Change is difficult. We fear moving forward. We fear remaining stuck where we are. It’s fear all the way around. Working with fear remains a vital part of being alive. As a boy, I was a very good swimmer. When I was nine or ten, I took my first deepwater test. It occurred Read more…
The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy considered the Biblical story of Joseph the most beautiful ever written. He had a point. Do you remember it? Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son. Papa made a glorious coat for the boy and the brothers seethed with envy. They considered killing their hated brother but Read more…
Thomas Edison worked feverishly to discover a suitable element for the filament of his light bulb prototype. He and his assistants tried many, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of different elements. Each attempt ended in failure. Nothing worked. Feeling great despair, some in his lab wanted to give up. But Read more…
Consider the life of Moses. He was born into a Hebrew family enslaved in Egypt. His parents were happy to have a son. But Pharaoh condemned every Hebrew male child to death, so the parents built an ark and sent the infant down the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter adopted the Hebrew Read more…
I grew up in New York City and did not learn to drive until I was twenty-seven. Growing up, it was easy to get around the city using mass transit. If our family needed a car, my parents rented or borrowed one. In my late twenties, I lived in the Read more…
Some years ago, I was riding home on the subway during rush hour. Of course, the car was packed. I recall being preoccupied by some petty drama. At the end of a long day, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I’m sure you know the feeling. Read more…
For years, I went to the gym for a cardio workout. To reach the elliptical machines, I hurried through various weightlifting areas. I never thought of lifting, but one day the spirit moved me. I hired a personal trainer and got paired with a mordant British wit. We focused on dead Read more…