Patience is the capacity for waiting—an admirable quality that helps us tolerate the gap between what we have and what we want without becoming upset. The word patience originated from Latin, from pati, which means to endure, bear or suffer. People … [Read more...]
Why People Procrastinate
Years ago a friend of mine was struggling to deal with his son's insistence on procrastinating about seemingly everything that mattered to the father. Putting things off that we can or should do is a situational malady almost all of us experience at … [Read more...]
July 9th
To say I was a reluctant father would be accurate. I have lacked ambition for many things in life, and back in the late 1980s changing a diaper was one of them. I was often quite blunt about it; I boasted to beer buddies that I wanted my headstone to … [Read more...]
Why Larry King Will Be Hard to Replace
Caught in the undertow of CNN's corporate confusion, venerable talk show host Larry King decided this week to step aside. After a record-setting 25 years in the same prime-time slot, King announced on the air Tuesday night that he will end his show … [Read more...]
How to Stay Happy When Others Aren’t
With less than half of Americans happy at work, and millions more wishing they had a similar problem because they lack a job to complain about, it's easier than ever to be surrounded by grumps. Just because others grouse does not mean that we … [Read more...]
Why People Procrastinate
This past Saturday afternoon I took my visiting nephew to the stables at our local race track to see my two horses. My trainer is a 64-year-old cowboy, a crusty hardboot, and was a bit gruff when we stopped and said hello. I didn’t think much of it; … [Read more...]
Monday’s Lighter Side of the News
As the new week dawns, here's a sampling of who we're competing against: British tennis pro Robert Dee, feeling humiliated at being called the "world's worst tennis pro" by London's Daily Telegraph (and other news organizations) sued the newspaper … [Read more...]
The Daily Dozen
I received an electronic note yesterday from a fellow I worked with more than a decade ago. Ours is a professional relationship rather than a personal one, so what he wrote really hit home. He recalled something I taught in a seminar perhaps fifteen … [Read more...]
How to Impress A Stranger at a Cocktail Party
Fake intellect is fun, especially at a social mixer. Whenever you want to make a great impression, matter-of-factly rattle off the history behind the name of each weekday and explain the origin of months. Close with an obtuse segue to the reason four … [Read more...]
Why Rudeness is Increasing
I got a note this morning from Serbia, authored by a friend I used to work with. As with many notes these days, it was short and to the point. She wrote, "Everything in instant lately – we live instant lives – don’t like it." Her message made me … [Read more...]