Throughout my childhood and adult years (until my early 40s), I was driven mostly by one thing: being liked. I noticed that I would always pick a person or three, and their opinion of me, of what I thought and did, dictated what I thought about...
Ever notice at times how unhappy you are because of this person or that thing? “If they would only do X, then I wouldn’t feel so (angry, hurt, disappointed, depressed).” We all share this thought pattern. Here’s the...
I’ve been hearing a lot about these “failure to launch” kids: teens and young adults who are not stepping into the adult phase of life. It hit me that the term implies there’s something wrong with the kid/young adult, like a car with a flat tire...
Who I become in life has been primarily driven by one thing: my decision to serve someone or something. As a father, I fully took on a role to serve. I assumed that the people served by that role would be my kids. As a businessperson, I...
Ever assume that those around you have the same ethical views you do, only to be disappointed and maybe even hurt when they don’t? Yeah. We all have! Here’s the thing that I keep learning: the ethical paths that we adopt are for us, not those...
The other day, I had lunch with an old buddy who shared with me how his life had been the past couple years—full of lots of disappointments and challenges. We all go through times like this. I asked him, after listening for a while, purely out...
I’m not a fan of team politics because it’s so clearly manipulative and divisive. There’s a clear line in the political battlefield that links compassion with people who don’t have enough, and negativity towards wealth. I suspect most would agree...
Some people seem to be visionaries— they have been grabbed by a vision and are propelled by their passionate dedication to it. Whether it be a musician, entrepreneur or doctor, these people seem to be captivated early on by what they’re going to...
War has been one of the constants of human civilization. In times when violence has been unavoidable, it makes sense to me. The trouble is, we all define “unavoidable” differently. We also often obscure the truth of our motives...
One of the biggest difficulties we face in life is seeing a loved one in pain. We insert ourselves into their situation to try to save them from this pain. Watching them suffer causes us so much discomfort that we feel we HAVE to act, if only...
It seems that the stories we tell are embodiments of all our decisions, conscious or not. They express not only an event, but also who we are deciding to be in response to an event: our identity. This identity becomes something that drives us to...
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine last night about our kids. In the course of it, I realized that there is certain amount of heartache involved in being a parent. When my kid seems off course or seems to be in pain, it just...
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