Name one of the great leaders of the 20th century. Better yet, compile a list of great leaders in history, and more often than not, John Wooden would be included. Everyone who follows basketball is familiar with the famous UCLA teams of the 1960s and 1970s. Wooden was a winner of ten NCAA national championships,…… Continue reading Book Review: The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership
The news of the passing of Leonard Nimoy made me reflect on his impact on our culture and society. Regardless of his work as an actor, director, writer, poet, photographer, or musician, Nimoy will forever be linked to Spock. The breadth of his work and skills are the envy of most of us, and I…… Continue reading Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Nimoy
Let’s play a game of word association. In this game, I will use two different periods of time for each individual: Lance Armstrong in 2002: Dominant, cancer survivor, winner, beating the odds, world class, etc… would be common responses. He was a cancer survivor, and transformed himself into a world class athlete. His accomplishments in…… Continue reading The Temptation of the Lie
For me, there are not many feelings that are better than winding down the final few paragraphs of a good book. I usually get a good feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. It’s not passive like a video game or movie, but as the words flow along the pages, the story is taking shape in my…… Continue reading For the Love of Books
Every day should be Thanksgiving in spirit. Celebrating one day a year is good, and is a great time for families to get together. Sometimes I wonder if the true meanings of many holidays are forgotten. People are quick to move on to the next thing. A few weeks back I noticed Christmas commercials on…… Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving
The grassy moat surrounding the Tower of London is usually plain. Once it may have served as a deterrent for attack or escape, now is a growing sea of ceramic red poppies. What began as a modest planting of red poppies in early August, quickly grew into a swelling of a red sea of poppies.…… Continue reading A Brilliant Sea of Red
There are points in time where everyone needs to step back and take a deep breath. The usual advice given to those in bad relationships, for example, is to step back and look at the situation from a different perspective. When people are too deep in any given situation, they can experience tunnel vision, and…… Continue reading The Beloved Earthrise
The earth is often characterized as a dystopian future in many books and films. Themes of protagonists struggling against man and nature are commonplace. Perhaps the cause was a nuclear holocaust, or otherwise unknown environmental disaster. Is this the sort of future we can expect for our descendants, or will there be some unknown cause…… Continue reading Looking to the Future: Preventing a Soylent Green Way of Life
In times where things appear to be full of chaos, anger, and resentment, a shift in perspective will generally lead to enlightenment and wisdom. Over the last few years, I have seen elevated levels of bickering and more argumentative attitudes directed at those who are of a different mindset. On larger scales, a nation can…… Continue reading The Pale Blue Dot: Shifting Perspectives Towards Civility
The nature of life and death is with us always. Whether it is the incredible joys of a birth of a child, or the agonizing grief at the loss of a loved one, this cycle continues every day. This weighs more on my mind as I approach the first anniversary of the loss of my…… Continue reading A Letter to my Mom
Deep Thinking 