COVID-19, Meet James Stockdale

COVID-19 has focused attention of people across the globe. The scary news reminded me of James Stockdale, a nearly-forgotten American hero, and how he approached fear, isolation, and uncertainty. Stockdale Didn’t Lose Hope On September 9, 1965, Stockdales’ A-4 Skyhawk was shot down over Cambodia by friendly fire. Seriously injured, he was taken prisoner by…

3 Practices of Happy People

How do people become and stay happy—whether or not they have external trappings of what we might consider success? Here are three things happy people do differently…

4 Lessons Humans Can Learn from Puppies

Professor Puppy One of the happiest days of my life was when I brought home Bruno, a dog of my very own. I couldn’t wait to teach Bruno so many tricks that he would be the envy of every other dog and dog owner. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that it…

A Resolve Worth Keeping

You achieve your happiest and highest performing version of yourself the moment you step into your strengths and act upon your purpose.

The Grinch & the 2nd Grade School Program

When it comes to attending my kids’ school programs, I’m an awful parent. Some parents really get into it. I’m lucky if I show up in matching shoes and pants.

3 Barriers to Real Growth

Ready to grow towards a new relationship, a new career, a new dream, or a new commitment? Be prepared to stay HUNGRY, BRAVE, and HUMBLE.

First World Problems: The 4 Emotions of a Power Outage

Did you know that on any given day in America that a tornado, flood, fire, freak accident, hurricane, ice storm, or sinkhole knocks out the power to thousands of people? Even more disturbing, did you know that 1/4 of the Earth doesn’t know the annoyance or bitterness of losing power, because they’ve never had power or running water?

Today I Learned…

There are three types of people. Type #1 says, ‘I’m not going to learn anything new today.’ Type #2 says, ‘Let’s wait and see if this is any good.’ And type #3 says, ‘I can’t wait to learn!’ True leaders fall into Type #3. Real leaders are life-long learners.

Can You Take Some Feedback?

I have no desire to make society conform to my way of thinking. That would make society excruciatingly boring. Plus I’d probably be as irritated with other people as often as I get irritated with myself. But I’m a little intolerant of those who refuse to conform to the mores that are in place for…

How To Win A Debate

When I was in school, the word DEBATE preceded the word TEAM. Members of the Debate Team had strong minds that they used to verbally pummel opponents with the weapons of logic and rhetoric. I always imagined that members of the Debate Team were lawyers in training, the types who would go on to defend…