Home Archives for Overcoming Challenges

Judicial Wisdom Shines Through Our Imperfect Legal System

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If you've been following my blog, you probably have read at least one post about my friend Clemetin. Last week, in a post about the need we all have for unconditional support, I discussed Clemetin's current judicial predicament. And this week, he stood in judgment. Here's the outcome: Clemetin is not in prison. In fact, he's not even on probation any more. So what happened? He had the good fortune of appearing before a wise judge who made a humane … [Read more...]

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What Does it Mean to Have Limited Opportunities?

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I've been enjoying Seth Godin's new book, What to do When It's Your Turn (and it's always your turn). It's a beautiful book. Fantastic images. Elegantly laid out. And it has one of those covers you just like to touch. One image in the book jumped out at me. It shows a wonderful photo of 29 physicists who in 1927 gathered at the Solvay Conference in Brussels. The photo includes many of the most remarkable physicists of their time... in fact... of all time. People like … [Read more...]

Categories: Building Relationships, Increasing Awareness, Overcoming Challenges Tagged: ,

6 Years of Freedom and 3 Valuable Lessons

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Next month, my friend Clemetin will celebrate six full years of being out of prison. According to the statistics of the Bureau of Justice, three-quarters of all of the people released from prison get rearrested within five years. And indeed, Clemetin has been rearrested. Not once, but several times. He's been arrested for trumped up drug charges he wasn't guilty of, and he's been arrested for shoplifting, which he did. He's never ended up back in prison, but he gets picked … [Read more...]

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Pushing Past Complexity to Discover Elegant Simplicity

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I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. --Oliver Wendell Holmes Have you ever worked on a project that you thought was simple, but the more you worked on it, the more complicated and intertwined everything got? Did you worry that you were getting lost in a sea of ideas? But then, just when you were about to throw your hands up in frustration, you had a moment … [Read more...]

Categories: Managing Stress, Overcoming Challenges

Trapped in a Crazy Court System

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You might be wondering what happened to my felon friend, Clemetin, who was picked up in the park and accused of selling heroin back in August... A crime he didn't commit. A few weeks earlier, he'd been caught stealing a pack of peanuts from a store. He did do that. But that's a far cry from selling a deadly illegal substance. Punished for an Uncommitted Crime Since then, he's been in and out of court, sitting for days at a time, and then having to come back again … [Read more...]

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How to Kick Your Email Addiction Once and For All

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I just realized that I'm addicted to e-mail. Are you? I check my email constantly. A corner of my eye is always on my inbox. When something new appears, I'm sucked away from whatever else I'm trying to get done. And I don't like it. My email addiction adds up to feeling empty and unsatisfied because though I work all day, I don't get much done that feels like it amounts to anything significant. Test if You're Addicted to Email Try my little email addiction … [Read more...]

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Do You Feel Safe Sitting on a Bench Enjoying a Summer Day?

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I was away on vacation last week. We rented a car and drove to the Berkshires where we stayed in a lovely house overlooking the Housatonic River. The water was high and fast, making splashing and rippling sounds as it went by. Birds came and went from the feeder. We had plenty to eat and wine to drink. We enjoyed the beautiful days and gentle camaraderie of friends. We didn't give a thought to the luxury of feeling safe and unscathed by the world around us. But on … [Read more...]

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Awe-Inspiring Family Values – The Decorah Bald Eagles

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Every day, with my cup of coffee in hand, I click on this website to say good morning to the family of Bald Eagles in Decorah, Iowa. Thanks to my friend Pam, I've been watching them for many weeks. I often check on them several times a day.  A webcam fastened to a tree nearby gives me (and anyone else who chooses to look) a birds eye view of this little family. Their good-sized nest is well constructed in the fork of a big tree not far from a walking and biking path. A … [Read more...]

Categories: Building Relationships, Communicating Effectively, Overcoming Challenges Tagged: , ,

The Power of Imperfection

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I’ll bet you like to do things really well. It feels good. And it’s satisfying. How Important is Perfection? Perfection may be satisfying, but takes a huge amount of time and energy and effort. How much effort should you put into making the things you do letter perfect? If you watched the amazing performances of ice skater Yuna Kim at the 2014 Winter Olympics, you’ll see a great example of perfection. She might not have won her second gold medal, but her … [Read more...]

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Yes You Can! Learning to Say “Wow!” instead of “Whoa”

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Do your inner voices ever hold you back? Imagine this: A new potential client just called to ask you to submit a proposal for a big job. Great possibilities here. You're the perfect person for the task! You're excited. But then in an eye blink, your "Whoa" voice takes over. Whoa. Whoa. What makes you think you’re qualified to do that? Even though you have a lot of related experience, you’ve never done exactly that before. In fact, pretty much everything you’ve … [Read more...]

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