The Honest Skeptic and the Alternate Plan

I had the opportunity to make an in-depth study of the weather in the Southeast yesterday in preparation for a flight in a small aircraft. The latest "Surface Analysis" provided by http://www.aviationweather.gov showed a fascinating mix of both high and low pressure systems and warm and cold fronts scattered about the country. Pilot and author Robert Buck wrote …

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Past, Present and Future: Brighter Days to Come

No matter how hard you plan, how hard you focus your intention, how many people you conscript to work with you in the achievement of your goals, the future somehow manages to be something of an unknown quantity. The kings of yore summoned astronomers and magicians to help them interpret the faint outlines of the forming future, …

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Confucius say…

"To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness." - Confucius     Confucius, who presented himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing," left an indelible mark in the mind of man some 2,500 years ago. His teachings were compiled by his disciples after his death into a …

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The Power of Food: Jamie Oliver’s One Wish for Humanity

As a father, a husband and a citizen of the world, I am compelled to do everything within my power to leave the world a better place than I found it. In my life I have witnessed many remarkable changes, the collapse of one of the world's great superpowers, the invention of new modes of communication …

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Bring on the Learning Revolution!

We live in an era of momentous change.  The industrial revolution feathered out and the information revolution feathered in over the course of the last century and the world is a different place. The digital revolution is transforming every aspect of our lives and economic activity is becoming more and more virtual.  This massive shift …

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What is Progress? Insights from Gregg Hake

What is progress?  I had to laugh when I read Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl's clever definition of progress.  He said that "Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity." Despite our supposed progress as a species, human beings have a knack for making life more complicated, more challenging and harder to enjoy.  Most would agree that contentment comes …

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Self-Determination Theory: Creating Long-Lasting Change

A long-standing central desire of mine is to help my fellows live healthier, happier lives. I do my best to center my words, my work and my living on the theme of life enhancement, yet I am often surprised by how rarely people tend to act on what they know they need to do to live healthier, more balanced lives. A circuit breaker …

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Never Stop the Line: How One Bolt Changed My Attitude

The story of the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant, a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota Motor Company that began in 1984 and ended this past March, offers powerful lessons for American corporate and political leaders. As part of the joint venture, Toyota showed GM the secrets of its production system, one …

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Chew on this!

Like so many things in life, proverbs, considered one at a time, are appealing and have a generally accepted meaning.  Consider them in the context of other proverbs, though, and you'll find many contradictions that may cause you to think a little harder about the sayings. What do they really mean?  Are you drawing the right …

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How to be Outrageously Happy

My five year old made another funny comment that you will appreciate.  We were driving home from school on Friday and he said to me: "Daddy, is that an obstacle course?"  I looked out in the direction of his gaze and to my delight saw of all things, a cemetery.  I held back my chuckle as the irony of his …

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