Categories Finding happiness

Giving and getting

For it is in giving that we receive. St. Francis of Assisi c. 1181 – 1226 When I was a young child, I wasn’t particularly fond of returning to school after the holidays — though not for the reason you might think. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Finding happiness

What’s your dream?

Nothing is to be clung to as in I, me or mine. Buddha 563 B.C. – 483 B.C. Most people have a secret dream, one they aren’t willing to share with many people. I want you to think about your secret dream. It could be a big home in the … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Finding happiness

Two questions

You can never get enough of what you don’t need to make you happy. Eric Hoffer 1902 – 1983 Today, I have two brief questions for you. While the questions are simple, it’s estimated that over ninety percent of the population can’t answer them. If you can answer these questions … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Finding happiness

The consumer treadmill

Men do not desire to be rich, but to be richer than other men. John Stuart Mill 1806 – 1873 Treadmills are wonderful — for exercise. Otherwise, being on a treadmill means spending a lot of time and energy but not making any real progress. Unfortunately, we’ve become a nation … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Finding happiness

Getting or giving

Real life is being things on the inside, not getting things on the outside. Ralph Parlette 1870 – 1930 This little incident took place a few years back, at a gathering for some of our extended family. We’d finished lunch and the children had settled into play mode. The weather … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Finding happiness

The obsession with self-storage

It is much better to die of hunger unhindered by grief and fear than to live affluently beset with worry, dread, suspicion, and unchecked desire. Epictetus 55 – 135 A.D. I want to discuss a growing trend that’s been taking place around the country: the proliferation of self-storage businesses. It … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

The monkey trap

Anything that you have to control, controls you. Guy Finley 1949 – There are many variations to this story, but it’s quite instructive. In South America, Africa and Asia, the natives have devised a very effective method of trapping monkeys. The plan is deceptively simple: the natives take a gourd … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

Why purpose matters

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Helen Keller 1880-1968 While you may never have heard of Roger Babson, he was quite an accomplished fellow. He was an economist and published the Babson … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

Your beliefs about money, Part two

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost 1874 – 1963 We’re all familiar with the saying “money can’t buy happiness.” But do you believe it? I suspect the answer is no. If … [ Continue Reading ]