In the neighborhood where I grew up, there was a fork in the road, and whether you went to the left or to the right, you would eventually wind up on our street. Even though both roads eventually went to the same place, people who always went to the left had very specific reasons they […]
advice, life's road, travel
There’s a joke about a man who calls a house and a little kid answers and says,” Hello.” The man says,” Is your mother there?” The kid says,” Yes.” The man says,” Can I talk to her?” The kid says,” No, she’s busy.” The man says,” Is your father there?” The kid says,” Yes.” The […]
ask, joke, question
In the 1979 comedy movie “A Little Romance”, Sir Laurence Olivier plays a devilish, but charming character named Julius. Julius has shared a legend with two young characters in the movie who believe him, but later find out that the legend is a lie. When they confront him about the lie, Julius says,” What are […]
legends, powerful, sharing
I was walking through an empty parking lot outside the Starbucks the other day and saw the following: Someone pulled into the lot, got out of his car, and walked up to the front door. It was dark inside, nobody there. He tried the front door and found it locked. He looked inside again and […]
mindset, Motivation, persistence, try
In his excellent book Listening with the Third Ear, the analyst Theodor Reik makes the point that sometimes people who seem to be seeking advice or actually looking for permission to do something they’ve already decided to do. You will know that’s happening when someone who comes to you with advice already has a solution, […]
Communication, Listening
In ancient times, there was something called a “touchstone.” This was a dark colored stone was used to determine the purity of gold or silver that was scraped across it, based on the color that it would produce. In life, you can be a touchstone for the people that you care about by reflecting back […]
leader for others, sharing, touchstone
Sometimes, when trying to solve a problem, you can hit a wall. The answers or the solutions just aren’t coming to you, no matter how much you think about it. And that can be really frustrating. One way of dealing with this is to look around your world for some random phrase or idea that […]
decision making, Decisions, fortune cookie
When I was in high school, I worked at a sub shop. One day, there was a little kid at the counter who was covering and uncovering his ears. If you’ve ever done that in a noisy environment, you know it changes your perception of the sound around you. A few people were looking at […]
advice, Confidence, self confidence, sub shop
My grandmother once told me,” If you are wanted a lot, go a little. If you’re wanted a little, don’t go at all.” It was her ways of helping me avoid wearing out my welcome, but it also brings up how much life can be lived at the level of acceptance and rejection. Although you […]
acceptance, advice, grandmother
