Archive for February 2024

I celebrated my birthday three days ago, and it was quite a day, filled with lots of celebration and fun. Elysha, the kids, and I went to our favorite diner for dinner for burgers, shakes, and cake. My colleagues brought me lunch and a Carvel ice cream cake – my favorite food in the world.…

It’s snowing this morning. It’s that lovely brand of snow that doesn’t threaten to make travel hazardous or require any shoveling. Just a gentle, steady flurry. Picturesque and beautiful. It brings to mind one of my favorite haikus: First snow the neglected yard now perfect – Elizabeth St. Jacques Haikus, it should be noted, are…

Career advice from author and entrepreneur Charlie Hoehn: “Just DO things. Chase after the things that interest you and make you happy. Stop acting like you have a set path because you don’t. No one does. You shouldn’t be trying to check off the boxes of life. They aren’t real, and they were created by…

Hello friends, Today is my birthday!  It’s an exciting day – not so much for my additional trip around the Sun – but because today I get to announce my brand new book: Stories Sell: Storyworthy Strategies to Build Your Business and Brand … a guide to using the power of storytelling for success in…

Yesterday, my agent negotiated the Spanish rights to “Storyworthy” and the Bulgarian rights to “Someday Is Today.” “Negotiated the rights” means that these two books will be published in those two countries, and I will receive an advance on both deals. I mention this to remind myself of how fortunate I am. This is the…

Why did it take me 52 years to learn that American naval hero John Paul Jones launched a successful amphibious attack on England during the Revolutionary War? His bold and decisive victory included: Leading a small detachment of two boats from his ship, the USS Ranger, to raid the port at Whitehaven, England, where more…

My students often learn quite a bit about my life. I tell stories, of course, primarily to teach lessons and entertain them while they learn. But a great deal of my life can be found online, beginning with my Wikipedia page, so my more curious and nefarious students will spend some time researching my past,…

I learned about John Howard Griffin for the first time this week. In November 1959, in an attempt to better understand the Black American experience, journalist John Howard Griffin underwent a medical treatment to temporarily darken his skin and, for six weeks, placed himself in the shoes of those who suffered under the oppressive weight…

If you’re beating yourself up over failing to achieve a goal or realize a dream, please stop. You are not weak. You are not dumb. You don’t lack talent. Very often, you just need to stop giving up. The journey to success is longer than many people realize.

Here’s how I managed to narrowly avoid the cracking of my chest: In the fall of 2011, Elysha and I were having lunch with one of my college friends. It was the first time I had seen her in a decade. A reunion of sorts that I had been anxiously awaiting. I was eating clam…