Early in our nation, our Congressmen and Senator’s tenure averaged approximately 4 years. According to a Congressional Research Service report, tenure more recently, however, has increased to 10 years with multiple members of Congress serving more than 40 years! Power can become harmful to the nation and to the individual. Today’s a good day to reflect on leaders like President […]

As a young boy I saw a baseball glove in a catalog that I desperately desired. But I didn’t have any money. Then I learned I could earn the same baseball glove if I sold boxes of Christmas cards. The number of boxes I needed to sell seemed attainable in the beginning, but it became much harder than I thought […]

As I consulted with a young business owner, it struck me that some of my business experiences are foreign to younger generations. For instance, few people under 45 years old have experienced rising interest rates. As our economy fuels up, we are running a bigger risk of interest rates rising, possibly in a significant way. Personally, I remember the pain […]

One Saturday, as a teenager, my grandfather instructed me to remove the front tires on a car he was repairing so that he could replace the brakes. One tire had a lug nut that wouldn’t budge. After many attempts, I finally told my grandfather that the lug nut was impossible to remove. He sprayed some WD-40 on the lug nut […]

In 1903, Mary Anderson patented the first windshield wiper. When Mary tried to sell the rights to her invention, however, the prospective buyer saw no value in her invention. In 1920, her patent rights expired. Cadillac then began using her invention, which led to the rest of the car industry following suit. Mary sowed seeds towards our gain. In John […]

As we remember Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, it’s a great day to remember the importance of doing the right thing, even when unpopular. With half of the nation at war, President Lincoln was very unpopular with most of the nation. Yet, he persevered with abolishing slavery and fighting secession of the South. Today Lincoln is widely celebrated as one of the […]

Years ago, Kathy and I met a family on the streets of Kansas City who were panhandling for money. They told a sad story that seemed believable, so we decided to help. We bought them some groceries, and then, I began helping this man to find a job. We developed a resume, I lined up an interview, and I even […]

Our youngest daughter, Bekah, noticed the oil light when it first surfaced, but she thought it was a “suggestion” to get her oil changed. She scheduled an oil change and kept driving. Two days later, she discovered that the light was a warning, not a suggestion! With no oil in the car, the engine “threw a rod” and ruined the […]

Daniel Pink’s new book, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing” addresses the importance of timing on our productivity. A Wall Street Journal article summarized Mr. Pink’s findings, helping us better allocate our time throughout the day. His research discovered that we are “smarter, faster and more creative in some parts of the day than others.” Russell Foster, a neuroscientist, […]

According to the Wall Street Journal, researchers Nina Mazar and her associates studied cheating. These researchers gave the same tests to three groups of students. The first group was paid $.50 for each right answer. The second group took the same test, but graded their tests themselves. The final group signed an honor code prior to the test, but they […]