One of the best things I watched on TV this year was the HBO miniseries, Show Me a Hero. It was a bit long (six hours) and it was a bit slow, but the takeaways from the show were worth every minute. As I said in this blog post, seeing the…
My daughters loved reading “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. They also loved the movie. I watched it recently, after happening upon it on a cable TV movie channel. I thought it was very good. (If you don’t want to watch a movie that will make you cry,…
I was talking with my friend Jeff about the way I cannot get myself self to spend a ton of money on a fancy restaurant. He is very willing to spend a lot of money on a particularly good meal. Once in a blue moon I enjoy a super fancy…
I've been blessed to spend time in a bunch of wonderful countries. Whether it was short stays during vacations or the long backpacking trip I took after graduating college in 1984, travel abroad has been one of the most enriching, enjoyable, and memorable experiences of my life. I have learned…
Just over two years ago, after seeing the movie Fruitvale Station, and coincidentally, around the same time, reading the book The New Jim Crow, I wrote a blog post about the importance of seeing the humanity in people, and how that relates to being a leader. ("Be a Leader" is one of the Six…
My wife and I were fortunate to take a wonderful trip to Europe to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We met in college and after we graduated we took a backpacking trip in Europe. We hadn’t been back since and the anniversary trip was a wonderful time, filled with many…
Rather than waiting until the New Year to begin making changes, just start now. Here are some examples: Can't decide whether to join a board of a local not-for-profit, or to serve homeless at a soup kitchen, or to fund raise for the eradication of a disease? Just pick one…
Henry Klein and I met about 20 years ago. We were living in the same town and met on a men's softball team we played on together. Henry is an attorney and a couple of years after we met him, when Marcie and I wanted to create wills, mostly to…
This is a guest post by Ashley Hardway Ever since I can remember, I have been using humor to alleviate anxieties in relationships and in life situations that would otherwise be overwhelming to me. Some people, like my own mother, do not understand how I can make light of things…
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…
Pronoia: “The delusional belief that other people are plotting your well-being or saying nice things about you behind your back” One of the books I enjoyed reading this summer was Give and Take by Adam Grant. I first learned about Grant, and his book, in this New York Times piece, Is…
One of my friends participated in a training program and told me what he heard in a lesson on listening reminded him of some of what I said in my book, in “Be Nice,” the second of my Six Simple Rules for a Better Life. Listening is an important "Be…