If you bought a house or a car or made another major purchase, you would likely put a lot of thought into it. You wouldn’t just jump in. You would pause, digest all the available information, and respond to the situation in a way that makes sense to you, and…
About 30 years ago, my wife and I moved with our first-born into an apartment located five minutes from my office. At first, I loved the idea. A five-minute commute was essentially no commute at all. After years of much longer commutes, I was thrilled. A year later, we moved,…
One year. Incredible. This week marks one year since most of our lives were turned upside-down by the pandemic. For me, the days before COVID shut things down in New York have become one of those “remember where you were” times. On Tuesday, March 10, we had dinner with a…
Happy New Year! This has been a horrible year for all the reasons I don't need to list here. Nonetheless, as I have done for quite a few years, here are some of the experiences I enjoyed this past year: what I listened to, what I read, what I watched,…
I recently stumbled across two posts I wrote in 2014 about parenting. I enjoyed reading those posts, which had been inspired by my eldest child’s graduation from college, and I am republishing some of that content today. Parents need to be leaders: it's leadership by example. Parents also need to…
I’ve shared parenting suggestions here a few times. Leo Babauta, who writes on his site Zen Habits, is one of my long-time, favorite, personal development writers. Last year, he posted about some of the life lessons he has taught his (now mostly adult) kids—lessons they shared back with him on…
In this horribly sad time of COVID, with so many families experiencing illness and the death of loved ones, by complete coincidence I just finished reading a book about death and dying. Many years ago, I read Complications by Atul Gawande. Gawande is a surgeon and his writing about his…
I keep hearing, reading, and using the word crazy (as in, these crazy times). The word crazy feels right because almost nothing feels normal. Like many of the people who are fortunate to have a job that can be done remotely, I have been working at home for nearly two…
When my kids were in high school, I wrote a five-part series of "Teenproofing" posts about teens and drinking. The posts include many of my opinions and suggestions including not letting your kids drink in your house. My kids are all in their mid-twenties now, so I haven’t given a…
Happy New Year! As I have done for quite a few years, here are some of the many experiences I enjoyed this past year: places I visited, what I listened to, what I read, what I watched, and more. Reading For the last several years I had read fewer and…
As has happened to me many times before, this year I found myself inspired by a eulogy delivered by a friend upon the passing of one of his parents. Every funeral I attend leaves me a better person because of something I learn about the deceased, and their life well…
With summer upon us, I wanted to write, as I did last summer at this time, about the importance of taking time off from work. I was fortunate to have participated for many years in Strategic Coach, a personal and professional development program where I learned, among many other things, the…