I recently finished reading an extremely disturbing book, Missoula, by John Krakauer. Krakauer is the author of two other fascinating, non-fiction books I had read, Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. While Missoula was disturbing, I couldn’t put it down. Subtitled “Rape and the Justice System in a College…
Many years ago, my wife (Marcie) and I were presented with the idea of hiring a personal chef. It sounded like an odd idea—like something for the super-rich. But, we did some research, calling around to various places (this was before Google had become our go-to). We found a chef…
This is a guest post by Bethany Rosselit. Bethany blogs at Online Life Coaching, where she offers tips, e-courses, and individual e-mail, chat, and Skype sessions to help people simplify their lives, overcome their fears, and achieve their dreams. For the first 10 years of my marriage, I thought had…
When you reach a certain age (in my case, it was in my mid-40s), parents of friends begin to have health problems and/or pass away. Over the past 10 years, I’ve been to many funerals, including several very recently. I nearly always cry, but I also frequently smile, and often…
I saw full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal just before Christmas from AT&T that said: Put the "happy" in holidays. That was incredibly distasteful to me. The iPhone 6 is not what makes holidays happy. Neither you nor your family members are going to remember 20 years from now…
As I have done for each of the past two years, here are the many ways I enjoyed music, movies, places I visited, books I read, and what I watched on TV this past year. Books I love reading and I love learning. I read quite a bit every day,…
When I was a kid, I was told “Don’t talk to strangers, don’t take candy from strangers, don’t get into a car with a stranger.” When my kids were young, I told them similar things, plus I taught them to avoid the dangers from the nascent world of social media.…
This is a guest post by Ashley Hardway Ever since I can remember, I have been using humor to alleviate anxieties in relationships and in life situations that would otherwise be overwhelming to me. Some people, like my own mother, do not understand how I can make light of things…
Last week I posted part one of my parenting suggestions. Here’s part two: 1. Protect your kids from internet dangers. I thought everyone was aware of the dos and don'ts, but I recently showed my cousin I could figure out his daughter's school, what team she is on, her best friend's…
This week, our oldest, our son Jeremy, graduates from college. As my wife Marcie would say, we’ve done all we can and he’s fully cooked. He was pretty well cooked in many ways before he headed off to college, yet while he’s much the same person he was at that…
Last year, when Marcie and I celebrated our 25th anniversary, I published an article in the Six Simple Rules newsletter with my thoughts about marriage, and about divorce (and happiness). A version of the article was published on the new Love Fairy site, a sister site to Purpose Fairy, where…
There are tons of articles about dealing with stress, so maybe another isn’t needed. But, unhappiness and ill health from stress is so prevalent it can’t hurt to provide the following list I adapted from an article I read in a Canyon Ranch newsletter. It’s amazing the way all the…