I’ve written and spoken about New Year’s resolutions countless times. My main messages relating to New Year’s resolutions are: They tend to fail because we make too many, or ones that are too big New habits can be formed any time of year, not just in January Rather than making…
In order to keep up with current events, I look at three newspaper apps every morning, listen to one news app, and read one newsletter. Each afternoon, I read two newsletters, one of which is Dave Pell's Next Draft. Pell published a book last year, Please Scream Inside Your Heart:…
I was fortunate to hear John Harmon speak last year. Harmon, the Founder, President, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, was speaking as part of Berkeley College’s Larry L. Luing School of Business Leadership Lecture Series. Harmon’s topic was positive outcomes from diversity, equity, and…
The fourth of my “Six Simple Rules” is “Be Organized,” and a To-Do list is one of my keys to staying organized. I’ve written about to-do lists in my book and more than once in the blog, such as here. I’ve also written that one of the secrets to my…
Empathy is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another,” or as it is often said, the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. From an article on the Masters of Communcation web site: In simple terms, empathy is the ability to understand things from another person's…
I’m a big fan of Arthur Brooks. I have seen him speak, I have read his columns, I have listened to his podcast episodes, and I have written about him here. Brooks had a podcast called How to Build a Happy Life and on the first episode, “Manage Your Feelings,…
Last year, I was participating in a Zoom networking event with about 50 people. When the event started slowly, the moderator, as an ice breaker, asked people to tell about their first job. There were an assortment of answers, including one gentleman who told of his childhood job as a…
In my speaking engagements and in my book, I have placed extra emphasis on the first and last of my Six Simple Rules. (I also put them first and last because they are the most critical.) The first is “Be Happy” and the sixth is “Be Healthy”. I never considered…
When I attend funerals, in addition to being sad, I almost always walk away inspired, as I have written about a bunch of times, including here. One of my biggest takeaways from a recent funeral was an extremely simply message. My friend David said everyone who knew his dad well,…
Eating well and exercise are the major pillars of “Be Healthy,” the sixth of my Six Simple Rules. Whenever I give suggestions for ways to be a healthier eater, I quickly mention giving up soda, as I did in this post Soda is Poison. Diet soda is also poison, as…
I’ve written a few posts about the power of smiling and how it helps our happiness. When I present to groups, I always have them do this simple exercise: I ask them to smile. I then explain: When we smile, chemicals are released in our brains that make us think…
The war in Ukraine is upsetting to everyone who is paying attention to it. As with other humanitarian disasters, there are calls for donations. I made a donation to an organization I know that helps Ukrainians, having donated to them in the past when a dear friend began volunteering for them.…