I recently read The Power of Having Fun, the brand-new book by Dave Crenshaw. I am a big believer in taking time off to make time for yourself and for your family. I've had the good fortune of having taken that time over most of the past 20 years. I…
Earlier this year, I attended a meeting with nearly 100 people to discuss the future direction of a religious institution where I am a member. It was expected that attendees would have varying, and possibly contentious, opinions. The meeting’s facilitator began by spelling out some valuable ground rules for everyone…
If you haven’t seen the HBO documentary, Becoming Warren Buffett, I highly recommend it. The “Oracle of Omaha,” legendary for his investing prowess, is an amazing person from whom, and from whose example, much learning is available. A couple of my favorite takeaways from the film: If you were given…
I heard an interview with star poker player Annie Duke. She said something quite profound about happiness. When something happens to you, ask yourself, “If this happened to me a year ago, how would I feel about it today?” Then, come “back to the future” and act accordingly. I love…
One thing that bothers most people, is the experience of not remembering why you just walked from one place to another—for example, walking from one room to another in your house, or from one part of your workplace to another. As we get older, we begin to worry if that…
Someone sent me an article about a company that purposely made some decisions they knew would make them less profitable. The goal was to impact the environment in a more sustainable way, and the author wrote about the various ways to define success. The person who sent me the article…
I'm a big believer in lifelong learning. The fifth of my Six Simple Rules is, "Be a Lifelong Learner." I do a ton of reading (books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs), I listen to podcasts, and I attend classes, workshops, and seminars, among other things. I'm also a strong believer in…
During the time of year when the weather cooperates, I love eating breakfast in my backyard. For many years, I did so while reading the morning newspaper. A couple of years ago, I decided to stop reading while I was eating. I wrote them about that here. But, I allowed…
Explaining “Be Proactive,” the first of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey wrote about pushing the pause button between stimulus and response, in order to respond in a way guided by how you want to live your life, rather than reacting in a way not aligned with…
I’m not the last person who should writing this, but I may be close. I like dogs, and I probably could be someone who loves dogs, but mostly I don’t have much interaction with them. When my siblings and I were kids, we begged our parents for a dog. After…
When I say "Be a Leader" (the third of the Six Simple Rules for a Better Life), the leadership I am talking about is not being a CEO of a company, or being the president of a country. What I am talking about is volunteering at home, at work, and…
This is a guest post by Aryeh Weinstein. I knew he was coming. He had called me earlier in the week and asked me if I could host him and his wife for dinner at our home. After calling the reference he gave me, I told him we’d be happy…