Are You Here?

Are You Here?

A few years back, I was being interviewed for an article on leadership when the interviewer asked me a question I’d never been asked before: What’s the most important question we can ask ourselves as leaders?

My answer surprised me, as the question that came to mind was “Am I here?”

Return to Sender

Return to Sender

Cancer is funny.

Especially Merriam-Webster’s definition numbers 2 and 1a
(placed in that order here for literary effect).

Funny adjective
fun·ny | \ˈfə-nē

2: differing from the ordinary in a suspicious, perplexing, quaint, or eccentric way: PECULIAR
My car has been making a funny noise…

The One You Feed

The One You Feed

There is an old teaching story I’ve always loved about a Cherokee elder who is teaching his grandson about life… “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, deception, false pride, superiority, and ego…

Invisible Impact

Invisible Impact

There’s an old Martin Mull comedy song I’ve always loved called They Never Met, which tells the story of a couple who would have been perfect for each other but for the fact that, as the title says, they never met – not even briefly, because she worked the day shift and he worked the night….

The Power of Hope

The Power of Hope

I was teaching a seminar a number of years ago when a woman stood up, dripping with disgust, and pointed an accusatory finger at me. ‘The problem with you,’ she said, ‘is that you give people hope.’ She had a point, although in my defense it had never occurred to me that this might be perceived as a bad thing…

A Poetic Way of Thinking About Thought

A Poetic Way of Thinking About Thought

When I first saw something about the link between our thoughts and our feelings, I thought the realm of thought worked a bit like a Dr. Seuss poem:

Black thought, white thought
Dark thought, light thought
Happy thought, sad thought
Good thought, bad thought