Is love conducive to our bottom-line goals? Perhaps when it is the goal itself but from my experience, love is the big disruptor that often interrupts our progress on the things we can measure. Continue reading Loving and Learning
There was a carousel in the town I grew up in that held a special attraction for me as a kid. It was originally built in 1909 and had beautifully carved wooden horses big enough that they could create the illusion of really riding. But in addition to that, the ride purveyors had added a chute of rings that riders on outside horses could reach. … Continue reading The Universal You
I’ve been thinking a lot about defiance lately. Actually, because I’m very much a contrarian at heart, I’m always thinking about ways to defy. That’s what contrarians do; they defy conventional wisdom (among other things). (By the way, it seems pretty clear that we need a lot more contrarians in the world.) I guess you could also say that I’m part of the resistance against … Continue reading Repost: Napping as an Act of Defiance
After posting My Favorite Writer Quotes last week, I loved the ones submitted in the comments so much that here’s a post of your favorite writer quotes. “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” – Ralph Waldo EmersonSubmitted by the insightful and delightful Vicki Atkinson of the Victoria Ponders blog “One thing that … Continue reading Your Favorite Writer Quotes
I think it’s safe to say that writing is the subject that I’ve studied longest. Sure, it started with just grasping the pencil with some dexterity and has developed through school essays, technical writing, and now to developing a personal angle with memoir writing, and blogging. But whatever the genre, it feels like an incredibly rich and vast subject of study. So here are five … Continue reading My Favorite Writer Quotes
At school I was always told that, “I couldn’t make a living from staring out of the window.” But then I became a pilot! Staring out of a window became my profession. Often, while staring out of the window from 40,000’, my mind would wander. Just like the clouds outside, my thoughts would take on all sorts of shapes and sizes. Eventually I decided to … Continue reading 3 Snippets of Wisdom
I was sitting at my kitchen table working yesterday afternoon, trying to tie up the last few items before closing my laptop and going to get my kids when the doorbell rang. It was the <ding-dong><ding-dong><ding-dong> of repeated bell pushes used most frequently by the 7-years-old and under set. So I wasn’t surprised to find the 6-year-old twins from four doors down the street hanging … Continue reading The Inspiration to Write: A Short Vignette
I’ve recently discovered that there are a lot of parallels between having a new job and a new puppy. Weren’t expecting that combo? Let me explain. Both making doing yoga in the morning hard. And both benefit from a lot of training. In some instances when they get a hold of you just right, both have sharp teeth that bite. Not to mention that both … Continue reading Unlikely Learning Mates
I was recently lucky enough to be able to talk about the magic of theater in a podcast conversation with writer, playwright, and Wise & Shine colleague, Jack Canfora. As we talked about the powerful feeling of a night in the theater when it all comes together and just works, he told me a story about Laurence Olivier and young Maggie Smith. After a night … Continue reading Do It Again: The Gift of Having to Repeat Ourselves
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, … Continue reading Great First Lines
It’s funny the things that I read that stick with me. I’m thinking of a post about 15 years ago from a high school friend on Facebook that said something like, “I notice that there are some people whose only activity here is posting and they don’t spend any time liking or commenting on other people’s stuff.” My friend was a year older than me … Continue reading Do You Like My Writing Or Are We Just Friends?
I recently had one of those weeks. You know the kind I mean? The ones where you have to dig extra deep to stay focused and get everything done but there’s a payoff at the end? Like the week before vacation where you have to get your work projects in order, home projects in order, buy extra food for the cat sitter, set the watering … Continue reading The Go-To Metaphor
Everything I write about is aimed at helping people understand and love who they are. To not be ashamed or hide behind some false character armour but instead embrace the gifts that God has given them. As part of that aim, I’ve compiled an epic ebook entitled Unlocking Personality. Based on the Big Five Personality model – one of the most widely recognised and respected frameworks in … Continue reading Unlocking Personality: A FREE eBook I Wrote!
The other day I landed on a blog post and as I scrolled down to add a comment, I saw that there were already 41 comments. That set me back on my heels. What else could I possibly add to the conversation? Funny how a number can spark self-doubt. It’s like joining a big group of people at a party that have already been talking … Continue reading The Art of the Comment
My kids have been clamoring for me to tell them stories at bedtime. They don’t want made up stories, they want real stories from my lives and their lives. Since they are seven years old and three years old, they are still early in their own stories so there isn’t a lot to mine there. But they love the stories about Simon the Bad Cat. … Continue reading The Archetypes of Story
No one talks about the benefits of depression, do they? No one talks about how depression might happen for a good reason. Most people assume it’s nothing but a bad thing. A product of low courage. A cancer of the mind. And perhaps it is? When you examine depression on paper, it’s difficult to argue otherwise. I mean, I hardly need to outline the costs … Continue reading The Surprising Benefits of Depression
I was talking with author Lois Roelofs about her newly released book, Marv Taking Charge, and she made the comment that she started blogging back in the day because she was told she needed a platform. As an aside, she said, “Whatever a platform is.” Right – whatever a platform is. Presumably, some sort of online presence so that we can meet and share what … Continue reading Building a Platform
Exactly one week ago, on Saturday morning, my wife and I got into the backseat of my father and stepmother’s car, in Georgetown, Texas, pulled out of their garage, and headed eastward, to make the hour-long trip to the small town of Rockdale, Texas, population 5,323. Our goal was to attend a memorial service to commemorate the life of my uncle, a man I’d always … Continue reading A Sad Day, a Happy Day
There’s a scene in the recent Top Gun film where Tom Cruise is getting a rollicking for an audacious stunt he pulled. The General tells him that soon they won’t need pilots anymore. Pilots who eat, sleep.. who disobey orders. He says, “Your kind is headed for extinction.” At which point Tom Cruise turns to the General and says, “That maybe so sir, but not … Continue reading The Danger With ChatGPT Isn’t What You Think. It’s Worse.
Recently a fellow blogger made an interesting comment. DM from the I also live on a farm blog said that a longtime blogger gave him advice that was something like whether you feel a post is awful or well done, not to dwell, ponder or gloat, but move on to the next post. It made me wonder, how do we recover from our bad posts? … Continue reading How to Recover From a Bad Post
