10 rules that changed my life

Thank you so much for watching!!! Here are a few links mentioned in the video! My T-Shirt: cli.re/40-T Donate to Dorothy's Ministry: www.mncfreshstart.org/ Video on Motivation Myth: https://youtu.be/c4n1BOmvlC0 I continue to be SO grateful for you, thank you for ALL of your love and support!!! - Dawn

I remember my daddy telling me "You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they actually do."

Back in college, I was going through a particular health issue. I didn't realize it, but I was treating my friends poorly because I was so emotionally raw. One of my friends pulled me aside and said, "I know you don't have control over your health right now, but you can always control how your treat people." That little sentence was and still is a game changer.

"Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can." -Arthur Ashe

"When you feel overwhelmed, just do the next thing." That saying came from Elisabeth Elliott, and has helped me many times.

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWN AND DIANN!🎂🎉🎶 At 75, I wake up everyday and say, thank you God for this day. When I was in my 20’s, 30’s and 40’s life as a single parent, supporting my family alone, was difficult, but I always was grateful for every day. I would always say, God will take care of me. He always did. When I was 50, my youngest daughter passed away leaving me with another baby to raise. I was a single working mom for 50 years. God took care of me everyday. We never starved, we always had a roof, we entertained ourselves. We were happy. The words of wisdom that I always lived by are, don’t worry, God will take care of me.

One of my favorite mottos is “If you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”

Most of the time when I get on YouTube, I end up feeling discouraged and discontent because of whatever I think that person has or is doing telling me to do. But when I watch your videos, I always feel so encouraged and grateful for what I have and hopeful for the future. Thank you for the content you make!

I have two things I often tell myself and my adult children. 1. You can't control the actions of others but your reactions/actions are 100% within your control. 2. If you want your life to change, then you must change your life. Both are simultaneously easy and hard.

Two more rules: do your best at whatever you’re doing. You don’t have to be perfect, but do your best. Number 2: be as kind & compassionate to yourself as you would be to your most precious friend

Thank you for your insight. As a project enthusiast and a procrastinator I frequently recall this saying: Genius begins great work, labor alone finishes it...

“Sometimes good enough is good enough.” That advice good me over my perfectionist tendencies and helped me get through grad school.

“God gave me grace, so I give it to others” is a new one that popped into my head today as I was mad about somebody messing up an order. I had so much to do and I was so physically spent already. They did not apologize or give me something extra like I thought they should for the inconvenience 🙄 But I stopped before going in for a replacement part and asked God what I could do to stop feeling so angry and that is what I heard 🙏🏼 🕊 😊 “Say to yourself: God gave me grace, so I give it to others” until you feel it and soften your heart ❤️

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be done.” This helps me keep from letting perfectionism stop me from doing things or even getting started. 😊

Dawn, we don't know each other but I am so very proud of you. I love your kindness, your passion for helping others, the way you encourage others to be kind, and of course, your insights on decluttering are always appreciated. Please tell your mom and dad that they did an absolutely incredible job in raising their children. They should be very, very proud. I hope you have a great day too! Take care!

I find value in many of your "rules" & live by several of them. One that I heard early in my life came from my grandfather. He would always comment, "Well, you can't plan the weather." He would immediately head out in the rain for a day of fishing or whatever else he had planned. Several years ago, I traveled to Iceland and heard a similar comment that's used by lots of Scandinavians, "There's no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing."

Wow! Between you and Cass I now have so many great "Thoughts for the Day". I am printing all of them on small cards, puting them in a basket on my kitchen counter, and drawing one out each day. I'm 81 and I still feel like I have so much to learn. My favorite mantra - Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

Hi Dawn, I am also celebrating my birthday this week (Sept. 21). I live by a saying a wonderful therapist told me years ago…”stay in the boat”. I used to worry about the future and looked back at the past. He said life is like a boat…if you are in the boat and you keep looking behind at the past, you fall out of the boat and it goes on without you. If you strain trying to look too far ahead, you fall out of the boat and it runs over you. His advice was to just stay in the boat ( the now) and you will get where you are going. Whenever I get worried about the past or future, my friend know to remind me to just stay in the boat!

Dawn, I am a work at home mom. I run a home daycare, and it gets very lonely here taking care of 7 toddlers by myself. Thank you for being the friend I can interact with during naptime while I eat my lunch. I've been pursuing minimalism for 7 years now and your videos are always so encouraging and inspiring! Happy birthday!

I am so grateful for you! One of my mottos is something a wise woman once said “Don’t give up what you really want for what you want right now.” (I have lost 71 pounds)😊