I know that not everyone wants to "be all you can be." Not everyone is serious enough about personal growth to do something about it. A whole lot of people are happy with who they are, thank you very much, and wake up to each new day content to consume whatever the...
When your child gets involved in an activity, it will probably involve learning certain skills. Home/life skills? Relationship skills? Athletic? Musical? Artistic? Mechanical? Construction? Academic? Thinking? Managing? If some of the skills your child has to learn...
In his classic parenting book, The Wonder of Boys, psychologist Michael Gurian claims that “three families – not one” are needed to raise a healthy child to be a happy, successful adult. The first family is the “nuclear family”—the parents and grandparents who raise...
Studying well in school is important. Those 12 years - and university - are important. But along the way, a young person needs to learn many non-academic skills and strengths that are vital for relationships and a career. While some of this can be acquired from school...
I'm recalling a moderately adverse experience that started with a phone call. My wife was about to return home from a shopping excursion at a mall about 30 miles away when her car wouldn't start. She asked me to drive to the mall to give her a jump-start because it...
A few years ago my wife and I were doing some recreational house-hunting. While viewing a beautiful home, she commented, "I like this house but we'd need to replace all the tile floors." I thought the tile was nice. After mentally estimating the cost of replacement, I...
A new study has concluded that teenagers who smoke pot suffer a significant drop in IQ that persists even if they stop smoking it later in life. The article doesn't explain why, except for this statement by lead researcher Madeline Meier of Duke University: "Parents...
The sound of the front door shutting announced that Ricardo was home from practice. His dad met him in the hallway. "How was it today?" "It was okay. We did a lot of conditioning drills and I'm beat." "Good stuff. I'll bet you're thirsty. Come on into the kitchen and...
It's amazing what you see when you step outside the box. I've been focusing on the special challenge of raising teenagers for several years now, and I've been outside the box the whole time. Inside the box, you understand that you need to sacrifice and save money for...
A successful, happy life. I guess everybody knows it takes more than than money and beauty. Just ask Bernie Madoff. And guess what...It also takes a lot more than a good education and business know-how. I try to stress this point with parents. Yes, kids need a good...