During the holidays we are surrounded with messages about the power of joy.  But why is joy looked at as only a seasonal thing?  I think it should be lived year-round, and not just outside your professional life. So where…

An old ranch owner named John had a small spread in Montana.  The state government claimed he was not paying proper wages to his workers, so it sent an agent to check things out. “I need a list of your…

A scrawny old man wanted to get a job at a nearby lumberjack camp so he approached the boss who politely tried to talk him out of the idea, thinking the old man wouldn’t be able to fell a tree,…

A newlywed young man was sitting on the porch on a humid day, sipping iced tea with his father.  As he talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities and obligations, the father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and…

Many people have lost their jobs during this pandemic through no fault of their own. For my book, “We Got Fired! … And It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us,” I interviewed 29 people who landed on their…

A group of 50 people was attending a seminar.  For a group activity, the leader gave each attendee one balloon and asked each person to blow it up and write his or her name on it with a marker pen. …

“I’m starving, and it’s Dave’s fault,” a manager complained to his assistant. “What did Dave do now?” the assistant asked. “I asked him to pick up a sandwich for me before he returned from lunch,” the boss replied.  “He’s over…

In the Upper Midwest, a sure sign of spring and fall is when geese fly overhead, often honking loudly.  I recently discovered the reason. Turns out that Professor Margaret Kuhn’s research revealed that in order to fly long distances, geese…

Of all the creatures that came to the watering hole, Frog was the only one that did not have a tail.  The other animals taunted him over it, making him feel inferior and ugly.  So Frog visited the Sun God…

T. Boone Pickens, the late famed oil prospector and corporate raider, said in commencement remarks at George Washington University:  “Be willing to make decisions.  That’s the most important quality in a good leader.  Don’t fall victim to what I call…