Russell Conwell was a Baptist Minister, a philanthropist, an attorney, an educator and the founder of Temple University in Philadelphia. He was well known for giving a speech many times called “Acres of Diamonds”. The essence of that speech was that people often mistakenly believe that to be successful, or find prosperity or their fortunes, […]
conwell, diamonds, mindset, opportunity, temple
The saying, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression,” makes many people feel condemned to failure if they didn’t do so well when first meeting somebody, like in a job interview or a social situation, and it is true that just the way we’re hardwired, we make very fast impressions and […]
chances, first impression, impression, redo, second chance
In baseball, when a runner arrives at the bag at the same time as the ball, people in the stands will often yell,” The tie goes to the runner!” Meaning the runner should be safe… however, there is no such formal rule in baseball, and it’s the umpire’s job to decide if the runner is […]
advice, baseball, runner, tie
The mother of a friend of mine passed away recently and while making some arrangements, my friend was lamenting that she and her three siblings had drifted apart over the years. There wasn’t anything specific that happened, but due to the geography, and growing families, and work obligations, they rarely talked. My friend’s mother was […]
advice, cheesecake, connection, family
A riptide or rip current is a strong current moving away from the beach that can trap swimmers who are trying to swim to shore. In that situation, people often panic and try harder to swim against the tide. Lifeguards recommend that in that situation, what swimmers should do, is start swimming parallel to the […]
advice, lifeguard, riptide, tide
I started my Rise & Whine episodes over 2 years ago, and the idea was pretty simple. It was just a way to connect with people offering a brief word of encouragement or a concept from psychology that I thought would help people in their daily lives. What was surprising and quite rewarding, is how […]
R&W, rise and whine, youtube
An article in a recent issue of Psychology Today noted that although we know the benefits of receiving a compliment, people are often reluctant to give one. The reason is people tend to underestimate the positive impact of the person we’re paying the compliment to. And people tend to overestimate that the person will be […]
advice, kind, kindness, sincerity
Sometimes we can become anxious when we feel like somebody is expecting a response from us about something, and we don’t have anything to say, at least not in that moment. I’m reminded of the great line from Meg Ryan in “Joe Versus the Volcano” at times like that, where she says, “I have no […]
no response, nothing to say, silence
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez book “Love In the Time of Cholera”, the main character is frustrated in trying to give a box of chocolates to a love interest. He tries for months every day, and frustrated at his failure, he hands them to a complete stranger and says, “this is for a love going all […]
advice, book, love, no love wasted, quote
One of the most common questions people ask someone they are meeting for the first time is,” What do you do for work?” I suppose they ask because it’s sort of a safe question, isn’t considered intrusive, or too personal. If you think about the closest relationships you have in life though, it’s likely you […]
advice, connections, getting to know someone, questions