life lessons – Page 4 – Ubiquitous Wisdom

Running in Place

Here’s a proposition: Purpose is the ACT of consciously applying our motivated strength and resources to people and projects that move us and in which we believe. That’s more than a mouthful to swallow in one bite, so let’s parse it into edible chunks. It’s an “act”, so it implies that we have to DO something, […]

In Praise of Curmudgeons

In response to one of my recent blog posts, a friend suggested that I was becoming a curmudgeon. I wasn’t really sure whether I should feel insulted by the comment. I decided to look the word up in the dictionary. According to the Miriam–Webster Dictionary, a curmudgeon is “a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man.” […]

Trade-Offs

How often do you find yourself confronted by a situation where you have to make a choice, and none of the options under consideration seems to be a perfect fit for your current needs or desires? It happens all of the time. Examples abound, and we need look no further than the disturbing political three-ring […]

We Talk Too Much

We all talk too much. I’m not referring to intelligent conversation, rational argument, intellectual debate, or anything of that ilk. I’m thinking about all of the idle chit-chat, meaningless prattle and idle bulls**t that pollutes our auditory system on an almost never-ending basis. We have Talk Shows on TV. When we get in the car […]

Teamwork – and All That Jazz

Let me make this clear right up front. I’m not a music critic, and certainly not a jazz critic. I like some jazz music, but I’m not a raving fan. Nonetheless, when my good friend, Doc Gruver, invited my wife Debbie and me to join him and his wife Linda at the Sunset Jazz at […]

Stuck?

We all know what it’s like to get really STUCK when working on an issue or a problem. Sometimes when it happens to me, I feel like I’m stalling out, as if I had been digging a hole and hit a big rock. The rock is too heavy to move; too large to get around […]

Like a Nautilus

I have learned that I am not a continuous learner. I learn in sometimes dazzling bursts. But then I go through a phase of consolidation and integration. It’s as if I need some time to rest, refresh, renew, and maybe even reshape my view of the world, before blazing into another flaming glory of learning. […]

Ten Commandments of Teamwork

A group of my students were working on a team project, and were experiencing some problems getting their act together. Nothing too serious, just the sort of symptomatic problems that seem to get in the way of top-notch performance from team efforts. Why do we seem to have problems working together on teams? Everybody knows […]

The Games of Golf

One Saturday in August nearly 25 years ago, I was playing golf with my friend, John Gregorits, at Flanders Valley GC in Morris County, NJ. John was a fine golfer, who usually beat me like a drum, even when I played well. But that day, although he got ahead by two holes after we’d played […]

Leadership Wisdom of the Cheshire Cat

A student in one of my Leader Development Program sessions was grappling with his role as a leader in his organization. He felt that he had never sought out a leadership role, and wasn’t sure that it was something that he really wanted to do. He was fascinated by Nelson Mandela’s concept of “Lead from […]