Our lives are broken up in segments: decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. If you add all of these up, you have a lifetime of challenges, triumphs, joys, sorrows, missed opportunities and new discoveries ( Read more... )

It's been almost two years since I finished my last book. I've got a file of "starts" and random scenes that I imagine incorporating in the months ahead, but so far, it remains a file of ideas, character sketches and wishes ( Read more... )

This question is one that scientists continue to try and answer. In the animal kingdom, the placement of a species on the prey/predator scale has a lot to do with what skills they possess. It sounds obvious, but humans have yet to fully realize what this means ( Read more... )

This time every year I begin a new calendar. I mark my new calendar with birthdays, anniversaries, vacation dates and appointments. In many instances, these dates are written on post-its tacked to the backside of my old calendar ( Read more... )

I find my spirits lifting these days now that the holidays are over. I miss the lights and the lawn decorations, but I can't say I miss the commercialism, 24-hour Christmas carol radio stations or the incessant commercials promoting holiday spirit in the guise of gift-giving ( Read more... )

One of the greatest life lessons I learned from my mother was not to take no for an answer. When my father left, my mother was instantly charged with taking over household affairs. Few people in the business world seemed to treat my mother with the same amount of respect as they had my father---at the beginning. In short order, through her ( Read more... )

As is usually the case each year, I find myself struggling with effective ways to motivate my students for change. Many of them have dreams they have the potential to fulfill, but few have realized they hold this power. As an outsider looking in, I can see more promise than they can imagine, and helping them to see this same vision, is a challenge ( Read more... )

I associate the subject of fear with Halloween. Part of what makes this times of year so thrilling, is that each of us has an opportunity to confront our "fears" in a safe and fool-proof environment ( Read more... )

For over a year now, I have had a specific life plan in place. Summer of 2007 represented many life changes for me and so, after many months of preparations, I was ready to put my plan into action. And then life got in the way ( Read more... )

As a teacher, I work very hard at inspiring my students to strive for excellence everyday. The tendency among many is to do just enough to get by. And at the end of the day, most have little to show for their efforts. They are bombarded by images of wealth and success that few people in the world will ever know. They size themselves up against ( Read more... )