One week ago, a dear friend of mine‘s son attempted suicide. Incredibly sad. But I’m also incredibly thankful and fortunate that he didn’t succeed. In debriefing with one of our mutual friends on what happened, we began talking about all the pressure that these young people must feel. It must be even more as they’re just getting ready to start out in the world as young adults. Perhaps that pressure comes in the form of seeing the success of their parents and feeling, “How am I going to accomplish the same?” That hopelessness of inadequacy is probably even more pressing in […]

“There are three things that grow more precious with age; old wood to burn, old books to read, and old friends to enjoy.” – Henry Ford This week, I had the pleasure of seeing three of my old friends. While I don’t see them often enough, I truly value each of them and we definitely have history together. I’ve known each of them for more than 30 years. We all started in business together at different times and different places. But, somehow, these relationships haven’t changed. While distance has kept us apart, somehow, time has actually brought us even closer. I guess […]

The last couple of days, I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a golf tournament with a dear friend. Man, competition feels so good! Now, I am not good enough or skilled enough to win the event. But I love the feeling of just competing, trying to be my best, pushing myself, striving to win. And golf is such a beautiful game because it leads me to focus so intensely, in a way that I can only focus for short periods. As a society, in so many ways, we have forgotten that. In some ways we have adapted a “win at […]