How to Select the Right Life Path Jumps
There are three types of people in this world. Those who do no harm as we navigate our life path. Those who pull us up to a new purpose-filled life path. Those who pull us down to a dreary, frustrated life path. Whether we recognize it at the time, there are people we encounter who…
Decisions vs. Choices: Is There a Distinction?
Is there a battle – Decisions vs. Choices? Does it matter if there is a difference between decision and choice? It may. The line between what constitutes a decision versus a choice may be slight. Let’s look at the definitions in Dictionary.com: Decision: the act of or need for making up one’s mind. Choice: the…
Beauty in the Weeds – 3 Lessons
The past few days I have been in South Dakota. Each time I am home, we seem to make a pilgrimage to what is left of our family farm. Walking around what used to be our garden, much of it has been overtaken by remnants of weeds and lots of springtime grass. In the mix…
How Would Your Headline Read Today?
There is an old political adage that states: “Don’t do something that you would not want to appear on the front page of The Washington Post.” Pick your favorite newspaper, as this was one the used while I was working in Washington, D.C., early in my career. The simple statement delivers sound advice. As always,…
What Will Stand?
Our family farm has mostly disappeared. The land still flows, but the homestead signs are almost gone. When I went to our family farm last year, I snapped this picture. These grain bins are the last reminders that a family worked this land. One of the odd things about them is they were present before…
Get a Pair: Buy Khakis or Live Boldly
I drive by this billboard almost every day. Get a Pair. The first time I drove past it, my marketing brain went to work, and my thought was “what a bad ad.” If I liked the khakis, I did not know the brand nor could I read where I could buy a pair. My conclusion…
Your Intangible Presence of Living
We focus on tangibles. Partly due to the fact, I believe, we can touch them, grab of hold of them, or point to them. The tangibles become a part of our persona. With our iPhones®, iPads®, or other devices, our personal brand begins to assume the characteristics of that item. We identify ourselves with what…
The Done / Undone Life Matrix
You may be familiar with the words from a prayer: “…by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.” Each time I say or hear those words, my mind embraces both sides of this equation, with more thought given to what “we have left undone.” There is something about these words that…
The Unboxed Life: Giving
One side of our life needs to be boxed in, and another needs to be unboxed. Our unboxed life needs to be spirit-led, soul-inspired. We hear words like “listen to your spirit” or “reach into your soul” and, at times, it just seems like a lot of nonsense. Yet, we know it when we feel…
Boxing in Life – 3 Principles to Adopt Again
Somehow, we switched some old truisms around. We now believe there is such a thing as a free lunch, and we believe that more is better, no matter what the cost. Now, this may be somewhat unfair, but there has been a mindset shift, leading us to our current imbalance issues. If you look at past…
Average Life, Sporadic Life, or Full Life?
I was listening to Mike & Mike earlier this week as they were discussing the Sunday football games. When it came time to review the NY Giants win over the New England Patriots, Mike Golic made a comment to the effect of: “Eli Manning statistically wasn’t great, but he came through when it was important.” For…
My Job Is My Life / My Life Is My Job
“My job is my life.” We hear this statement from people we may know who work long hours and do it all again the next day. People saying this may be over-worked or may just over work. Their job crowds out all else, meaning little time for extracurricular or community activities. It may mean less…