Work for the Underemployed

September 5, 2011     Holidays aren't part of the “universal calendar;" I know you knew that.     Granted, Christmas and Easter are pretty common… unless, of course, you're in the middle of some of those 3+ billion Muslims/Hindus/Chinese Communists who don't buy their wall calendars from Hallmark. Even among the billion or so …

Market Coaster Stress Management Strategy

August 15, 2011     In the old days, at Disneyland, it wasn’t a one-price-at-the-gate experience. They charged for entry, and then sold you ticket books. A, B, C, D and E tickets were in a book to be traded for seats on the rides. The kid-friendly attractions were A’s and B’s; the thrill-a-minute good …

Reminded at Mount Rushmore

July 11, 2011     I hope your summer is unfolding well! For me, the intensity of fall/winter/spring is unrelenting: I fly 150,000+ miles during those seasons maintaining my contact with the Master’s Program groups I lead across the country. But, summer is different; my work for Master’s is closer to home, and allows me …

A Firm Reliance on Divine Providence

July 5, 2011     While delivered a “day late,” this weekly piece is time-stamped for July 4th, 2011. In America, we’re celebrating the 235th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, which is deemed America’s “birthday.”     Wow; we’re 235. It’s an age when we – nationally – are at risk of some historic …

Cultivating Compassion, in a down market

June 13, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend,      I’m considering a news fast; the daily headlines are in conflict with my quality of life.     The markets are losing steam, and there’s no indication of change-points on the near-term horizon. The ideas in Washington – and, on the early-stage campaign trail – regarding a …

Become Better at Being

May 9, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend,     Let’s hear another sustained applause for the moms who enrich our lives! Yesterday was tremendous… but a token, nonetheless. Some mothers devote themselves almost exclusively to the role, making maternal duty their day-in, day-out assignment. Others carry a full load in the career arena, but place the …

Sleepers, Be Alert!

April 18, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend,     "Only in the federal government would you double up on workers, averaging $161,000 per year in salary and benefits, that aren’t doing their job." That’s according to Rep. John Mica (D-FL), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He’s reacting to the avalanche of reports of …

Many are invited but few accept

March 21, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend,     Blame the Boomers. Count me in, I suppose. My – our – generation has insisted that we examine the whole sociological/cultural thing… and renegotiate everything. “Start with a clean page” is the First Commandment in the Boomer Top Ten. We don’t accept anything as a “given;” except, …

The Crisis in the Land of the Rising Sun

March 14, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend,       The headline was sourced in Canada, not in the United States – or, Japan: “No Doomsday Seen in Recent Quakes, Just ‘Bad Luck’.”     The focus of the following article was purely scientific: “Powerful killer earthquakes have rocked one corner of the globe to another …

Winning a Lost Someone

March 7, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend,       I was tempted to announce that I would no longer be producing this weekly digital discourse, created at one of Starbucks’ 10,000 US locations before sun-up; instead, I’m trying to grab the timeslot on the VideoCam Network just after “Charlie’s Korner.” Why not allow my Point of …