feeling alive 123: Are You Merely Alive or Are You...Intentionally Alive? (There's a Difference) Since I frequently write about longevity, I'm in constant search-mode for longevity hacks. In case you're wondering a "longevity hack" loosely speaking is an idea, a process, or a tip for increasing your aging capacity - hopefully in a way that will improve your
moments 122: Got a Moment? Wake up. Sip your coffee or your favorite morning beverage. Breathe the fresh morning air - preferably outdoors. Those are priceless moments. Waking, tasting, breathing, each are something to be grateful for. The longer you're alive the more meaningful such moments are. Life is an ongoing series of
I Need to Run I'm keeping this week's issue brief as I'm away from my desk. As far as "running" is concerned, I'm traveling this weekend to run my second half-marathon. Good vibes (and prayers) appreciated. We're all "runners" in
editing your life 121: Don't Worry About the First Draft - You Can Always Edit As a writer, my life revolves around the careful and strategic crafting of words. The first draft always starts with a blank page where a blinking cursor awaits my first move on the keyboard. I've grown to love the first draft phase of writing, not because it'
margin 120: The Stress You Feel Could be a Margin Issue Do you ever think about margin? Not the space between a book's sentences and the edge of the page (though that space is where insights and ideas live if you like to mark up your books like I do). For our purposes here, I'm talking about
hope We Could All Use Some Hope It's Good Friday, and hope is the theme. However you reflect, celebrate, or generally acknowledge the Easter weekend my hope is that your hope gives you energy, awareness, and purpose to keep going. Next week's issue is underway, so I'm keeping this one brief.
anger management 119: When the Tension Rises... The following story is true. Two women drive into the parking lot of a local restaurant. The woman in the lead vehicle is irritated, wondering why the other driver is tailgating her. Before the drama ensues, for clarification, neither woman (the tailgated or the tailgater) is young or driven by
problem solving 118: Got a Problem? Try These Two Problem-Solving Superpowers Did you ever wonder why some people have a knack for problem-solving? It's in my nature to avoid complicated approaches to solving the problems I'm confronted with. Overthinking and delayed action can each become a nemesis standing in the way of an effective solution for your
change 117: "One Degree" of Effort Could Be All You Need It's amazing how one small degree of change can make a difference. For example, at 211 degrees water is merely "hot." But...at 212 degrees water boils. That one degree of change in the water's temp would produce the necessary steam to power a
discernment 116: Discernment is Your Ally When Opinions Abound Life in the infomation-era has it's advantages. Thumb-scrolling access to the latest insight, life-hack, or opinion has the potential to increase your knowledge. Being part of the knowlege-worker tribe, I find this to be fertile ground for planting my own seeds of wisdom. Before you rush thumbs-first into
doing hard things 115: Living is Hard, But at Least You're Still Involved We all do our best, don't we? We life-hack our way though the weeds in search of a formula or a field-guide to make life...well...less hard. On the contrary, there's truth to the statement, "You don't 'solve' a mountain,
aging 114: Viable Aging is Worth the Search There's both truth and myth associated with a colorful rainbow that stretches across the sky following or during a rainstorm. Atmospheric moisture illuminated by sunlight: truth. A "pot of gold" at the end of it: myth. No one that I know of has actually searched for
irrelevance 113: Feeling Irrelevant? Maybe it's because I'm solution oriented. Or maybe it's a desire to contribute something I believe has value. One thing, I know about myself is that I fear being irrelevant. It's not solely about being trend-aware - though that's also
blue zones 112: What the Blue Zones Reveal About Longevity and Why You Should Care The research on global "Blue Zones" is fascinating and worth your attention. I keep my radar up, desiring to know more about why these pockets of people all over the world live long, healthy lives - some into their late 90's and early 100s (AND have
slowing down 111: Slow Down and Savor the Moments A few years ago during a holiday season drive through my hometown park's Christmas light display, some family members started a tradition. It's more of a verbal tradition that's continued for as many years. Apparently I was too hasty as I chauffeured them on
aging 110: Aging Isn't Optional, How You Age is Up to You What's your secret? That question assumes there's something about you that's peaking someone's curiosity. In the aging context, it could be your stamina, your youthful glow, your resilient attitude, or any of a number of observable qualities. As I age, I'
change Chapters and Transitions This week is a transition week for our daughter. She's closing one chapter and opening another. That said, I'm also on the move as the packing "supervisor" and chief truck driver. It's a move from one city to another - but a
New Year goals 109: A Compelling Question to Ask Yourself Now and Every New Year as You Age The dialogue makes me want to ask: "what kind of question is that?" I mean, the answer seems obvious in context. Here's the setting (spiritually inclined or not it's a compelling and thought provoking story): * Jesus is in Jerusalem and encounters a guy lying
empowerment 108: Imagine What You Could Do... Do you underestimate yourself? It happens. You might forget how you pushed through a hard season of life. Or, you could be low on resilience having not pushed through enough of your recent challenges or setbacks. I encourage you to tap into the power of your imagination. Not the fantasy-world
optimism 107: Choose Radical Optimism as You Age I choose to be optimistic. Can't say that about some of what we deal with in life. But when it comes to aging, I am...optimistic. It's tempting to be a pessimist about aging. The media (depending on who you listen to), pharmaceutical ads, and the
aging 106: Build Momentum as You Age Using the Flywheel Principle "Picture a huge, heavy flywheel - a massive metal disk mounted horizontally on an axle, about 30 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick, and weighing about 5,000 pounds. Now, imagine that your task is to get the flywheel rotating on the axle as fast and long as possible.
blaming 105: Why Waste Your Time and Your Life Placing Blame? (Do This Instead) What's to blame or who's to blame? The deeper question is: does it matter? Blame-placing has no productive outcome. Perhaps you're tempted to think, Yeah, but... The problem is how often we yeah, but... our way through life and lay blame at the feet
maturity 104: Are You Mature or Just Old-er? How often do you think about the question:"Are you mature or just old-er?" Your answer has less to do with acting your age or wondering if or when you (or someone else) will grow up. Maturity and age typically go hand in hand. But they are often
fearlessness 103: Be Fearless and Age Fiercely I think I was braver in my younger years than I am now. That's not surprising because there's a carefree vibe in one's youth. Youthful courage didn't come without a cost as we each have the memories and scars to prove it.
thinking 102: Fix Your Thoughts It's amazing how much thinking we do. Personally, I think a lot. I'm actually paid to think and create. It's why I truly love what I do as a writer, creator, mentor, coach, and consultant. Thinking inspires. Thinking compels. Thinking creates opportunity. But... Thinking
