Last summer I went whitewater rafting with my wife and a couple of wonderful friends who had very graciously invited us to stay with them at their upstate New York time share. We departed the lodge at 7:30am and arrived at the rafting place around 9:00am. It was a long…
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…
Harnessing the power of thinking—knowing that what we think has a huge impact on how we feel, and then putting that knowledge to use—has had powerful results for me. I’ve also learned that discounting other people’s feelings is a mistake and I’ve gotten better over time at balancing the power…
Late last year, I was fortunate to learn about 10 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place (and Staying There), a wonderful book by Galen Pearl. After reading the book, I had the pleasure of interviewing Galen—about the book, her life, and the 10 Steps. I'm grateful to Galen for taking…
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…
I’ve been checking out an unusual and interesting online coaching system for personal development, called ProStar Coach. I recently spoke with the creator of this program, Denny Coates. He has some insightful things to say about habits and behavior change. That’s of particular interest to me, with my focus on…
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.)…
I’ve written in my book, and in blog posts, that my definition of a leader is not limited to presidents, CEOs, and heroic figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi. I’ve explained that the leadership I write about includes making the world a better place – even in…
In my book, I mention numerous books that have been important to my personal development. I've also provided (affiliate) links to many of those books on this page on my site. Within the parenting genre, these are a few of my favorites: 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 Protecting…
As we come upon the end of the college selection process for the current group of high school seniors (two of whom live in my house), I was reflecting on the part of the process where teens build up their “resumes.” I recall, thirty years ago, when I was applying…
For over 40 years, I’ve been trying to figure out my brother, Jon. Many adjectives have been used to describe him and it seems that he’s finally come up with the one that will stick—Driven. Jon is two years younger than I am, so I’ve known him since the day…