“We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long Read More.

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 I have a confession. Read More.

Fire burns. But it also cleans, purifies and refines. Heat melts. But out of that act of melted elements, steal is born and titanium is created. Pressure crushes. But it also produces diamonds.

If you’re like 92% of those who set any goals at all, you’re looking in the mirror right about now feeling guilty and disappointed with the person you didn’t quite become. With goal-setting odds stacked overwhelmingly against you (all but a mere 8% crash and burn somewhere between January’s excitement and December’s memory lapse), it’s easy to feel those nasty little joy-suckers of shame, disappointment and regret. But maybe you don;t have to feel that way…

Life is in constant flux. Its in constant motion, growing and shrinking, lifting and falling in undulating waves of constant change. To simply stay on course, therefore, requires internal mobility—a willingness to bend and adapt, to learn and grow.

Circumstances less often create the person as they reveal who we already are. Certainly, they help shape us over time. But at any particular moment, trying circumstances show us a truer mirror than we may want to peer into. This is why…

Do you regularly interact with the chronically negative? Is there someone in your life who whines and moans and complains about everything, predicting doom and gloom around every corner, seeing dark clouds brooding in every silver lining? If you do, you don’t need me to tell you how draining it can be. But how can you protect your own happiness around such regular negativity?

Most people think failure is a bad thing to be avoided, to be ran from, hidden, afraid of and discouraged. And frankly, it doesn’t feel good at all. In fact, it feels terrible, sometimes like you’ve been slammed in the face with the shovel. It’s a fall, a step back, evidence you suck! But it’s not that at all.

Sometimes we need a step-by-step how-to manual of 101 Ways to live Happier Lives to get us through the vicissitudes of life. Other times, all we need is a reminder, inspiration to look anew at the old to start making changes. I invite you to begin now to become who you most want to

It’s my birthday today and was going to post another installment of “Things you don’t know about me” when I decided on a whim to share my personal happiness story with you instead. Here are 22 reasons I’m happy.

Failure is inevitable for anyone willing to chase bold and hairy dreams. It is the universe correcting our misuse of energy. It is one way we learn there is a better way to allocate our personal assets and resources.

A well-known motivational guru was once challenged about the very idea of motivation. His antagonist complained that motivation doesn’t work because it doesn’t last. It wears off, so can’t be all the guru suggested it was …

We all like green pastures and blue skies. We like downhill paths and couches with remote controls and tests where the teacher shouts out the answers as we take them. But we also know that such things don’t require much from us and that things that don’t require much tend to inspire, build and produce just as little.

When life gets dark and difficult, when it gets dim and murky, when I’m disillusioned or frustrated or down, there are things I can do to feel better. But one source of strength rises to the top of the list for me.

Guilt is a tool or mechanism that a well-working conscience uses to communicate to the heart. When we don’t live up to our values, our hearts are pricked with guilt, shame and regret. But we’re not supposed to stay there, letting the guilt settle in and take up residency. It’s a warning signal in the dark of our choices that sends the message to course correct.

Life is a journey, a challenge to be mastered, but more importantly, to be learned from. But lessons, and the growth they promote, don’t come to us by taking the easy path. Downhill is still downhill. It takes you to the bottom. Paths of least resistance have always been attractive … until you get to where such paths take us.

Life has the tendency of stretching us, calling from us more than we thought we had inside. The miracle of this process is that when we stretch, we rarely return to the same dimension we were before the stretch.

Only 8% of goal-setters ever reach the goals they set. But the problem may be less an issue of will and more an issue of the kinds of goals you’re setting. Learn the best way to set the goals you will always enjoy pursuing and will more likely and easily reach.

My favorite Life Coach, Zen Master and Guru of Happiness has never written a book, never meditated atop a snow capped mountain and has never spoken to an audience gathered at his feet to absorb the richness of his wisdom. His name is Jacob. And he’s my son. But the truths he’s taught me has made me a better (and happier) person.

For me, personal development is all about self-respect. It’s an expression of faith in one’s own potential. But it also reflects the sense of moral responsibility I feel to improve on the raw materials God and parents gave me. In a way, it’s an expression of the seriousness with which I believe in the inherent worth and value of humanity. In fact, personal development is to humanity what sharpening is to a knife.