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Business
People judge you by what they see, not by what you intend.
This Week's Story
I thought I was the perfect employee. I took my breaks exactly on time, ate lunch exactly on time, and went home exactly at five o'clock. I wasn't cutting corners. I wasn't trying to get out of work. I honestly believed I was doing exactly…
Read or ListenRecent from the notebook
Personal Growth
AudioThey've become part of the light I carry.
"What's the point of trying to stay alive if we're all going to die anyway?" That's a strange thought for a man who…
Family
AudioAll those years, I thought we were watching baseball together. But Dad, you were teaching me how to love.
“Michael! Michael! Come watch the game!” If I had a dollar for every time my father hollered those words, I could…
History
Sometimes you fight for a future you may never get to enjoy.
I've been going to a lot of funerals lately. So many that sometimes it seems like hardly a week passes without hearing…
Personal Growth
AudioYou don't have to have a lot of time left to have a lot of life left.
I've had a strange couple of weeks. I've been going home for reunions. Going home for funerals. And I've discovered…
Lessons from Life
AudioYesterday is already written. Tomorrow is not promised. So choose carefully what you write with today.
I am in an interesting season of life. Maybe you reach a certain age when reunions and funerals begin teaching you some…
Lessons from Life
Sometimes the story that changes your life isn't the one you finally have the courage to tell — it's the one you finally have the courage to hear.
I went back to Leavenworth, Kansas, for my 55th high school reunion thinking I knew the story. After all, I'd been…
Personal Growth
AudioSometimes you don't discover your purpose by looking for something new. You discover it by paying attention to what keeps showing up in your life.
I’m 72 years old, and I think I’ve finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be me. Now, it took…
Business
AudioA leader isn't the person at the point because he can do everything. He's at the point because he knows he can't.
★ Featured Aug 31, 2026
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” — John Quincy…
Personal Growth
You can cheat the test, but you can't cheat the lesson.
★ Featured Aug 24, 2026
The other day, I learned that one of my fraternity brothers, Roy Jones, had passed away. When someone from your past…
Personal Growth
AudioA rule somebody else gives you is one thing. A standard you give yourself is something else entirely.
★ Featured Aug 24, 2026
I got fired from one job for stealing. Then I went to work for Southwestern Bell and didn't miss a day of work for the…
Running
AudioOld age doesn't begin when your hair turns gray. It begins the day you stop showing up.
★ Featured Aug 10, 2026
The January air was cold enough to make you question your sanity. As I stood at the starting line of the Mansfield Run…
Wisdom
AudioPositive people don't have fewer bad days — they keep looking until they find the blessing.
★ Featured Aug 3, 2026
People sometimes ask me how I stay so positive. The truth is, I don't think positive people have fewer bad days than…