There is nothing like the feeling of overcoming a challenge. A good story is simply a person who wants something and overcomes conflict/obstacles to achieve it. And we long to live good stories. I grew up on the stories that ended with “happily ever after”. The struggle was over. The world-ending event was avoided. The addiction was overcome. The romance was realized. But as an adult living in the real world, I have found that the other side of struggle... Read more
Shame is a powerful force in our modern world. It prevents behavior by terrorizing our expectations. It divides people, groups, and organizations. It destroys families. And the hard thing about shame is that it is not going anywhere. We try to cover it up or hide it. We try to run from it or pretend it isn’t there. Shame comes through our internal assessments as well as external ones. And it is a heavy weight, a burden that can (and... Read more
Deep down, there are particular things each of us care about. We call them values. It is a sad reality that many people do not know their values, have not named or discovered them. There is no way to live a meaningful life without being intentional about living out of your values. This is true for organizations as well as individuals. We often talk about culture as “the values communicated within an organization”. Even if we go through the hard work of... Read more
It is not that hard to be thankful. Sure things can be tough. Life is hard. But there is always beauty. Our ability to be thankful is a matter of perspective. A matter of choice. The option is always on the table. Always. The wonderful thing about Thanksgiving is that we make the choice easier. We almost force it on people. The traditions and the name, for goodness sake. But gratitude is not just available on the days we make... Read more
As a good church-going kid, I was always a little afraid of the devil. I was afraid he was going to jump up out of nowhere and steal away the things that matter most to me. Even people who do not believe the devil is a real thing have this fear. That there is something negative waiting around the corner to destroy the things we hold dear. Even though we may not say it this way, I believe modern America... Read more
There is a subway station we go to almost every day. It is a major hub in the city and, no matter where we are going, we often pass through it while transferring around the city. It is called Fulton Street Station. And when I think about Fulton Street Station, the first image that pops into my head is this wall of glass doors that separates the main entrance from the 4/5 train. The entire wall consists of about fifteen... Read more
All of us are running The Great Race of Life. We are chasing after meaning, purpose, fulfillment. We want to achieve success. We want to feel happy. This is the prize-package for a life well-lived, we assume. What we do as a result is try to create finish lines for ourselves. We try to convince our hearts and minds that we are almost done. The trials and effort is almost over. Reward is just around the bend. Happily ever after.... Read more
An inescapable truth of New York living is the ads on the subway. If you live in suburbia, it is sort of like having a billboard attached to the side mirror of your car. You simply have to notice it. Most of the ads are as forgettable as they are prevalent. But we recently saw one with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common”. The phrase has stuck... Read more
There are two equal and necessary parts to every human activity. If we want to succeed in any venture, project, or relationship, we need to balance the weight of these two giants. The health of our lives is the way in which these two navigate, the delicate way they dance with one another through the avenues of our lives. We tend to think of them as opposites, as mutually exclusive. The existence of one cancels out the other. But that... Read more
The Bible says there is no greater love than this: that a man lays down his life for a friend. Our world is so obsessed with self-preservation. We are addicted to comfort. Almost everything we do in life is an attempt to protect ourselves. On this Veterans Day, I find myself thinking about what possesses a person to abandon this construct, so prevalent and so heavy in our culture, and risk life and limb for others? Desperate for Meaning... Read more
Victorious Living
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