My Uncle Sam had a favorite toast. Any time he would raise a glass, he’d say, “Strength to your friends and confusion to your enemies!” I always thought that was really funny because of the confusion to your enemies part, and when I was sharing this toast with a friend of mine the other day, […]
enemies, toast, uncle sam
When a friend or family member calls me and they want to talk about a problem or issue that’s bothering them, I offer three options. One, I tell them I can listen and respond with what I’m really thinking. Two, I can listen and just give them positive feedback. And three, I can just listen. […]
active listening, Listen, Listening
The old saying, “It’s better to give than to receive” is a reminder of the pleasure, the joy of giving to other people! But often, we’re not so good at giving to ourselves. That can be difficult and my brother Robbie had an interesting take on this. For the things that we use every day, […]
brother, everyday item, treat yourself well
The other day, I was at a supermarket considering whether or not to get something from the hot food bar for lunch. A woman walked up next to me and was looking at the hot food bar also, and we were considering different options, and then kind of moved around each other to look at […]
decision, decision making, Decisions, making a decision
In my ninth-grade science class, the teacher explained what made up the elements of a human being, just the chemicals, the inert ingredients of us. This teacher shared that if you were to go out and try to buy these ingredients in a hardware store, it would cost about $3.50, a fact that shocked everybody […]
cost, human body, price
When it comes to productivity, I seem to be at my most productive when I am really focused, and part of that focus is where I am and what I’m doing at that time. So, for example, when I’m writing, I get the most focus at my desk in my office, but if I’m doing […]
environment, Focus, focusing
I know people who love their jobs, I know people who hate their jobs, and I know people who are somewhere in the middle of those two extremes… Often people in the category of hating their jobs or being in between, wonder if they should talk to their boss about the things that would improve […]
unhappy, unhappy at work, working
One of my favorite sayings is the Chinese proverb, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” There are three wonderful take aways from that one saying. First, there’s no bad time to do something good for yourself. Any time you choose to do something helpful […]
advice, chinese proverb, plant a tree, tree
In the movie, “Jerry McGuire”, his mentor, Dicky Fox, is shown in brief clips throughout the movie, dispensing homespun advice that relates to the challenges Jerry is going through. In life, as in the movies, having a wise old owl who can give you advice can be extremely important. If you don’t have a mentor […]
Mentor, mentorship, owl, wise old owls
Recently, I had to take my car in for repairs, and when I checked the distance from the auto repair shop to the office, I saw that it was 32 minutes if I walked, and 7 minutes if I managed to get a ride. I decided the time was better spent walking, and I’m glad […]
driving, efficiency, walk, walking