We must make the best of those ills which cannot be avoided. ~ Alexander Hamilton As a small business owner and manager, I am faced with daily challenges that test my mettle, patience and resolve. Not a day goes by where I am free of the necessity of making decisions that affect the lives of …
Category: Observations on Life
Fathers of Invention
You may remember Eli Whitney as the inventor of the cotton gin, but there was so much more to him worth noting. Mr Whitney, born in Massachusetts and a 1792 graduate of Yale, was a father of invention. More common than you would think, fathers of invention are the minds and hands behind many of …
Managing Change without Judgment
It is not my usual custom to bang on sacred cows, but while we're on the topic of change and judgment, I thought I'd add another nickel to my earlier two cents. I'd like to look at why change is so difficult for people, but before I do so I feel it important to give …
Secret O’Life
While driving to vote this morning I heard a James Taylor song that I have only heard once before. Entitled "Secret O'Life", Taylor suggests that the secret of life is "enjoying the passage of time." A simple idea, to be sure, but one that eludes many people in their frenetic quest for happiness and satisfaction. …
Decorating Silence – The Power of Sound!
A friend sent me a fascinating link to a captivating TED talk given by Julian Treasure, chair of the Sound Agency, a firm that advises businesses on how to use sound. Just seven minutes long, the talk is sure to revitalize the way you relate to sound. Here it is: My sons never cease to …
Making Friends
Have you ever noticed how easily children make friends? I’m always impressed by their untempered ability to walk up to another child and say “I’m Jack, do you want to play?” Young children are especially facile in this regard, perhaps because they have yet to develop complexes, self-image issues, prejudices and bad habits. I have …
The Home Stretch
If you’ve ever navigated a lengthy project - in business, school or at home - you likely recall key “make it or break it” phases in which pressure and the stakes were high. The halfway point, or as some call it, the “point of no return,” is typically a watershed. If you successfully move beyond …
What Makes Life Worth Living?
One of the most exciting academic advances of our current era comes to us from the field of psychology. I was reading the monthly magazine published by the College of Literature, Science and the Arts of my alma mater, the University of Michigan, and I was surprised to see an article entitled "The Science of …
The Over-care of Health
Nothing is more fatal to Health, than an over Care of it. ~ Benjamin Franklin For whatever reason, many human beings tend toward obsessive-cumpulsive behavior. For example, being in the health care industry I find that I must take great care not to become imbalanced in my perspective about my own health, for fanaticism eventually …
The Big Picture
How often do you take the time to step back and look at the big picture? When a doctor looks at the big picture we use the term "holistic health." When an economist looks at the big picture we call it "macroeconomics." Any system can be broken down into its component parts, but without and …
Gregory Hake 