Lulu says hello. Lulu passed away and left her body. Her spirit lives on. She was around 16 years old. I had lived with her and her doggy self for 15 years and 3 months and 3 days. I loved her deeply. She had strong feelings about me too. She didn’t want to leave and…
Something’s strange in the neighborhood. Who ya gonna call–Ghostbusters? I was given an assignment by a new client, the president of a fast paced, sales driven company, to train a dynamic manager at one of his satellite offices in skills he needed due to his growing facility. I spent two days with the manager, establishing…
Never before have I been more aware of the importance of developing trust. Yet, it’s scary how easy it is to get stuck in patterns that don’t work: neurotic fretting, rigidity, skepticism and depression. People recognize that they can’t trust the government, the federal reserve, their employer or even their family to keep things the…
Gail and I were at the Drive-In. I was driving and Gail was in the passenger seat. It was one of those places where you park, order in your car and they bring it out to you. I ordered cherry limeade and Gail ordered a blizzard, basically a milkshake with candy in it, butterfingers or…
I am moved by the awareness that greatness is a showcase that embraces us all, if we will receive it. At a time when the winter Olympics show athletes pushing, challenging and disciplining themselves to strive for greatness, I see that one demonstration can lift a whole city, or country or the world. Such is…
When old time mariners needed to know about the weather, they had no internet or TV to clue them in. They relied on their powers of observation, their logic, and their experience. They would look at the sky, feel the wind on their faces, observe the surface of the sea. Some even swore they could…
My husband, Jerome, was talking to a friend the other night about the economic climate and changing times. Jerome began talking about me and boldly proclaimed that I was “recession proof.” I looked at him quizzically, wondering what he meant by that. Jerome said, “You will weather this downturn and it won’t affect your spirit…
Happy New Year! We say it every year, briefly, and then let it go. But with a new year, new energy comes roaring through. And we don’t tend to embrace that newness, not really. For new is an energy that commands change. We have to develop the character, the courage and the capacity to hold…
My wife, Gail, told me a very interesting story the other day. Twenty-five years ago she was participating in a group workshop. As the workshop got started, the leaders gave the ground rules for the next five days. One of the ground rules over this time period was: “No side talking during the session.” As…
Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution that really worked? They usually don’t. Resolutions are the attempts to change, devoid of the principle that brings change. They are attached to fear and comfort: fear I won’t accomplish what I say I will, and comfort with the existing patterns that don’t want to budge. In…
America was founded by individuals who were drawn to this land. What drew them? They didn’t come of their own volition; they were drawn by an attraction. They were drawn by a vision, a vision that sustained them through the forging of a nation. That vision pulled and sustained them so they could overcome impossible…
I grew up in a white neighborhood in Chicago. Chicago was a city of ethnic neighborhoods and for many years, each ethnic group had their own neighborhood. My neighborhood was predominately Polish and Lithuanian. My father was from Ireland and although there were Irish in the neighborhood, you still needed to speak Polish or Lithuanian…