I've written a bunch of times about the value of experiences over things—about spending your money and time on experiences rather than stuff. In one of my newsletters, and later in a post here, I said the following: "I feel fortunate (and grateful) that investing my time and money in experiences…
As has happened to me many times before, I recently found myself inspired by a eulogy delivered by a friend upon the passing of their parent. Every funeral I attend leaves me a better person because of something I learn about the deceased, and their life well lived. With my friend's…
My wife and I were fortunate to take a wonderful trip to Europe to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We met in college and after we graduated we took a backpacking trip in Europe. We hadn’t been back since and the anniversary trip was a wonderful time, filled with many…
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,…
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…
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…
I received shocking, tragic news this week when I learned my college roommate passed away at the age of 51. We met at the very start of college. We lived in the same building freshman year. We became friends and moved in together as roommates for our junior year. As…
This week marks the one-year anniversary of Make New Friends Monday. Here's an updated version of an earlier post I wrote, recounting and celebrating the great experience #mnfm has been for me, and others. When my kids were home from college for winter break just over a year ago, the…
This is a guest post by Roman Soluk. From a very young age, we are taught not to lie. Even if we fail to heed those early instructions, we tell the same thing our children: It’s bad to lie! An average person lies approximately 20 times a day. Why do…
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the happiness secret of experiences, not things. In a similar vein, I share with you enjoy today’s guest post by Cheryl Magyar. -------------- It seems like everyone is talking about happiness these days—trying to define it and searching high and low for…