I just accomplished a goal I set for myself almost a year and a half ago, and I feel pretty good about it. The goal isn’t an end in itself, it’s more of a milestone. Still, it’s pretty significant, and I’m going to take a little time to simply enjoy and celebrate the fact that I did it. The goal was to spend a week in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at my church. Not all at once, of course, but an hour at a time. [...]
First question: Would you rather take a shower in ice-cold water, or skip taking a shower? Second question: Would you rather go without water or electricity in your home? I had to think about both of these questions one day last week, although the choice wasn’t really mine to make in either one. The first question came up during Table Topics at my Toastmasters meeting on Thursday morning. During Table Topics, a question, dilemma, or quote is presented to the group, and the person called [...]
“Within the next year, I’m going to do 60 things I’ve never done before.” That’s what a friend of mine decided on her 60th birthday, which was a few months ago. Whenever she does something she’s never done before, she writes it down on a slip of paper and deposits it in a special jar she keeps for this purpose. Her goal is to have 60 new experiences by her next birthday. She told me about this after reading one of my recent columns, which [...]
The column I write, which appears in the newspaper every Thursday and here on my blog every Friday, was inadvertently left out of this week's paper due to an oversight at the newspaper office. It will appear next week, so please check back then. Thank you!
Sometimes the lessons we learn aren’t just the ones that are actually being taught. What we get out of them can go way beyond what was intended. That happened to me last weekend, during one of the sessions at a “Lead Like Jesus” Reconnect in Chicago. The session was about leadership, but the lesson was about juggling. Each of us was placed in one of four groups, based on our level of competence and enthusiasm for juggling. Then we were given a partner, a set [...]
What makes you brave? The date was October 27, 2011. Four people walked down a narrow pathway between two rundown buildings. When they came out on the other side, they were in a different world. Sounds like something out of a Harry Potter book, doesn’t it? But I can assure you that the place these four people were traveling to was not a magical one. It was a muddy and garbage-strewn slum not far from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Of the four people there [...]
I spent last weekend at a business retreat in Connecticut. The leader of the retreat is someone I met a few months ago, and I knew she was exactly the right person to help me with some areas of my business in which I still needed some guidance and support. She works almost exclusively with women entrepreneurs, and she focuses on both the spiritual and the business aspects of our work. One of the practices she insists we do every morning is to incorporate [...]
I gave a speech at my Toastmasters Club last week, and during the feedback session following the speech, one of the members in the audience said my speech almost made her sick. I took it as a compliment, which is exactly how she meant it. The speech was for a Tall Tales Contest, which is something I love taking part in. It gives me a chance to stretch my imagination, to improve my vocal variety and pacing, and to spend a little time being just [...]