. There’s hope in choosing. Here’s to a great day today

and an even better tomorrow.

Something To Hope For EP 67 Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

Tom Bodett, author, NPR essayist, and if that doesn’t ring a bell, you may know him as the Motel 6 spokesman has said: “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”

That sounds right to me too. Something to hope for keeps popping up so I decided to share a few things that we might not always connect with being hopeful to remind us that the day-to-day things help us keep hope alive and well.

My good friend Teresa Cleveland reminds me that gardening is an expression of hope. Planting seeds, hoping for the right about of sunshine and rain and the right temperatures are all required to get to the blooms or the harvest. If you’ve planted something in the past, or are getting ready to, remember that you are embodying what it means to be hopeful.

One of my favorite Dolly Parton songs has lyrics that say “I can see the light of the clear blue morning and everything’s going to be alright, it’s going to be okay.” A new sunrise, a new day, the cycle of life reminds us that nothing stays the same – so if things feel dark now and then, remember it won’t’ always be so.

Belonging, be part of communities - organizing to solve problems, choosing to pull together – that’s incredibly hopeful to me. When we do that,we are saying individually and as a group, I believe things can be better and if you’re involved it’s also choosing to be part of the solution. Action always boosts our hope.

Lots of life experiences remind us that hope helps. Things like surviving chemo and the day comes when you wake up feeling a little bit better, being the new kid in school – I did this a few times and having someone invite your to sit with them at lunch, getting the promotion you’ve worked hard for and even a setback like not winning a big game but knowing you did your best - lots of things remind us that today can be better than yesterday and tomorrow can be better than today.

I hope you’ll find a few of your own version of “something to hope for” - here’s to a great day and an even better tomorrow.

The Connection Between Empathy and Hope EP 66 Apr 18, 2025

Show notes

Empathy—our ability to understand and share the feelings of others—serves as a profound bridge between human hearts. It allows us to step outside ourselves and truly see the world through another's eyes. But there's another dimension to empathy that's often overlooked: its intimate relationship with hope.

When we practice empathy, we don't just connect with another person's pain or joy; we create the possibility for transformation. This connection forms the foundation for genuine hope—not wishful thinking, but a grounded belief that things can improve through our shared humanity.

How Empathy Cultivates Hope

True empathy involves more than sympathy. When we empathize, we:

1. Acknowledge another's reality without judgment

2. Create space for authentic expression

3. Recognize our fundamental interconnectedness

The Power of Both/And Thinking EP 65 Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

When the World Feels Overwhelming EP 64 Apr 16, 2025

Show notes

When life feels overwhelming, especially when confronted with deeply troubling events or information that seems beyond our control, it's important to find constructive ways to respond while taking care of your own wellbeing.

Start with self-care

Verify information

Constructive action

Find community

Maintain perspective

Remember that even when facing serious challenges, small positive actions matter. Throughout history, positive change has often started with individuals taking modest but meaningful steps in their own communities.

The Hope and Power Of Moments EP 63 Apr 15, 2025

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The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

Reading the Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath has me thinking about how to stretch for insight. They explain in the book that sometimes the most powerful moments are what also provide us with the unvarnished insight into ourselves.

While I'd like to think I'm self-aware, we all have blind spots and areas where we can't really see ourselves objectively. Think of a moment when you got a personal AHA. Maybe it was when you realized who you wanted to spend your life with. Did it happen in a flash? Maybe it was when you were in college and a class or experience helped you see what you really wanted to do with your life.

Insightful moments can also be when we get a scary diagnosis and we realize that we can't spend one more year working 12 hour days to make someone else's dream come true, or maybe you talk to a friend who is dealing with a loss and you know in that moment that you want to be intentional about the time you spend with the people you love.

Plan for Perfect, Hope for What's Possible EP 62 Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

Would it be nice to have perfect days where everything goes as planned, you're in flow and the effortless achievement yields an impact that's helpful, honorable and kind?

A few years ago I attended a seminar with Donald Miller the developer of the Storybrand method and book, along with the book Hero on a Mission among others.

Hero on a Mission

One of the things that stuck with me beyond the marketing info was the idea of planning for your ideal day, the perfect solution, the best version of your work and yourself. But he didn't stop there. Plan for perfect, while also understanding that it's rarely possible.

What's the point? Well, for one, not settling for what we "think" is possible but what we WANT to be possible. For many of us, that's a new way of thinking. We've been taught to be "reasonable" and many of us were taught that wanting "too much" was selfish at best and greedy and sinful at worst.

We've all heard the platitude hope for the best, plan for the worst and it feels like a common sense approach and I'm sure it's meant that way but I think plan for perfect, hope for the absolute best and be prepared to adapt as needed works much better.

#affiliatelink

When It's One of Those Days EP 61 Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

It’s been one of those days.

Sometimes it feels like whiplash. Something happens and throws me off. In my personal and professional life things are going well. I’m fortunate to own a small business that I enjoy working in and working on. I love my clients and I get to do fun things like this podcast.

Personally I am also fortunate. I am married to my best friend and the best husband ever .Kelvin and we work together, pretty well actually, and we are both dealing with the aches that come with getting older (my knee is killing me) but we’re okay. Better than okay.

We’re good.

And still, I can’t watch the news, I curate the alerts I get to keep from spiraling into rage posting or panicking and saying things like “we should sell the house and move while we still can” and checking to see what condos cost.

It reminds me how resilient we really are. Difficulties and hard times are unfortunately going to happen – hopefully not often and hopefully not too severe but none of us avoid challenges in our life.

That’s why hope matters so much. It’s the tether that pulls us forward, that reminds us that things can improve. Tomorrow isn’t already written and what we do today matters. If you’re in a good place, I’m happy for you and if you’re having challenges, I so sorry things aren’t going better and to everyone I’m sending hope for a great today and an even better tomorrow.

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How Empathy Cultivates Hope

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