This week, our oldest, our son Jeremy, graduates from college. As my wife Marcie would say, we’ve done all we can and he’s fully cooked. He was pretty well cooked in many ways before he headed off to college, yet while he’s much the same person he was at that…
In my book, I wrote that many of the things that happen to us seem like catastrophes at the time, but end up as funny stories later. When I say this, I'm not talking about the big stuff; I'm talking about the inconveniences like traffic, canceled flights, and the like.…
Last year, when Marcie and I celebrated our 25th anniversary, I published an article in the Six Simple Rules newsletter with my thoughts about marriage, and about divorce (and happiness). A version of the article was published on the new Love Fairy site, a sister site to Purpose Fairy, where…
There are tons of articles about dealing with stress, so maybe another isn’t needed. But, unhappiness and ill health from stress is so prevalent it can’t hurt to provide the following list I adapted from an article I read in a Canyon Ranch newsletter. It’s amazing the way all the…
My yoga teacher Lucy shares wonderful messages with us—messages of gratitude, calm, peace, and happiness. Recently, she shared the quote, "Service to others is our rent for living in this world." As I've said here before, I've also learned that service to others is the single best strategy to ensure…
I recently read a powerful story in What Happy People Know, a book by Dan Baker. He explained he was working with a super stressed out business owner and trying to help him to delegate more. The business owner said he could not delegate more because so many of his…
This is a guest post by Julie Singer, who teaches us, among other things, something we've discussed before: one of the great sources of happiness is helping others. As a college student, at times you can feel like you have no control over anything. It may be your emotions, your…
When I was a kid, I was a speed eater. My dad would tell me and my siblings to chew our food 30 times before swallowing, but we ignored his advice and his good example (he is the slowest eater I have ever met). I did learn to eat more…
Soon after two close friends of mine spent two days at a health and relaxation retreat, my wife and I were at a dinner hosted by one of them. There were six couples at dinner including the hosts. When we sat down to eat, we each found a piece of…
This is a guest post by Veronica Finch. Veronica is a recent college grad and her wisdom exceeds her years; while her examples focus on college-related activities, her suggestions are applicable for everyone. I like the way her piece syncs with several of the Six Simple Rules—I see a clear…
This week marks the one-year anniversary of Make New Friends Monday. Here's an updated version of an earlier post I wrote, recounting and celebrating the great experience #mnfm has been for me, and others. When my kids were home from college for winter break just over a year ago, the…
I’ve been a fan of Joshua Becker’s blog on minimalism and simplicity for several years. Last year, an article I wrote was published on his site. I’ve also enjoyed his books, and now he has a new one, Clutterfree with Kids, and I'm pleased to write this book review. While…