Everyone knows the ingredients to a fairy tale life. The perfect marriage. Beautiful children. Encouraging friends. Financial security. One couple didn’t stop with the basics. They decided to include the castle. A Place to Call Their Own After a tour of ancient Europe in 1968, Rex and Caroline Martin developed a new plan when they arrived home. […]
You are not your job. You are not the money you make. Or the money you don’t have. You are not the khaki pants and white shirt they make you wear every day. You are not the new clothes you put on today. You are not the house you live in or the car you drive. […]
As a surgeon, I am asked one question more than any other. Sometimes I get asked “how many of these surgeries have you done?” Some ask how quickly they can go back to work. Others ask to be off a really long time. Sometimes I am asked for a magic pill that would make all […]
You aren’t where you want to be because something has prevented you from it. You aren’t who you want to become because every time you try something gets in your way. You don’t do the things you want to do and you do things you don’t want because there is some obstacle you can’t overcome. […]
My story is a complete mess. I never intended to have seven kids, but things happened. We opened our eyes and we couldn’t say no. We said yes even though we didn’t know how to do it. We said yes even though we weren’t ready enough. And things are so out of control, my imperfections […]
At some point you have been told you can do whatever you set your mind to. Maybe it was a high school guidance counselor. Maybe your parents. Maybe a youth pastor. Maybe a coach. Or maybe by a motivational speaker that you only agreed to listen to because a friend goaded you into it or […]
to begin. to fear not doing something more than fearing the risks. to ask that one girl/guy out. to start a new business. to take dancing lessons. and then dance. to pick up a new (and positive) habit. to travel. to learn a new language. to start saving money. to start giving money to a […]
I read a lot. And by a lot I mean 72 books last year. I read many different things. Fiction and non-fiction. Business. Religious. You name it. This year, for the first time, I started reading poetry. Although poetry books are short, they take a long time to read. At least they should. No matter […]
Lose 20 pounds Read 1 book a month Be a better spouse, parent, friend Finish school Get a better job Save money Learn a second language Floss These are a few examples of goals. And this is the time of year we set them. Which isn’t bad. But as most of us have experienced, setting […]
Today is January 13, 2014. A month ago, this very day was a viewed as a burden. A deadline. A day that was coming too soon. A month ago, we were anxious. Uncertain. We were calling anybody that we could. Not always finding a listening ear. We still needed so much to happen. We needed […]
