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...
Apr 15, 2025•5 min•Season 1Ep. 63
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...
Apr 14, 2025•4 min•Season 1Ep. 62
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 get...
Apr 11, 2025•4 min•Season 1Ep. 60
3 Things You Can Do to Foster Hope for Yourself Hey there! I've been thinking about hope lately and how important it is for our wellbeing. When things get tough, having hope can be that little spark that keeps us going. We know that taking action is one of the best ways to keep hope alive so today I have three simple things you can do to foster hope for yourself when you're feeling a bit lost:
Apr 10, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Living where we have 4 distinct seasons has always been good for me. I like that things change. It marks the passing of time but it also brings appreciation and hope for the season passing and the new opportunities ahead. I recently went to an event in an area of town I haven’t been to in a bit and on the way there I saw all these signals of spring. Trees are in bloom, there were daffodils and tulips blooming and all of that has happened in just the last week or so. It feels like overnight we’ve...
Apr 09, 2025•3 min
Let it be easy. That's become a mantra for me lately. In my work and in my life. When I say easy, I don't mean without effort, but I do mean without struggle. I don't intend to do things the hard way but it can sometimes feel like it. How often do we set up intentional hurdles? More than you might think. Hurdles give us the psychological comfort of feeling like we're committed to change while actually protecting us from the discomfort of real transformation. What if we let it be easy? You can de...
Apr 08, 2025•4 min
Surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. Lewis Carroll This was advice given to Alice in wonderland but turns out it's good advice for staying hopeful as well. Membership matters. We know that we're wired to be social, to live in tribes or now what we'd call families, genetic and chosen. In the US we're taught that rugged individualism is valued above collaboration and cooperation, but it real life, going it alone is not the best recipe for success or happiness. I have a ton of e...
Apr 07, 2025•3 min
In this special guest-hosted episode, Nancy Sheed steps in to reflect on how hope is emerging as a powerful force in leadership, media, and everyday life. Drawing on recent conversations, events, and a Gallup poll showing hope as the most valued leadership trait, Nancy explores how hope isn’t just a feeling it’s a choice, a practice, and a form of resistance. Along with her personal insights, Nancy invites you to consider how you’re cultivating and spreading hope in your own world. Connect with ...
Apr 04, 2025•5 min
Choosing Hope In the face of uncertainty, choosing hope is a powerful act of courage. It's not about blind optimism or denying life's challenges. Rather, it's a deliberate stance—a decision to believe that our actions matter and that better possibilities exist. Hope is the quiet voice that whispers "try again" when everything seems lost. It's what pulls us forward when the path ahead is shrouded in fog. Unlike wishful thinking, true hope combines vision with action, dreams with determination. Th...
Apr 03, 2025•3 min
We've all heard the maxim, get comfortable being uncomfortable. That bit of advice is usually given when we're facing something we don't want to do, or haven't ever done before or something we wish we could avoid completely. It's essentially saying - get over your fear and do it anyway. Sound familiar? I get that it's meant to be encouraging but who wants to be uncomfortable? None of us do, especially if we have a choice. I like what author Terri Trespecio says about comfort zones - The goal isn...
Apr 02, 2025•4 min
Creating this podcast has helped me become a more confident writer and content creator. For a long time, I waited for those magical days when I felt confident and self-assured to sit down and create. That's when I'd really dive in allowing the ideas to bubble up. I wanted to be able to sit down and write or record or create content (or create art too for that matter) no matter how confident I felt, or didn't feel. committing to publish the Daily Dose of Hope podcast every M-F meant I'd have to d...
Apr 01, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Let's talk about something pretty amazing: how being kind can totally transform hope in our lives. I know, I know—it might sound a bit cheesy at first, but stick with me here. Imagine kindness as this secret superpower we all carry around. It's not about grand, movie-hero moments, but those small, genuine connections that can totally change someone's day (and maybe even their entire outlook on life). Think about the last time someone was unexpectedly kind to you. Remember that warm, fuzzy feelin...
Mar 31, 2025•3 min
Our ability to recognize patterns is more than just a cognitive skill—it's a source of hope that helps us get through challenging moments. We are wired to seek meaning, to connect dots, and to find order within chaos, and it’s this capacity that also serves as a source of hope and optimism. Pattern recognition is deeply embedded in our survival capacity. Our ancestors who could predict animal migrations, weather changes, and seasonal shifts were most likely to survive. This same instinct now giv...
Mar 27, 2025•3 min
Hope provides a sense of optimism and a belief in a better future, which can be a powerful source of strength, especially during difficult times or when things are less than perfect. Hope isn't just an emotion—it's a form of energy that powers us through impossible landscapes. Unlike optimism, which often depends on favorable conditions, hope is the persistent current that flows even when the present evidence suggests things aren’t going our way. This energy has a unique signature. While fear co...
Mar 26, 2025•3 min
The mathematics of influence isn't linear, when that unknown first responder ran toward danger rather than away, they couldn't possibly have calculated how far their actions would resonate, They just did what they knew to do to help. This isn't about heroics or fame. Most world-changing actions never make headlines. They're quiet choices made at kitchen tables, in classrooms, at community meetings. It's ordinary people making extraordinary decisions to stand, speak, act, or simply show up differ...
Mar 25, 2025•5 min
In life's darkest corners, rituals of hope flicker like steady lanterns. These aren't grand ceremonies, but rather small, intentional acts we perform to keep faith alive when circumstances tempt us toward despair. Hope rituals anchor us to possibility. The journal entry that begins "When this passes..." The empty chair kept at the table during separation. The workspace maintained during illness. These quiet ceremonies aren't denial—they're brave declarations that the story isn't finished. Ritual...
Mar 24, 2025•5 min
We know that humans are hard wired for connection. When those around us struggle to find hope, our presence and actions can make a profound difference. Here are four meaningful ways to share hope with others:
Mar 21, 2025•4 min
There are times when hope seems to slip through our fingers – it feels elusive and out of reach. We want to hold onto something bright, only to find ourselves wondering why it’s so hard. We all have days when things don’t go well, or when we feel out of sorts. It can feel like our thoughts are foggy and it’s hard to focus on anything for more than a few minutes. We feel like the path forward is out of reach if not completely out of sight. When our usual sources of strength and hopefulness eludes...
Mar 20, 2025•4 min
Hope is more than just a pleasant feeling—it's a powerful force that fuels our creative potential. When we maintain hope, we open ourselves to possibilities that might otherwise remain hidden, allowing us to envision and create beyond our perceived limitations. The relationship between hope and creativity runs deep. Hope provides the emotional foundation needed for creative thinking to flourish. It creates a psychological space where we feel safe to explore, experiment, and take risks without be...
Mar 19, 2025•4 min
Today I want to reflect a bit. I started this 8 weeks ago and have shared a post M-F since then about hope and hopefulness and how it can help us in moments big and small in our lives. Since then, many have reached out to let me know that you've found this encouraging and I really appreciate the feedback and the encouragement. Thanks for letting me know and for your suggestions. A few questions about why I'm doing this have come up so today I want to answer a couple of those - in the hopes that ...
Mar 18, 2025•6 min
Today I’m diving into something we all experience: the struggle between hope and fear. These two forces shape our decisions, our outlook, and ultimately, our lives. The Nature of Fear Fear is hardwired into us. It's that voice that whispers "what if everything goes wrong?" It's the weight in your chest when facing uncertainty. Fear served our ancestors well—it kept them alive in dangerous environments. But in today's world, fear often holds us back more than it protects us. Fear narrows our visi...
Mar 17, 2025•4 min
Hope is more than just a positive emotion or an optimistic feeling. It’s also a powerful psychological resource that impacts our physical and mental health as well. Research tells us that a hopeful outlook can lead to health benefits. We know that hopefulness involves having goals, finding pathways to achieve those goals, and maintaining the motivation and inspiration to to pursue them, even when faced with obstacles. This mindset creates positive effects for our mind and bodies too.
Mar 14, 2025•4 min
Hope is one of the foundations of our world And what’s even better is that hope isn’t just something we can have, it’s also something that we can give. Hear the 5 Stages of Hope and how they can help you recognize how you can cultivate and nurture hope.
Mar 13, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Hope and curiosity share a special connection. Both look at the unknown with a sense of anticipation rather than fear. While hope helps us envision a better future, curiosity helps us check out the pathways that might lead us there. Curiosity keeps hope honest. It asks the essential questions: How might this work? What haven't we considered? Where else might we look? Who knows more about this than me? Do I know someone who can help? Without a curios approach hope can become wishfulness that does...
Mar 12, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Hope and creativity share a profound connection because they both require us to imagine what doesn't yet exist. When we create, we bring something new into the world; when we hope, we envision a future different from today. Creativity gives hope its form and substance. Through art, innovation, and problem-solving, we take things that can feel abstract and make them tangible. The painter captures the light on single flower, the write brings a loveable character to life, the entrepreneur designs n...
Mar 11, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. Anne Lamott When our world seems full of challenges and uncertainty, hope can feel like something that once ran smoothly but has mysteriously crashed. Because hope isn't simply optimism or wishful thinking; it's the engine that powers meaningful change and resilience. Like restarting a computer, we sometimes need to pause, clear our mental cache, and intentionally choose to begin again. Rebooting hope begins wit...
Mar 10, 2025•3 min•Season 11Ep. 38
Hope begins as a small spark within us - it's a belief that better days are possible. There's also an energy surrounding hope that extends beyond ourselves. I have always considered hope as a solitary mission - something that's personal and up to me to choose and to nurture. That still feels right to me but I've also seen the effects of hope - and its impact extends far beyond its origin.
Mar 07, 2025•4 min•Season 1Ep. 37
"We choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort. Those words were part of a speech given by President Obama at the UN general assembly in 2014. He went on to talk about how there are a number of things in the world that make us worry if we are safe, and if we can pull together to affect change. What really hit me as I read the entire speech was how we seem to be in the same plac...
Mar 06, 2025•4 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Here in Ohio, it's still cold but the days are longer and we've seen the sun a bit lately so it feels safe to think of spring. My good friend Teresa is an amazing gardener. It's one of her passions. She plans her vegetable and flower gardens and every year take joy in tending to and then harvesting and enjoying what she's grown. But it starts with planting seeds. That's a hopeful act -isn't it? Planting seeds, giving them water and sunlight and hoping they grow - is a blend of knowing what to do...
Mar 05, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 35
I was fortunate to go on a business retreat recently and one of the things that I came away with was the idea of no agenda. Not the meeting agenda but the "no agenda" idea that sometimes I can do things just because. Because it feels right in the moment, or because it makes me happy, or because it's something I like to do. In the business sense I recognized that I can share things that are helpful to others w/o agenda - no expectation of making a sale, or building my list - just being helpful be...
Mar 04, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 34
