What makes life worthwhile? What matters to you? What counts in your life? In this fascinating TED2010 talk, Chip Conley, CEO, author and founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, makes a persuasive case for the reconsideration of the metrics used to guide our companies and our nation. At what point do we get off of …
Category: Ideas Worth Spreading
The High Road
An eight year old gave me great hope for the future today. In a time where children are teasing, tormenting and bullying their peers via email, text and other social media, one young man is taking the high road and making a difference. This young fellow was recently mistreated by someone close to him and …
Keys to Longevity
National Geographic writer Dan Buettner and his team study "Blue Zones," communities around the world that live longer and better than the average person. They found four geographic areas and studied them extensively to determine the underlying causes of their longevity. In this TED presentation filmed September 2009 Buettner reveals 9 common diet and lifestyle …
Mastery, Practice and Subtlety
The French have a saying: "Qui trop embrasse, mal etreint" which means, "he who embraces too much, has a weak grasp." What does it take to move from being a "Jack of all trades, master of none" to being a master of all trades? While there is value in have a breadth of skills and knowledge, …
How to Nourish New Endeavors
Any successful entrepreneur can tell you that starting a new business is an exciting adventure. The adventure generally begins with a dream. Dreams turn into plans and plans then feather into reality. It sounds so mundane but the process is quite dramatic, especially when the rubber begins to hit the road. One thing is certain: …
The Greatest Virtue
Of all the virtues, righteousness is the greatest. No amount of patience, generosity, earnestness, friendliness, diligence, kindness or humility will provide the counterweight necessary to overcome the gravitational pull of vice. Of all the virtues, righteousness is greatest. Righteousness is the quality that inspires to greatness, when nothing less will do. Righteousness is the quality …
A Father’s Gift to Humanity
I read a lovely tribute in the New York Times yesterday to Ladis Kristof by his son, columnist Nicholas Kristof, in celebration of Father's Day (http://tinyurl.com/249f2qq). Nicholas recalled a profound statement his father, a Slavic immigrant and concentration camp survivor, had written that impacted him for years: War, want and concentration camps, exile from home …
A Breath of Fresh Air
A friend and I were walking around Mackinac Island in northern Michigan yesterday morning and we both noticed something worth repeating. The island, if you've never been, is free of motor vehicles. To move about the island you have three choices: (1) walk, (2) bicycle and (3) horse drawn carriage. It is a piece of heaven, geographically …
Your Abilities Matter
When you consider those around you do you tend to think more of their limitations or their capabilities? When you think of the world around you, do you tend to focus more on that which you have or that which you wish you had? Your experience of life is conditioned by what you tend to emphasize in daily …
A Tribute to John Wooden (1910-2010): A Century of Greatness
Coach John Wooden brought honor, dignity and humility to the profession of coaching in a way that will likely never be matched. His coaching achievements speak for themselves and when Coach Wooden spoke, everybody listened. I thought you would enjoy this link sent to me the other day of one of the hundreds of interviews given …
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Gregory Hake 