“Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recently I was in Memphis and visited the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. If you’re ever in Memphis, go. It’s a powerful experience. King was in Memphis to lead a demonstration and protest march on behalf of garbage men […]
I have a nineteen-month-old daughter who decided she didn’t want to sit in her high chair for dinner last night. She threw a fit. My Australian friends refer to this as “chucking a wobbly,” and somehow that seems a better description. I forced her body, which she had stiffened straight as a board, into the […]
Let me start with three reasons working on a book with a lousy concept is a bad idea: Beautiful, compelling writing is terribly important to publishers, but if your beautiful writing is in the service of a concept that no one will buy, publishers will have a hard time getting excited. A far-reaching platform is […]
This is a picture of what I call our toy hospital. It’s a collection of things in our house that are broken–mainly toys, but also books, dishes, jewelry. Whenever something breaks at our place, we add it to the collection. And here and there, as we can, we pick up one of the items and […]
In 1939 Herman Baker was twenty-eight years old. He had a young family and a steady job working for his uncle, Louis Kregel. Everyone would have expected him to continue in that job, providing for his family and moving up the company ranks. It was, after all, the Great Depression. Herman was lucky to have […]
About a year ago I read a book that had a massive impact on the way I do life. It’s called The Accidental Creative (AL) by Todd Henry, and if you’re a friend who sees me regularly, you’re sick of hearing me talk about it. Among the practices Todd commends in the book is that of weekly, […]
So what is that for you? When you look at your life, your work, your spirituality, your marriage, your parenting, your house, your neighborhood, your mission, your travel—what is one little thing you can do? What’s the one thing you’re going to do soon to move forward? Don’t choose one thing for all of those […]
Dedicated to those affected by Hurricane Sandy “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. . . . If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too […]
Recently my wife and I watched a movie called “I’m Fine, Thanks.” It’s a documentary about several people who reach a breaking point in life and respond by doing something unconventional. Several of the featured people achieve financial success but realize they’re miserable. One couple decides to pay cash for a 300-square-foot house and focus […]
I hope you won’t mind a more personal post today. I have several friends who are going through tough times right now. Medical issues. Pain. Divorce. Death. And you probably have some friends who are going through the same. You may be going through a tough time yourself . Hard times force me to face […]
