It’s easy to point at my 15 year old son and criticize him for the difficulty he is causing us.  “Us” being Mom and Dad. If I did that, however, I would be criticizing myself (my 19 year old self) and every other teenager I know. Why? Because his actions are perfectly normal. When teenagers…

“You can’t steer a parked car.” “Many a false step is made by standing still.” “Just do it.” Those are all familiar phrases that mean the same thing to me. Do something. Standing still too long produces atrophy. The longer you stand still the more likely you will no longer be able to stand. If…

Years ago I learned about olive presses. Olives must be crushed to get the oil out, similar to grapes. Primitive olive presses consisted of a heavy stone, like a pillar, that was placed on top of a bag of olives to force the oil – the good stuff – from the olive. The picture I…

Our old dog killed one of our kittens last night. What really ticked me off was how it happened. We have three younger dogs that often stir up trouble and draw the old girl in. They love to play with cats. Unfortunately, the old dog is much larger and her “play” can lead to dire…

When I was growing up, I heard that phrase a lot. My parents wanted to encourage me by telling me I could do anything I wanted to do in life. Today, I realize there is another, more important point to that story. Yes, you can do anything you want. You just can’t do everything you…

If that’s true, and I believe it is, 5 bucks could keep you in bondage for a long time. And, if your dream is only worth 5 bucks, you need to get a new dream. Why not spend today thinking about why you want to do what you say you want to do. Then decide…

John Maxwell wrote a book about Failing Forward. IBM founder Thomas Watson told us to double our rate of failure if we want to improve our chances of success. Michael Jordan speaks of his high rate of failure as his chief reason for success. Why do we fear failure? When you talk to successful people…

What’s stopping you? Did you get distracted by your morning newspaper? How much time do you really need to spend reading the news, in print, online or otherwise? Regardless of what you are trying to accomplish in life, your worst enemy is usually the person staring back at you in the mirror. It’s rarely a…

To create. To learn. To inform. To teach yourself and others. To express yourself. To solve problems, heal hurts and build dreams. Write every day. Write in the morning, at mid-day or at night. The when and what are unimportant. Doing is the most important thing. No computer? Use pen and paper. No pen and…