Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones, But…
…words will never hurt me. Do they teach children this lesson anymore, or has it gone the way of cursive? Today’s message is for those needing a refresher and snowflakes. Of course, it is much easier to widely broadcast words today than when I learned this saying as a child and when it was initially […]
Unavoidably Imbalanced
After a few months into this year’s journey with your goals, you probably consider time constraints one of the biggest impediments to pursuing your goals. You seek perfect yet elusive balance. The answer is not measured by a beam scale of justice but more closely resembles the ebb and flow in a lava lamp. Rather […]
Resist the Temptation to Be Virtuous(?)
What do I Mean? It is too easy to pursue the avalanche of “opportunities” from within, family, work, and friends that take us away from doing what we previously determined to be most important. We discover the most troublesome enemies of accomplishing our goals are not obvious time wasters like social media but virtuous activities […]
Not Everything of Value is Worth Doing
The Threshold Issue Do you know what frequently stops you from doing what you want and should do? It is saying “yes” to things you should say “no” to. Warren Buffet says, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” Alternatively, you can frame […]
Ouch! Learning Reveals My Ignorance
The “Regret” All learning fills a void that ignorance once occupied. Perhaps a less off-putting word may be “unknowing,” but we must accept the truth. When you have a little length in the tooth and learn something you “should” have learned sooner, you tend to feel bad that you remained ignorant for so long (frequently […]
If I Only Knew…
The Search We needlessly postpone action with incessant searching for brilliant solutions to our challenges before acting. We invest an inordinate amount of time seeking the counsel of wise sages and TikTok influencers. In most cases, the answer is not very brilliant and is already within us. A lack of will, not knowledge, often prevents […]
Walk The Talk
Two months into the year – is progress towards your goals fitful, a cycle of starting, stopping, and restarting? Do you have good intentions but lack the consistency needed for accomplishment? Discipline is more than girding your lions and powering through; promise and patience are essential. Promise Ironically, we are far more diligent about meeting […]
Keep Your Head Up, or You Will Miss the Best Part
How did we get here? In an information age that has (i) morphed from two cans connected by a string to wireless networks connecting every corner of the globe, (ii) expanded from three TV channels to hundreds of cable channels/streaming services, and (iii) social media networks ruled by provocative influencers and enticing algorithms, our minds […]
The Worst Thing that Ever Happened? You Don’t Say…
His Story A crestfallen friend bared his soul and shared his tale of woe with the expectation of a sympathetic response. What I heard was a tale of triumph, and I offered my congratulations. How? An alternative perspective created this unanticipated, contrarian response. “Bob” told me the failure of his business cost him his life’s […]
It’s Not Your Fault, but It Is Your Responsibility
Each of us can point to circumstances not of our own doing to justify our current state (poor family, “bad” parents, surname ends in a vowel, went to Podunk school, etc.). All of them may be true, and it is equally true that by taking responsibility for our response, we may prevail against them all. […]