The Significance Sandbox

Ever feel like things aren’t just right? They aren’t horrible. In fact, they are good – just not great. It’s like an out of tune instrument. Try as one might to play the right notes and keep time with the beat, it can’t overcome the instrument being out of tune. I go through phases when everything is going smoothly or even spectacularly. It’s wonderful. Relationships are great. Business is great. I’m sticking to healthy habits. But over time, I get off course somehow. Not too bad at first, but over time it adds up. It can happen in my business or personal life – sometimes both. Then life becomes a struggle. No matter how much I battle, I get further off course. I imagine a symphony orchestra -- great musicians, beautiful instruments and a skilled conductor all performing a revered masterpiece. Does it just happen that they make great music? Certainly not. They’ve practiced for years – alone and as a group. But there is something else they do before each performance. They tune and re-t...

I spend most of my days in conversations with people about things that matter deeply to them. Commonly, we will develop and work from their “balance sheet”. However, most of us initially think only in terms of a financial balance sheet – the one with financial assets on one side and liabilities on the other. It’s an important and helpful tool to be sure. But I work from a different balance sheet – I call it “The Holistic Balance Sheet”. If I asked you to develop your own balance sheet, you’d start by thinking of the things you own. Your home, 401K balance, business interests and automobiles come to mind pretty quickly. You may or may not readily know the value of each of these. But you can fairly easily identify the key items. They are the ones that have the biggest price tags – the most zeroes after the dollar sign, right? Or are they? Once you’ve racked your brain trying to identify all the assets in your possession, I’d ask, “Have you truly identified the most important th...

I want abundant joy. Not the kind of joy that people only recognize at holidays and birthdays. I want to wake up each morning glad that I am alive and on a journey. I expect to see my share of sorrow. But in those moments I want to be able to see that it is because of past joy, that I feel the sorrow. And I want to know that because of my willingness to embrace the sorrow that joy will reemerge. And I will be stronger – more joyful – again. I want love. I want it from my wife. I want it from my children. I want it from other family and friends. And I would love to find it from a far wider local or world community. But as much as I want that love to be expressed by others. I don’t need it for me to feel loved. I can love myself. I can recognize that I am part of the beautiful Universe – part of the creation itself. I am worthy of love -- with no effort, no grand achievements required. I want to find and express my purpose on this earth. I may be here for a long time. On the other h...

I embrace life as an active participant and co-creator of the future. I search for meaning and find meaning in the search. I am a loving partner and soulmate to Barb. Together we challenge one another to personal growth. I help prepare my children to become active participants and co-creators of life in their universe. I encourage them to love, to work, to think and to share. I improve the world by envisioning and working toward a more meaningful society and by supporting causes in line with that vision through my time, talents and treasure. I act as a financial mentor for others through my planning, earning, saving, giving and stewardship. I am at my best when I breathe deeply; eat healthfully; exercise my mind and body regularly; love unabashedly; work diligently; seek and speak honestly; and demonstrate appreciation for “the sacred” in the Divine, in others, and in myself.

I’m having lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant. I really do love it. There are exotic flavors, friendly service and a reasonable price. What more could a guy ask for? Well … how ‘bout “No mushrooms!” That’s what I say. “I’d like the tofu ginger without the mushrooms -- not the black ones or the other ones -- no mushrooms.” Mary, my favorite waitress at my favorite Thai restaurant, writes it down and reads it back to me. She understands. I’m a regular. She barely has to ask me what I want or how I want it since I’m there so often. Yet, I think to myself, “I’m still going to get mushrooms.” It’s amazing how what we say we want isn’t always what we intend . A friend of mine tells me that whether I like it or not, “results always equal intentions.” I resist -- both in my head and to his face. But time after time, he’s right. I hate that! I believe that my wants and dreams and desires and hard work and drive do lead to successful results when those results are positive. When things don’t...

It happened over 60 years ago in the South Pacific during the Second World War. A young ensign was fresh out of Midshipman’s School where he had been studying a specific type of mathematics – Spherical Trigonometry. Naval officers needed to know this type of math so they could figure out their position on the globe before Global Positioning Satellites were invented. So one night while not on duty, the young ensign was practicing his skills from the deck of the ship. He used an instrument called a marine sextant to determine the angle of the stars relative to sea level. The readings were then used to plot the position of the ship. What he found was that his coordinates did not match those that were officially posted. In other words, the ship was off course – significantly. He took this information to the ship’s navigator who responded by explaining that the ensign must be wrong. He did not appreciate being called into question and accused him of insubordination. The ensign accept...

I spend most of my days in conversations with people about things that matter deeply to them. Commonly, we will develop and work from their “balance sheet”. However, most of us initially think only in terms of a financial balance sheet – the one with financial assets on one side and liabilities on the other. It’s an important and helpful tool to be sure. But I work from a different balance sheet – I call it “The Holistic Balance Sheet”. If I asked you to develop your own balance sheet, you’d start by thinking of the things you own. Your home, 401K balance, business interests and automobiles come to mind pretty quickly. You may or may not readily know the value of each of these. But you can fairly easily identify the key items. They are the ones that have the biggest price tags usually – the most valuable assets, right? Or are they? I often ask people – once they’ve racked their brains trying to identify all the assets in their possession – if they’ve truly identified the most important...