Listening well is an important skill in our lives—personally and professionally. In this guest post by Kevin Clarke, we hear about a dad and the hard work of really hearing what his son is saying to him. Kevin is a writer for America Magazine and this piece is reprinted with…
This is a guest post by John Gerhardt. As I’m sure we know, it’s impossible to completely avoid conflict, unfortunate circumstances, or making some tough decisions. Life is not always going to be nice to you, but it’s not healthy, and won't help your happiness, to let that turmoil build…
A couple of years ago, I read a book called The Go-Giver. The book’s lessons are delivered in the form of a parable about a young go-getter who is introduced to an older, wiser man, who teaches him about go-giving—putting others’ interests first and adding value to their lives. It’s…
I was pleased to recently have a piece I wrote published on the Pick the Brain web site. Pick the Brain publishes a lot of terrific articles and I highly recommend that you check it out. Here's an introduction to the piece I wrote, and a link to the full…
I was recently interviewed by Lynn Crocker of Create Your Reality for her radio show on Amazing Women of Power internet radio. She did a great job and as a result it was a terrific 30 minutes. Some of you may have seen my tweet or facebook posts to listen…
Earlier this year, I was introduced to Victor Schueller. Before I knew anything else about him, I wanted to get to know him when I heard that he goes by the title, “the Professor of Positivity and Possibility.” I love that! Today, I’m sharing an interview I did with Victor.…
Steve Mankoff and I met during our freshman year of college, 32 years ago. On and off, for years, I’ve suggested that Steve kick his habit of drinking a huge amount of diet soda. Last year, he finally decided to try. I asked Steve if he wanted to share his…
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 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…
Another September 11 is upon us. Today is the day of the week that I normally post. It wasn't in me to post anything other than something about 9/11. I've been putting a lot of effort into being mindful this year. As the anniversary of 9/11 comes again, I realize…
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.)…
Stephen Covey passed away just over two week ago, on July 16. He would have been 80 this coming October. Later that week, a great man named Herb, the dad of my friend, passed away. He, too, would have turned 80 later this year. This post is dedicated to Herb…