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…
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…
I’ve written in my book and here many times that breaking down big tasks into smaller pieces is a critical secret to success in all aspects of your life. Breaking down large business goals into smaller components has gotten a great deal of play in the many business books and…
This summer, between his second and third years of college, my son, Jeremy, taught seventh grade math in a program called Breakthrough. Breakthrough is designed to help bright kids from underserved urban areas to reach their potential. In addition to helping these kids to “break through,” Jeremy had a breakthrough…
I listed things that made me smile for several weeks, then things on my gratitude list for three weeks. Now I'm shifting to another happiness strategy: listing accomplishments. Human nature causes us to be more inclined to reflect on negatives than positives. To counter that natural tendency, be sure to…
I’m a big sports fan and have always enjoyed the Olympics. I remember the unbeatable Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson, the Russian weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev, and the Michael Phelps of my childhood, U.S.A. swimmer Mark Spitz. (I actually wore the same Speedo bathing suit that Mark Spitz did, with its U.S.A. flag-design.)…
Here are some things on my gratitude list this week: That my son taught in the amazing Breakthrough program this summer. That he invited us to their Celebration (where it was wonderful and inspirational to see our future leaders -- these terrific students and teachers.) That he now knows what career…