Whilst the wintry cold gives way to spring And a new day doth the sunshine bring Another year creates anew A chance for rebirth, for me and you To lay down the old, and dream again To renew the bond with family and friends To create the dreams, to expand the love To strengthen the bond with God above May this year bring new hope and dreams And every moment, more perfect seem And when this year has come to rest May we know that we’ve done our very best   At the beginning of January, in the middle of a cold, snowy...

  To decide something means to come to a resolution in the mind. The root of the word decide means to cut off (de= off, caedere= to cut). This means that once you really decide on something, you cut off all other options. In 1519, Captain Hernán Cortéz landed in Veracruz. He then commanded his trips to burn the ships. This gave them no other option than to move forward. How many times in our lives do we make a decision and cut off all other options? How many times do we create...

I met with a client this week, and we were reviewing the commitments that he had made during our previous session. On one of his commitments, he sheepishly admitted that he had only kept his commitment about 50% of the time. There seemed to be a sense of guilt and shame as well, because he hadn't kept his commitment 100% of the time. I congratulated him on his progress, and simply said "Strive for progress, not perfection. Perfection sucks". Let me put some context around this comment. When I first engage with...

The value of a person’s life is in what he can contribute to enrich the lives of others, whether by example, service, or content. Examples are people like Victor Frankl and Nelson Mandela, who, through their own struggles and self-conviction give us something to aspire to. Examples of service are people like Mother Teresa, who believed in her mission, and tirelessly fulfilled it, day-after-day, helping one person at a time. Examples of content are the many authors like Ralph Waldo Trine, Thoreau, Emerson, and CS Lewis, who nourish our souls...

In aviation or sailing. A chart is plotted, the direction is set, and then many small adjustments are made along the journey, due to divergences from the course. External factors like wind can blow us off course for a minute, but we learn to adjust and move forward. In the stock market, the same thing happens. When an investor sees a divergence, it’s a sign that there will be an adjustment in the market, so the investor uses this knowledge to adjust their portfolio accordingly. The same thing can happen to us...

In my coaching business, I have clients that ask me how to find their purpose in life. What's interesting is that when I ask them what they're doing to find their purpose, most people say that they think about it a lot, but rarely has anybody told me what actions they are taking. It seems like many people are waiting for their purpose to find them, instead of them looking to find their purpose. Here are four suggestions: Try new things, and lots of them-- How did you find out that you like...

It doesn’t matter where you are, it matters that you make a decision to go someplace, chart your course, and get moving. I’ve noticed that happiness is a complete state of mind, based on progress towards something worthwhile.  It doesn’t have to be something earth-shattering, just worthwhile.  I remember planning an extended weekend trip to southern California.  There was as much fun in the planning, as there was on the trip.  The power of the imagination is mighty to create happiness.  Anticipation of a goal is longer-lasting than actually arriving at...