• Leadership & Personal Development

    Motivation–Guest Post

    I’m super excited to introduce you to our guest–our son, Ephram. Jonathan and Ephram have a weekly commitment in which Ephram reads from a classic book for 30 minutes a day for 3 days, then writes his thoughts on what he read. He specifically looks for leadership traits in the characters. As a reward, Ephram gets 30 extra minutes of screen time. One of the books he has been reading recently is called Edge by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward. It is full of short articles and stories and pictures and quotes that are designed to teach young people the principles of self-improvement. This post is one of the papers…

  • Other

    She Who Brings Light–10 Days of Inspiration (guest post)

    A little over 16 years ago I met one of the most inspirational people in my life. On June 5, 2002 I watched report after report on the television about a young girl who had been kidnapped. This young girl was a beautiful harpist and radiated joy in her family. As I watched the news reports I couldn’t help but transport myself into the shoes of her mother: the shock she must have felt when she saw that her daughter, who brought their family so much light, had been snatched from their home. And yet, she was gone and no one knew where exactly she had been taken. The most…

  • Leadership & Personal Development,  Other

    Lead by Design, Not by Default–10 Days of Inspiration (guest post)

    Many people wonder how to improve their life or achieve what’s most important to them. For example, how to improve their health, relationships, inner peace, finances, etc. We understand how difficult it can be, that’s why we invested decades of leadership and success research to identify what sets apart great leaders and high-performers from everyone else. In other words, we wanted to find out what it was that the highest achievers did to get to where they are. In this research, it was clear that there were certain high-performance habits that this elite group of people focused on to shape their lives, we call those the 12 principles of highly…

  • Other

    Finding Legacy Among Ruins–10 Days of Inspiration (Guest Post)

    Hello to all of Ashlee and Jonathan’s readers! I’m Molly from Exploring Through Life and I’m so excited to be here today to tell you a little bit about the inspiration that I have found traveling! I have dreamed of traveling for as long as I can remember, but it always felt like a pipe dream, something unattainable. It wasn’t until my 20s that I realized that with a little bit of creativity and lots of intentionality, I could really make my dreams of travel a reality. I stopped spending money on things that were of lesser priority in my life, I saved vacation days, scoured the internet for travel…

  • Other

    Faithful Inspiration–10 Days of Inspiration (Guest Post)

    Beth Moore is a Christian woman who was pivotal in my life when I was recently divorced. Upon ending a temple marriage of my LDS faith, I found myself clueless about the journey ahead. I knew one thing for sure: I needed to draw closer to the Lord to better learn His will for me during this difficult and trying time. I remember looking to my own church for insight in how to handle the pain and anguish of divorce, but I could not find very many resources. My church did not offer a divorce recovery group like other Christian churches did. I discovered other Christian authors who wrote about…

  • Other

    Sugar and Spice–10 Days of Inspiration (Guest Post)

    My girls are wonderfully well-behaved. Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice… and all of that. Except when they’re not. Then I would have to say they are more akin to that of a WWE match, except they aren’t acting. My oldest (“old” being a relative term in this family, considering she is 4) and my middle child, 3, know how to throw down and throw tantrums like the best of them. And you better believe their 18 month old sister is learning the art quickly. But the truth is, for the majority of the time: Sugar and Spice. But not this day. I take that back. Not this hour. Because…

  • Other

    5 Reasons Why my (Younger) Brother is my Hero–10 Days of Inspiration (Guest Post)

    It’s nothing new to imagine the idea that siblings inspire each other. I know that most siblings tend to look up to the oldest, simply because they were their role model during childhood. If you’re like me though, you may not have always been the best role model (Do as I say, not as I do, right?). They helped you learn, they guided you, and proved a place of solace for those fears and concerns that you may have been too embarrassed to speak to your parents about. I was the oldest growing up. I had to be the one who stood as the example for my younger brother, and…

  • Other

    Be Inspired by the Greatest Artist–10 Days of Inspiration (Guest Post)

    Be Inspired by the Greatest Artist Right now, I’m sitting at a table in a quaint coffee shop writing this post, and I’m taking in my surroundings. Across from me, my wonderful husband works on his own laptop. Out the window, rain falls on red and golden leaves. Around me, people type and work and create and talk. And just like that, I know what inspires me most. It’s not a friend or a family member, though I’m greatly inspired by so many people who are close to my heart. It’s not a good cup of coffee or, in my case, hot tea since I don’t like coffee. It’s not…