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Happy Compliment Day

24 Jan

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Stop what you are doing right now! It’s time to express your gratitude to the most important people in your life. Give the gift of a sincere compliment.

Write down the names of five people who mean a lot to you.

Next to their name, write one of two qualities that they exhibit that make your life richer, better or simpler. Examples would be: Compassion, acceptance, dependability, diligence, hospitality, sincerity, wisdom.

Craft a sentence or two giving a specific and personal example of how that quality has impacted you and your future.

Here is an example of a gratitude statement (compliment) for my husband:

Rodney I am grateful for your compassion, dependability and diligence. When I am down you listen carefully and that is healing my heart. Your dependability and diligence to clean up my messes in the kitchen allow me to LOVE cooking and exploring healthy ways for us to eat AND save money. You are a gift to me!

Text these sentences, email them, direct message, or call the person with a sincere compliment.

Let me know how it goes or, better yet, send me a video of their reaction to a sincere, heart-felt compliment.

Karen Sebastian is an author, blogger, corporate trainer and gifted speaker who transparently shares the hope she has found in the darkest times of her life.  She is a seasoned entrepreneur who founded HOPEpreneurs, a consulting firm dedicated to helping women succeed personally and professionally. Karen is known as The Hope Lady because she  takes every opportunity to inspire hope by sharing her rich life experience with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world.

Celebrate Taco Day

4 Oct

Happy Taco Day on October 4th.

I am fascinated by the growth of Torchy’s Tacos. I live in the North Dallas area and there are so many places to eat tacos that you might think it’s not worth the competition. Well, you are wrong. It is thriving. What are they doing that you can learn from?

Passion

A personal friend first spoke to us about Torchy’s Tacos about six years ago. They had started in Austin and were branching out to the Dallas area. He was working for them and loved their approach to doing business. He felt excited to be a part. The founder, Michael Rypka, started out as a fry cook at Popeye’s. He wanted to elevate the level of tacos available. He started small and handed out samples to all who would take them.

Hope Tip

As you grow, make sure everyone retains the passion of the founder.

A fresh approach

These are not your tia’s tacos. They are unique and delicious. They have weird names like Tipsy Chick, The Democrat, The Republican, Trailer Park, etc. The ingredients are fresh and made to order. For that reason, it can take a little longer than some places, but it is worth the wait.

Hope Tip

Take a fresh approach to your branding and product.

Great customer service

One of the most refreshing parts of going to Torchy’s is that the people who work there seem to like doing so. They were crazy busy when we were there and yet kept checking on us. Even when they make a mistake, they correct it.

Hope Tip

Provide superior customer service consistently.

Personal recommendation

I am always looking for tacos because it was my first husband’s last meal before he had to go on a feeding tube. Now, if you ever needed to have an excuse to eat tacos – I just gave you one. Here we are celebrating his birthday at Torchy’s.

If you have a Torchy’s Tacos in your area, do yourself a favor and go visit them. You will not be disappointed. What is your favorite place to eat tacos? Why?

Karen Sebastian is an author, blogger, corporate trainer and gifted speaker who transparently shares the hope she has found in the darkest times of her life.  She is a seasoned entrepreneur who founded HOPEpreneurs, a consulting firm dedicated to helping women succeed personally and professionally. Karen is known as The Hope Lady because she  takes every opportunity to inspire hope by sharing her rich life experience with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world.

 

Happy National Coffee Day

29 Sep

coffee day

I remember growing up in a coffee producing country. Yep! I grew up in Costa Rica. I was fascinated with the beautiful coffee plantations with their red berries. I loved the smell of coffee and was fascinated with the way they poured coffee through a sock filled with the dark grounds. The only problem I had as a kid was the taste. Yuck!

Then one day I was introduced to Cafe con Leche (the Spanish version of a latte). The milk was heated and served in a separate pitcher. The coffee was thick like syrup. The key to liking coffee came in filling 3/4 of the cup with the steaming milk and then pouring in a smidgen of coffee.

What’s your coffee drinking story? How do you like your coffee? Are you addicted to coffee?

FYI – there are several places that are serving free coffee today. Check out this link for more information: http://fortune.com/2017/09/29/national-coffee-day-free-coffee-deals/

Karen Sebastian is an author, blogger, corporate trainer and gifted speaker who transparently shares the hope she has found in the darkest times of her life.  She is a seasoned entrepreneur who founded HOPEpreneurs, a consulting firm dedicated to helping women succeed personally and professionally. Karen is known as The Hope Lady because she  takes every opportunity to inspire hope by sharing her rich life experience with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world.