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More Human Husbandry
“The only true thing is what’s in front of you right now.” (Ramona Ausubel) If I had only one piece of advice for every husband this morning, it would be this: When your wife approaches you tonight, about anything at all, calmly put down the phone, the iPad, and the remote. Then move yourself into […]
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Go Ahead and Fail
“The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one.” (Elbert Hubbard) In a recent interview, self-made Atlanta billionaire Sara Blakely, the creator of the Spanx undergarment revolution, gave a clue to her success. Around her family’s dinner table growing up, each kid knew Dad was going to turn to […]
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True Courage
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” (Mark Twain) The wife and I finally showed “The Sixth Sense” to our kids last night (they’re 18 and 16). Always fun to introduce them to great movies, especially one with such an incredible surprise ending. I hadn’t seen the film in a […]
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Comfortably Insecure
“The ultimate security is your understanding of reality.” (H. Stanley Judd) So much of our lives is spent in the pursuit of security. We arm our houses with locks and alarms, and even cameras. We insure those houses, along with our cars, and even our lives. We invest our hard-earned cash into stocks & bonds, […]
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Have Less, Enjoy More
“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy.” (Charles H. Spurgeon) This summer, my wife Jenny has been reading, and living, a wonderful book called The Life-Giving Magic of Tidying Up, by a Japanese organization master named Marie Kondo. I know this, not because I’ve seen Jenny perusing the book’s pages; […]
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Thanks, But No Thanks
“There are times when parenthood seems nothing but feeding the mouth that bites you.” (Peter De Vries) Every parent, at least once, has complained about their child’s amazing ingratitude. “These kids,” we say while shaking our heads, “they have no idea how good they’ve got it…all I do for them, and this is the thanks […]
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A K.I.S.S. from Your Kids
“Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple. ” (C.W. Ceram) My daughter heads off to college this year, and as a gift, I’m writing her a book of Dad’s wisdom. Now, as you might imagine, this is not a gift she asked me for; we’ll see if she ever reads it. […]
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The Loudest Lies
“We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” (Eric Hoffer) Self-talk is not optional. You and I have a constant conversation going on in our heads at all times. For a window into it, go see the brilliant Pixar film “Inside Out”. What’s most difficult, and yet most important, is the task of accurately observing […]
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Get Your Juices Flowing
“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” (George Lois, American Art Director) Just about every day, we get requests from people who want to know specifically what to do in certain circumstances. “What do I do when my three year old won’t potty train?” or […]
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Parenting Humpty Dumpty Style
“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put the past together again. So let’s remember. Don’t try to saw sawdust.” (Dale Carnegie, US author) Oh, how much easier and more pleasant would life be if we could live by this principle. Each day really is a new start both for you and […]