With Gratitude to Sarah Hale, We Have Thanksgiving
It took 40 years of diligent effort by Sarah Josepha Hale for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday. To the leadership and strong beliefs of Sarah Hale, we share our gratitude. Sarah’s Story Sarah Hale’s story is one of challenge and inspiration. Her husband passed away in 1822, leaving her with five children and little…
How to Avoid Drift into Mediocrity
Kent Julian recently asked the following question on his blog, Live It Forward: “What strategies do you use to avoid the drift into mediocrity?” Read his post “Beware of the Drift into Mediocrity” to gain more context. It is an essential question to answer. In thinking through my answer, it came down to story. What…
Live an Unlife Life
I will live an unlife life. I will unwrap what has kept my spirit wrapped in knots. I will undo what has kept me from doing the better thing. I will unleash what has kept me on a leash of restraint. I will unlisten to the unfruitful whispers of the past. I will live…
How Do You Describe Passion? A Gelato Lesson.
This past summer we took a father-sons weekend trip. Part of it took us to Portland, Maine, and into Gorgeous Gelato to discover wonderful gelato and a delectable quote on the wall. The passion of gelato. In my opinion, Auguste Escoffier, an Italian chef, captured the essence of passion in description. Here’s why. It sets…
Life. Steps.
There are many steps in life. An average life is 78 years. If each step represents a day, We have 28,470 steps to take. Each day, each step, we have a choice. We can stand still. We can step backwards. We can take a step up and forward. Each step isn’t easy, No…
The Strategist – Bring Your Passion and Leadership
The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs by Cynthia A. Montgomery brings strategy front-and-center and challenges leaders to embrace it as a core and continuous action. Strategy is not something to hand-off to someone else, and it is not to be just a document safely stored away. Strategy and leadership need to be interconnected,…
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…
Life Is About Momentum, Not Motions
“Going through the motions…” It is a phrase we hear maybe too often. It seems to mean we are just moving through activities without much thought or meaning. It may be like sleepwalking through a job or zoning out at home. Going through the motions is not a positive indication of living a life fully…
Lessons Learned from Love Does
I am a fan of Donald Miller. From his blog and other interactions, I learned about Bob Goff and his book. When BookSneeze® offered it as an option, I grabbed the opportunity to read Love Does. Love Does is a book of short stories woven together in a fun and inspiring way. It is an…
Always Trust Your Cape
During my drive home, I was mindlessly listening to some music but a line caught my attention. It was: Always trust your cape It was like a voice from my dashboard speaking directly to me. Always trust your cape. Immediately a few images came into mind. The first was Superman standing with his hands firmly…
Automatic vs. Manual – Putting It in Gear
It is tough to find a car with a manual transmission! Everything is automatic these days. When I was a kid, we learned how to drive by shifting gears, grinding them a little as we went. Great memories of driving our 1963 Chevy Biscayne, with three on the column, are present as I look back….
Leading Through Restlessness
We all get restless. Something isn’t going quite right. Something isn’t happening the way we thought or dreamed. There is a churn inside that stirs up questions of “is this where I am supposed to be?” Times have been challenging. When things begin to look up, we begin to get curious as to what is…