Blogs

It’s not easy to stay focused—not in a world that seems to be moving at a million miles per hour, not in a world in which we are bombarded with endless news cycles that feed us stories ranging from deadly snow and cold in the northeast to ISIS beheadings in the Middle East to romantic…

With most schools on the east coast off the week of President’s day, and a good portion of schools shut down for all or part of the same week in the rest of the country—the proverbial winter break for students and teachers—my mind starting wandering back to the heady days of youth, back to when…

Two years ago, as Thanksgiving approached, I wrote a blog about gratitude, service to others, and living life with enthusiasm. I was going to do another this year, but looking back, I found there’s really not much new I need to say. Gratitude for what we have, service to others, and living life with zeal—that’s…

It took me at least four attempts to start writing this blog. I kid you not. It’s not that I didn’t want to write the blog, or that I didn’t have anything to say. (I rarely have nothing to say!) Rather, every time I pressed my finger tips to keyboard, something else seemed to grab…

If, like me, you’ve been skimming the headlines recently (online, of course) and ducking the constant barrage of what’s happening where and when—from the Trayvon Martin case and the Edward Snowden stare down, to D.C. politics as usual and the birth of a future king—you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed, maybe even a little anxious.…

Cap and gown ceremonies, bridal bouquets, and the telltale absence of school busses on the roads tells me it must be summer again . . . or at least we’re getting mighty close. Summer officially arrives on June 21 at 1:04 a.m. EDT, but already the days are long and warm. While the winter was long and…

In some ways, life is all about balance. Day balances night, the ratio of men to women in the world is roughly 1:1, and when we eat too much or spend too much time in the recliner watching the TV, we try to balance it all out by exercising, eating right, taking walks on the…

While I’ve been trying hard to focus on my own little corner of the world these days and my place in it, I’m finding it hard not to cast a glance eastward to Washington DC. With the sequester front and center, depending on whom you listen to or what news you watch, and the time of day,…

This week’s inauguration ceremonies got me thinking back to previous inauguration addresses, most notably newly-elected President John F. Kennedy’s address delivered some fifty-one years ago this week on the mall in Washington DC. While I wasn’t around at the time (and wouldn’t be for quite some time), I have read about and heard bits and pieces of the speech…

There’s an old adage, “You can’t plan for everything.” True. But if you plan for most things, you can put yourself in the best position possible to ACT versus REACT when opportunities and challenges present themselves. Why is this important? I much prefer to act with intention than to react to what life throws my…

Business success is as much about timing as it is about having good ideas and working hard. In my “world” timing encompasses things like pace and execution, of knowing when to “hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em” as Kenny Rogers would say. Most of us—at least those of us NOT in retail—try to take…

The Holidays are fast approaching and the season of giving is upon us. It’s also a time for service and reflection. Last year around this time, I wrote a Blog about the “art” of serving and honoring others, which seems an especially fitting theme again this year. My wish is that we could all serve…