Are you an aspiring online or bricks and mortar entrepreneur? Can you think of people that would benefit from what you have to offer, but don’t feel confident that anyone would be interested in it? The thing standing between idea and action is often an emotion. Fear. This week, I’ll share an experience I had working with fear that made one of my dreams come true. Awhile back, when “365”projects were the rage, I came across one that excited me. A “365” project is something you

This week, I’ll share with you a story about one of the (many) most painful money mistakes I made, and what it taught me about value and myself. About 3 years into a newly discovered passion for antique shopping (pretty far in for someone it took 40 years to let go of $75 bucks to buy an old toy horse), I pulled into a small desert ghost town in the middle of nowhere with a population to match. The perfect setting for an old house with a familiar musty smell and shelves spar

A rough outline for a personal touch to a kitchen backsplash For the Love of Tile I’ve always loved tile. Ceramic tile , porcelain tile, and tile with a rough stone finish. Dull orange terra cotta floors with fat grey grout lines scream culture to me. But I never really had the courage to think I could tile. Tilers must have a lot of skill and training to make floors, walls, and showers look that gorgeous. Until one day, I had a chance to watch somebody do it in person. It l

The greatest fuel for my desire to make large amounts of money while enjoying the freedom of a tumbleweed is probably, hands down, ideas. I love coming up with them, imagining their potential, and feeling what’s possible because of them. My early ideas started as inventions: Something to crack eggs open without getting slime on my hands, the counter, or the stovetop Something to put gel in my hair without having to get gunk all over my hands A test tube rack equivalent for

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, writing a book, or making a big change, you might wonder how to make your idea actually happen. Especially if the change is something that none of your friends or family are doing. You might want to just shrug it off as a foolish dream, or worse, get frustrated with yourself for being so darn different. The most early beginnings of my passion for entrepreneurship started on paper as a business plan when I was about 25 yea

If you’re the type of person that’s interested in pursuing something because you really want it, something you can do is practice flexibility. Sometimes, being too “set in our ways” can prevent us from moving in the direction we want to be going in. One way to practice is to include randomness in your habits from time to time. There are 2 kinds of randomness. Planned and unplanned. Well, there are probably more because well, random. Unplanned randomness is following your in

This week, I’ll share a story about a boss that taught me how to do something differently. About 15 years ago, I landed my dream job as a marketing manager - the thing I actually went to school for. The company culture was sunny, the people were fun, and it felt like the work I did mattered. My boss was great for a million reasons. We developed a well-boundaried personal relationship, and I was hers. I wanted to do whatever I could to make this woman, and our marketing depart

This week, I’ll share with you a story of the first business I ever started to give you an idea of what the road to here has looked like from my point of view. About six months into my career as a manager, I discovered the thing I thought I for sure wanted to be when I grew up wasn’t what I wanted be. So I got more serious about my side hustle - the Flax of Life. I bought flax seed from a wholesaler, ground it up in a coffee grinder, and packaged it into 500g and 1kg reseal

The second assignment in the Writing Sadness Through Humour class I took back in the summer of 2024 was to write about a time in life I was embarrassed. If you want to read about the first assignment click here 10 or so years ago, I was in a sharing circle at a retreat designed to educate participants how to create, and ideally be successful at, online business. The idea of the circle was to connect the group of 30 or so to something or someone that could help them accomplis

I took this picture during a walk on Wednesday (June 24) evening. The trillium is one of many wildflowers to enjoy along the side of the road this time of year. I often wonder if Canada Day landed on the first of July by chance or design because it truly is the best time of summer to enjoy what this beautiful rugged country has to offer. Like a Friday afternoon is to a weekend, July is to the summer - there’s still a lot of it left ahead to enjoy. For summer people, the month

When I approached my 5 year anniversary at Camp of the Woods back in 2024, I wasn’t feeling as excited as I thought I should be for having crossed a threshold of time. I reluctantly signed up for a class titled Writing Sadness Through Humor, scared that it might actually mean that I was sad. And, well, sadness was just….unacceptable. The brilliant title not only gave me permission to be sad, it assigned me to be sad to be successful. So, I set out to write things that made me

Another question I get asked a lot is “why did you go into the campground business?” One of the main reasons has nothing to do with the campground business. I started writing “a book” in 2018. I thought the Woods would be a great place to write. The old oaks, the old river, and the singing birds looked like the retreat I always wanted to go to. Mr. Snuffleupagus The people that know about my book, including a lot of seasonal campers at Camp of the Woods, will tell you that it

The main question I get asked by people that are curious about the who comes to Camp of the Woods is “are you mainly a fishing resort?” People are surprised when I tell them no. Most of the people that come here, don’t come to fish. In fact, I’m not sure that’s the reason anybody has ever come here (other than the boat launch customers). You can come here to fish if you like, but you don’t have to fish to come here. Some people come here for a break. Some people come for a ch

For your camping convenience, rental campers are available at Camp of the Woods. There's a private bedroom. The camper is hooked up to...

Do you need to get your boat in the water? Our boat launch offers direct access to the Rainy River. Lake of the Woods is a short 5 mile...

There's always music playing in the background at the campground. Sometimes the DJ turns it on pretty early in the morning, and pretty...

You can't see it in the picture, but it smells like bacon and eggs on the campground this morning. Maybe someday we'll be able to...

Campers are excited to see the beach as they kick off the first long weekend of the summer. The oak trees are preparing to beautify...

2021 Fishing Licences are available at Camp of the Woods. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods are popular fishing spots for walleye,...

For the biking enthusiast, Camp of the Woods is a great place to stay while you venture out for long rides along the Rainy River,...