A few weeks ago, I fell on my knee and ruptured the quadriceps tendon in my right leg. As a result, I spent two weeks in a hospital while the tendon was reattached. From the time I got there until the time I was discharged I was shown nothing but the utmost kindness from the hospital’s many healthcare professionals who took care of me—it was unbelievable!

My daughter Katie sent me an issue of the internet publication called the Purpose Fairy. This issue contained a list of things we should give up if we want our lives to be easier and happier. One in particular caught my attention and that was the need to impress others.

Far too many people have bought into the myth that failure is fatal and is something that should be avoided. In reality, failure is the world’s most effective learning experience. Most of our greatest accomplishments were made possible through failure–learning to walk, ride a bike and drive. Why should the rest of our life be any different?

One of the things I have observed over the years is that when a kind person gets sick or otherwise faces adversity, people quickly line up to help them. On the other hand, when an unkind or selfish person faces adversity, nobody cares which means they have to face their adversity alone. This can be sad as well as scary. What’s going on here is simple and straightforward.

We’ve all heard the phrase: “Don’t worry, be happy.” While it may sound trite, numerous medical and psychological studies show that this is sound advice to live by. These studies found that that happiness causes good things to happen across a number of fronts. For example, happy people have higher incomes, more fulfilling marriages, healthier…

Inspiration, that special stimulus that arouses our thinking, feeling and action is necessary before we can accomplish anything worthy of note. In the words of German Poet, Johann Von Herder, “Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they are a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.” Those sparks…

My wife Marcia and I belong to a group that meets every Thursday morning. This past Thursday, the group met at our house because our normal meeting room was not available. Our 50th wedding anniversary was coming up soon, so the group decided to surprise us with a 50th anniversary breakfast. We were completely surprised!…

I visit the Trader Joe’s grocery store in my neighborhood several times a week. Whenever I go, I make it a point to positively interact with as many of its employees as I can. As a result, I have become friends with quite a few of them. Several weeks ago, I went there to buy some cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream for Noah, my four-year-old grandson who is lactose intoleran

like these, it’s easy for us to become depressed and lose sight of the good things that are going on in our life like flowers, trees, pets, sunsets, birds, friends, and family. So, the next time you find yourself becoming overwhelmed with all the negativity that’s going on, realize that it’s time to be kind to yourself.

Recently my wife, Marcia, and I attended a meeting of about 20 people where I was asked to lead a discussion on kindness. As the meeting progressed, people started sharing their personal stories about kind acts they had performed for others. It quickly became clear that performing these kind acts was an important source of…