The Simple Secret to Happiness

International author and speaker, actor, playwrite and former railroad executive Art Fettig recently reflected in his newsletter on his 87 year-long happy, fulfilling and rewarding life. At the end, he provided some sound advice to people starting out in life. After reflecting on what Art had to say, I strongly feel that this advice applies…

A Common-Sense Approach to Dealing with Stress

My wife told me about a piece of wisdom she got from her aunt more than 50 years ago that she still uses. When she was a girl, she was stressing about something and her aunt said to her, “With all the things in the world to worry about, is that really worry-worthy?” To this…

A Wonderful Example of How Things Should Be

My friend Cheryl posted a wonderful anecdote on Facebook and I’d like to share it with you. “I attended the first Michigan State University (MSU) home hockey game last night and the arena was full of MSU students. I had so much fun with the two male students seated next to me. One was from…

An Important Life Lesson from Losing a Son

My son Phil passed away two years ago on September 30. Yesterday would have been his 40th birthday. He was a wonderful guy with a quick wit, big heart and a great sense of humor. He has been sorely missed by everyone who knew him. I feel very fortunate that the last words spoken between…

A Role Model for Extending a Helping Hand

A friend of mine told me about this story which was posted on Facebook last March. Since then it has been shared more than 30,000 times and received more than 1,500 comments. Cesia Abigail is the 25-year-old owner of Abi’s Café, an El Salvadoran restaurant in Minneapolis. One day, a street person named Marcus walked…

One Action—Meaningful Impact!

Mike, a neighbor of mine, who lives on the street just north of me has been retired for some time. He takes his dog for long walks at least three times a day. Not long ago, I noticed that he was carrying a bag containing aluminum cans that he had picked up during his walk.…

A Weekend Filled with Nothing but Love

My wife is the director of a foster care and adoption agency. Each year in September, this agency has a camp designed to bring foster and adoptive families together for a weekend of pure fun. Again this year, there were field games, hikes in the woods, hay rides, crafts, 1,400 water balloons and s’mores around…

Pithy Bits of Life Advice from Harvey Mackay

In a recent column published in the Denver Business Journal, best-selling author Harvey Mackay shared some succinct nuggets of life advice that he’d come across during his very successful career. These nuggets are so dead-on that I’d like to share some of them with you. Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you…