I just finished a fantastic book titled Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. It’s a Murder Mystery set in and around Montreal. The main character is a Chief Inspector named Armand Gamache. In the book, Mr. Gamache mentions four sentences that lead to wisdom that were passed on to him by his mentor. They are so concise…
I fell into this trap recently when it appeared that things weren’t going well in certain aspects of my professional life and I began to stress out. When this happened, I lost track of the fact that I have a wonderful wife, a fantastic family, lots of great friends, a nice roof over my head…
The Arizona Republic recently published a feature article about Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema written by Rebekah L. Sanders. Ms. Sinema’s story is truly amazing. She was born in Tucson, AZ. When she was still a child, her parents divorced and her mother moved the family to Florida. For several years they were so poor that…
This past October 27, I posted a Reminder dealing with the fact that in the National Football League, the players typically hang out in the locker room and the head coach hangs out in his office. This sends a very clear message that the head coach is the boss and the players are the subordinates.…
A recent article by Kaila White, which appeared in The Arizona Republic, featured a very special dining hall cashier at the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University named Vicke Davis. According to the article, everyone knows her and loves her because she cares about the students who eat there. She knows their names, what…
This past Sunday, I was walking through the produce department at the Sprouts Farmers Market near my home when I overheard a conversation between a father and his preteen son. The boy asked his father, “What does a mango taste like?” The father, obviously trying to blow his son off said, “Like a mango.” The…
The Arizona Republic recently ran an Op-Ed piece about Mother Teresa. The article pointed out that The Vatican recently announced that Mother Teresa, who put together a home for the dying in the slums of Calcutta, will likely be canonized into sainthood in September. The article also pointed out that in 1979 she was awarded…
Two days before Christmas, I was grocery shopping at the Sprouts Farmers Market near my home. As I was standing in the checkout line, I noticed that the woman ahead of me was buying a large standing rib roast, a turkey, a ham and lots of potatoes. As it turned out, she had three friends…
Someone recently made a post on Facebook about a wonderful elderly woman with an incredible attitude. The end of the post listed this woman’s “five simple rules to be happy.” These rules are so succinct and dead-on that I felt compelled to share them with you. Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from…
Being kind to others does not receive nearly the credit it deserves when it comes to making us happy. The truth is that it’s impossible to be truly happy if you aren’t kind to others. As Harold Kushner put it,” When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is…