The other day, I looked out my office window and saw a half-grown starling perched on the branch of an olive tree. It seemed as if he hadn’t been flying very long and appeared to be excited about his new-found freedom. He hopped from place to place on the branch, each time stopping and moving…
James Garner passed away a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed his televisions shows like Maverick and The Rockford Files because he came across as a guy who was easy to be around. I did some checking and it turns out he actually was. Mr. Garner was an atypical Hollywood star. The word most…
A friend of mine posted this quote from positivelifetips.com on Facebook recently. As I read it, I couldn’t help but think of the Google executive who was found dead on his 50-foot yacht this past November. He died from an overdose of heroin administered by a call girl. This man had a lot of blessings…
The reason is that they understand that failure is the pathway to success. The process goes something like this: Successful people try something, fail and then learn from their failure. This makes them smarter than they were before they failed. They try again, fail and learn more about what they’re trying to accomplish. They continue…
I subscribe to an online publication from the Napoleon Hill Foundation called Yesterday and Today. Included in a recent issue was a list of seven rules for being an accurate thinker. One of these rules caught my attention: “Alert yourself immediately when you hear anyone speaking of others in a discourteous or slanderous spirit because…
Four of Oprah’s “Super Soul Sunday” guests recently shared some lessons they wish they had known when they were young. These lessons were posted in the “Impact” section of the July 1, 2014 issue of The Huffington Post and are presented in excerpt form below: John Mackey, Co-founder of Whole Foods: “Talk less and listen more.” Sue…
A friend of mine was recently at a ticket counter in one of the New York airports. A series of storms were passing through the area, flights were being delayed and some of the passengers were venting their frustration at the ticket agents. When it was my friend’s turn to check his bags and…
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal written by Elizabeth Bernstein points out that we actually get nicer with age. Several large research studies show that as we get older our positive traits such as being polite, preferring cooperation over competition and feeling compassion for others tend to increase. At the same time our…
Recently my wife, who directs a foster care and adoption agency, was teaching a class to would be foster parents. She was discussing some of the challenges and difficulties that come with being a foster parent when one of the people attending the class raised her hand and said, “We do not want to…
A recent article in USA Today written by Nanci Hellmich discussed ways that people could enrich their lives during their retirement years. She said the key is to: “…get out and try new things.” I think she’s right on the money, but we don’t have to wait until we retire to take advantage of this idea.…