On a recent errand-running trip through our neighborhood, I bumped into no fewer than five people I knew, in the span of stopping at four destinations. That’s one of the wonderful things about living in a walkable/bikeable community…except when you’re in a hurry, of course. I didn’t really spend much time speaking to the first [...]

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When I learned yesterday that Randy Pausch died, I found my thoughts and emotions going through a strange mix of sadness and empathy, as well as anger and envy. I realized that in failing to acknowledge how I truly felt about Randy and his death – going deeper than the “safe” material usually included in [...]

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As we muster up the courage to pursue new visions in life (e.g., a new job or career, additional schooling, a city we’ve always wanted to live in), we often find ourselves faced with many changes. This may include transitioning to a new physical environment, to new friends and co-workers, and to new behaviors. If [...]

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One Sunday morning I was sitting in the pews of Pittsburgh’s First Unitarian Church, where I was scheduled to facilitate my first coaching-related workshop a few weeks later. One member, a Carnegie Mellon professor named Randy Pausch, announced that his pancreatic cancer had returned. He would be moving away with his family so they could [...]

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Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to enjoy an activity that’s not possible every winter day: jogging in the snow. Sometimes there’s a bit too much snow on the ground, and sometimes it’s a bit icy. This time, though, it was just right. As I ran along a trail in a nearby park, surrounded by [...]

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I recently shared this excerpt from my upcoming book Naked Idealism as part of a discussion on wealth, where it generated a few interesting responses. Several decades ago, Shakti Gawain outlined a simple but powerful model in her popular book Creative Visualization. She holds that much of our existence is based upon three interrelated aspects [...]

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I recently posted an article on an ABC 20/20 episode that compared the happiness levels of various countries and attempted to explain why these differences might exist. Among the conclusions was that more materialistic wealth doesn’t necessarily lead to more happiness. This got me thinking about how our current economic recession may–or may not–impact happiness [...]

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In addition to focusing on the positive, it’s just as important to minimize the extent to which we dwell on the negative. Our media is filled with negative messages describing the problems of the world. Just as accidents create rubbernecking on the highway, this type of news is what often attracts our attention. However, it [...]

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Last night (Jan. 11, 2007), ABC’s 20/20 did an interesting episode entitled “What Makes People Happy?” They compared and contrasted nations in several continents, looking for themes. I only saw about half of it, but what I did see provoked some thoughts.

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