Farming comes down to two things: planting and harvesting. Ironically, life can be boiled down to the same two things. The seeds we plant in farming eventually bear fruit (grain, vegetables, trees, etc.). The seeds we plant in life (words, thoughts, deeds, time) also bear fruit. Our fruit can be good or bad, depending on…

This weekend, I rebuilt a chicken coop. The very last screw broke off in a metal door handle. Ditto with the “spare” handle. My “Plan C” was a wooden handle. To install that handle, I needed something from an unlit barn. My headlamp batteries were low and its light was dim–until I walked into the barn.…

I love musical movies, like My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Another favorite not on the tip of everyone’s tongue is The Music Man with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. Preston’s character, Harold Hill, gave great “life advice” we should all heed. He said: You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll…

I recently stopped for lunch at The Laughing Planet on SE 33rd and Belmont in Portland. Parking was easy. Leaving was tricky. At 33rd, Belmont is a two-way street. At 25th, it’s an eastbound one-way. When I reached what I thought was a round-about at 25th, I went around, continuing westward, instead of turning right.…

My wife and I visited The Oregon Garden yesterday. This 80 acre “garden” included nearly every plant you can imagine. From oak trees to kale, it was an amazing place. At the end of our exploration, we were walking through a man-made wetlands when it hit me. Dense foliage lined the footpath, but stopped short…

That advice came from author and researcher, Tom Rath. Rath compares activity without purpose to a mouse on a wheel. They stay really busy, but they don’t go anywhere or achieve anything. The mouse on a wheel is a picture of how many people describe their daily activities. When I ask someone, “How are you…

Today I heard a quote that caused me to stop and think about how I am spending my life. Here it is: I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter. Bob Goff To me, the essence of…

Quitting is easy. And every time you quit, it makes the next time that much easier. (I know there are times to quit, but this isn’t about that.) When I was a lot younger, my business mentors told me the only way to guarantee failure is to quit. It sounded reasonable at the time, but…

If anyone has ever criticized your work habits, activities or personhood, it can be pretty discouraging. That happened to me today. My response options? React: Criticize him for criticizing me. Ignore him. Respond: Look (hard) for any elements of truth that exist in his comments and learn everything I can from them, even if it’s what not…

Are you afraid to charge for what you do? If it’s easier to give away your services than to charge for them, maybe it’s time to do something else. Giving away free information is great, if it leads to something else. If you write regularly on a free blog, that’s great for the reader and…