Life Tip #26

Avoid the career of least resistance. Go for greatness! Your career will likely consume upwards of ten hours a day, five days a week, for more than 30-40 years of your life, so strive for something you truly love. If you settle for the job or career of least resistance, you’ll never be fully satisfied …

Life Tip #28

Your employer doesn’t want you to pursue your dreams. Thaaaat’s right, your employer doesn’t want you to strike out on your own to chase your dreams, because that means they will lose your skills and experience, and then have to hire and train a whole new employee. Nor do they don’t want word to get …

Life Tip #127

“Go West, young man” still applies. In many of his books, but most notably in The Americans series, historian Daniel Boorstin chronicles some of the famous and not-so-famous risk-takers who helped to build up our country. In the book The Americans: The National Experience, Boorstin compares the social classes of early America with the social …

Life Tip #142

Instead of focusing on living longer, make the years you live more meaningful. When I was a young adult I used to look forward to insightful and inspirational columns by a Catholic priest, Father Lou Guntzelman, in the county’s weekly newspaper. In one column, Father Lou was reflecting on how we are desperately focused on …

Life Tip #130

Your passion is your passion. Ignore what anyone says about it. What is my life’s passion? I have always been fascinated with learning how and why individuals, people, societies, and nations behave the way they do. So, I have spent my life observing why people think and do the things they think and do. This …

Life Tip #263

Travel to places and have adventures that are both unique and awe-inspiring. This should include adventures that are a little kooky and off the beaten path. That’s where we really learn about ourselves, by experiencing very different scenarios than we are accustomed to. That’s when we learn how different parts of the world function, how …

Life Tip #101

Newsflash—it’s not the president’s fault. If you ever need a “kick in the pants” version of motivation on self-sufficiency, check out Gary Vaynerchuck on social media. He is one of the many people whose videos and podcasts I listen to on my pre-dawn walks. He’s a social media marketing guru and just an overall inspiration …

Life Tip #202

Write your own script. Don’t let others, or circumstances, or your past set the agenda for your future. Don’t let your mom, or your dad, a friend, or a sibling write it for you. Don’t even let your significant other write it for you (although I strongly suggest that you include your significant other in …

Life Tip #184

How many more times will you ask yourself, What if? I love learning about histories: histories of people, societies, nations, everything. And I often find myself asking “What if” questions, like “What if the U.S. hadn’t entered the fight against Nazi Germany?” or “What if this or that politician had won an election instead of …

Life Tip #212

The following quote stands as its own Life Tip. It rings true as much today as it did more than 30 years after it first appeared: “Nobody really believes in anything anymore, and everyone spends his life in frenzied work and frenzied play so as not to face the fact, not to look into the …

Life Tip #35

The best teachers are our experiences. We often hear the question asked, “Who was the teacher that made the most impact on your life?” When I pondered this question recently, I really had a hard time thinking of anyone. I was not a standout student. I viewed school as a necessary evil, and I probably …

Now This is the Right Attitude

I'll let this news story speak for itself. I would only add that this kid's got spunk! Our country needs more people with this kind of positive attitude, motivation, and courage to go out there and get what they want! While you may have heard this story, there is some footage of the young man …

Changing my Tune on Millennials

For a while there I was like many Gen Xers who piled on "those lazy Millennials." But the more I observe them, I find myself changing my opinion of them. First it was the generalization that Millennials are shunning the old notions of big-ticket property ownership. You know, cars and houses. As I murmured "phthth" under …

The Skills Employers Wish College Grads Had

By Kathryn Buschman Vasel at Money Tree January 30, 2014 Turns out, the skills and education recent college graduates acquired during their time on campus might not be serving them well when it comes to proving their worth to potential employers. “Soft skills have deteriorated more than hard skills in the view of CEOs and recruiters …

Life Is Like…

By Kurt Borne February 1, 2014 Life is like coloring a child’s coloring book. You decide how colorful it will be. You decide whether you will strictly stay within the boundaries, worrying about what others will think of your picture. Your picture may also turn out to be an undisciplined, chaotic mess. But you can …

Greg Hartle’s “Ten Dollars and a Laptop” Project

This gentleman's career-life project speaks for itself, so I will not attempt to add to his amazing story. Greg calls it "An Epic Quest to Discover What It Takes to Succeed Starting From Scratch"...and it truly is. Learn all about Greg and his project here: "Ten Dollars and a Laptop"

Freelancing in America: Rise of the Contingent Workforce

By Dr. Woody September 30, 2013 We live in an on-demand world where speed is everything and companies better be prepared to keep up, or get left behind. Modern companies are faced with moment-to-moment fluctuations in reaction to market demands that require quick decision-making and agility to adapt to new trends. But these characteristics are …

American Life Planning in a Nutshell

What Have I Done? Baby Boomers Reveal their Deepest Financial Regrets

By Tim Sprinkle at The Exchange June 24, 2013 Over 50, underfunded, and ill-prepared for retirement. Unfortunately, that’s an all-too-common scenario for the Baby Boomer generation – those born between 1946 and 1964 -- many of whom are still smarting from the economic downturn and are now looking back at their earlier financial choices with regret. …

The Greatest Century that Ever Was

This article discusses the amazing century that was the 1900s. "The Greatest Century That Ever Was - 25 Miraculous Trends of the Past 100 Years" by Stephen Moore and Julian L. Simon shows us just how much important progress was made in just 100 years. Click the link to read the full study: "GreatestCenturyThatEverWas"