As Thanksgiving approached, my thoughts were on gratitude—how grateful I am for all the ways that I’m blessed. Mostly I thought about family and friends, but following Storm Sandy, I also thought about things as mundane as modern conveniences—things I realized I take for granted when I had to do…
This Thursday is Thanksgiving in the U.S. It’s nice to pause and count our blessings every year on that day. And it’s easy if you are fortunate enough to spend the day with dear family and friends—special relationships that we count among our greatest blessings. In the area where I…
I've reached out to many people in the aftermath of Storm Sandy, the incredible storm that hit the area where I live. Almost to a person, those who did not suffer a devastating loss replied to my e-mails, text messages, or calls with some variation of "It could have been worse."…
Early this past summer, I began a weekly blog post called, "What Made Me Smile This Week” (if you are a regular reader of my blog, that part of today’s post is not news to you.) A bunch of people sent me notes, over the course of the summer, saying…
This week, a post I wrote was published on the terrific web site, The Bridge Maker. Here’s the first part of the piece, with a link to the rest… As a blogger, it occurred to me as I approached the day when my youngest would be going off to college…
In May of this year, I wrote a post about a story from the early part of my father’s career. In Everybody Has a Story—What’s Yours?, I explained that we all have stories to tell; learning that can help others. Soon after that post was published, while speaking with a…
Steve Mankoff and I met during our freshman year of college, 32 years ago. On and off, for years, I’ve suggested that Steve kick his habit of drinking a huge amount of diet soda. Last year, he finally decided to try. I asked Steve if he wanted to share his…
I’ve been checking out an unusual and interesting online coaching system for personal development, called ProStar Coach. I recently spoke with the creator of this program, Denny Coates. He has some insightful things to say about habits and behavior change. That’s of particular interest to me, with my focus on…
Two weeks ago, I was the keynote speaker for a wonderful conference for educators run by AdvanceED Illinois. You can read about it here. The conference was in Champaign, Illinois. The day before the speech, I had a super easy, smooth, on-time flight into Chicago’s O’Hare airport from Newark (New…
I'm pleased to have had a post I wrote published yesterday on one of my favorite blogs, the Tiny Buddha web site. Helping others' happiness is clearly a nice thing to do, and it will help you to be happier as well. Here's the first part of the piece, with…
I have a long relationship with bike riding. Like most people who know how to ride a bike, I made it to a two-wheeler around age six. I still remember the moment, and the feeling, when my dad told me that he had let go, and that I was balancing…
Another September 11 is upon us. Today is the day of the week that I normally post. It wasn't in me to post anything other than something about 9/11. I've been putting a lot of effort into being mindful this year. As the anniversary of 9/11 comes again, I realize…