For a number of years, my wife conducted gift making workshops during early December.  During these workshops, she would ask the participants to share their most cherished holiday memories.  Not once did anyone recall a specific gift. It was always about something they had done with someone else, something they had done for someone else…

Setbacks–those unfortunate events that impede our progress toward our goals–can be frustrating, as well as stressful and painful. As unwelcome as they are, setbacks always have a silver lining because they force us to look at the world through a new set of eyes. As a result, a setback could be the very event that…

In sports, the people who hustle are the ones who get noticed and create opportunities for themselves.  The same holds true in other aspects of life.  When you hustle–apply your best efforts to the opportunities and challenges that life brings your way–sooner or later you’ll get noticed and good things will start to happen.  Yes,…

When someone wrongs us, our natural inclination is to get even.  The problem is that nothing good ever comes from getting even–it chews up lots of time and energy, puts you in a negative frame of mind and takes your attention away from what’s truly important.  In addition, the anger and resentment that go along…

When most people think of Girl Scouts, they visualize smiling young ladies in green uniforms trying to sell them those delicious cookies.  When I think of Girl Scouts, I am reminded of one of the songs their leaders teach them from early on.  It goes like this, “Make new friends and keep the old.  One…

It’s not uncommon to hear people making excuses about why they didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that life sent their way.  You’ll hear things like, “I could have done this or that….”  Then come the excuses: “…but at the time my kids were little,” or “but we had just bought a new house,” or “but…