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Do Unto Others …

    You know the saying, “do unto others as you would have them (or like them) to do unto you.” It catches my attention when “themes show up” for me. I have always been a big Starbucks and Howard Schultz fan and for about a decade now he has wanted to be a place for the country to have a deeper conversation about race. In 2015 Schultz initiated a “Race Together” campaign by printing “Race Together” on the cups with the intent of starting a race conversation between customers and staff. This conversation never really got started, and the backlash was HUGE. It turns out people didn’t want to have a deep conversation when they were grabbing their cup of joe. Fast forward three years and the conversation is now happening, but in a different way. A Starbucks employee called the police on two black men in one of their stores as they were sitting waiting for a friend before they ordered their coffee. Considered loiterers, they were...

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Connection is Service

Who and what are you connected to? When you and I experience connection; we experience a taste, a bit of home. We feel seen, heard, appreciated, and all of the good stuff our Soul knows is who we are and why we are here on the planet together. Connection happens in the most interesting of ways and often it is not an intentional practice (although it can be) yet it’s an out picturing of who we are at our best. My friend Glenda and I have shared customer service stories with each other for two decades now. The fascination is, we both are aware that true connection changes our world. Bad service happens when people are seen as objects to get from; and good service comes in so many different forms with connection as its undergirded constant. Happy Monday dear friends. Remember to love one...

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New art at Starbucks changes store experience

      Today when I entered the Starbucks on 16th and Bethany Home, something was different.  I felt it. Looking around, I spotted walls filled with powerful art.  Art in which the space felt different, a bit cozier, like a living room.  Thanking the manager for the intimate feeling in the store due to this beautiful art, I was shocked to learn the 7th grade class at Madison 1 School were the Picassos.  Each piece had the name of the artist beneath it as though it were being displayed at the Phoenix Art Museum.  It is moments like this I feel a sense of pride in the human experience. I will never know what it means to the young budding artist to have their work displayed in their community. Does this one simple act translate into personal validation? Will these creatives know that what they generated from insides themselves is worthy of being framed and on display?  Will they be encouraged to create more?  Will they honor their...

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Meaningful Gift Ideas for the Holidays

Friends,   Can’t think of what to get your beloved this year for the holiday season?   Grab your spiced cider, decide you will have an answer by reading this post and invest three minutes in finding your answer.   Last week I celebrated a MAJOR birthday.  Major in terms of number of years I’ve walked above the earth. At an intimate home gathering twelve friends created this masterpiece for me, before my eyes, at my party.  Five others had contributed to the blank canvas prior to this evening.  If you look closely you can see some phrases such as: Loud love Skipping through life Joy Love Speak light Peace Blessings Responding to the ideas I imagine Every day is a nice day Included in the design are hand prints, doves, a woman’s head, lips, an eyeball, numerous hearts and a cloth multi-colored peace sign in the center.  I LOVE this painting.  It represents all that is good in my life.  The colors wake me up.  When I see...

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Starbucks: Creating Jobs, Seeding Lives

Friends, My heart is so full of joy right now. There are moments when I am proud to be an American.  Where wearing the “country” label feels good upon my skin. Today, I experienced one of these moments. My morning started as it often does with a walk to my local Starbucks.  Walking allows me to get grounded to the earth, move my body some and receiving a natural source of Vitamin D.  This morning as I stood in line to purchase my venti green tea iced, no sweetener.  I was met with a smile from my barista behind the register and a patriotic-looking display to the right front of it.  The display read “This country needs jobs” with an invitation for the consumer, me, to get involved with a solution.  For a $5 donation, six other investment groups (foundations, banks, corporations, faith-based organizations, government, socially responsible investors) match my gift to parlay it into a $35 donation.  This donation is then loaned to create community businesses in America...

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