Welcome to the X.

One of the great joys of my life has been in the role of parent and any of you who have had this experience knows well, it is not the easiest job in the world. I have two children, a daughter and a son who…

Arthur C. Brooks has an amazing resume, in fact, if you know him, tell him I am dying to get him on the podcast. Anyway, he wrote an epic piece in The Atlantic, entitled, “The Seven Habits That Lead to Happiness in Old Age.” It…

Throughout my work life, I was pointed in one solitary direction. That direction was success, financial security, and providing for my family. Believe me, I made a lot of false starts and bad decisions, but it turns out each misstep brought me closer to my…

Our little miracle baby who came into the world very early at 1lb, 7oz. is now a robust 20-pounder. My granddaughter turned one back in October, nearly 3 months before her expected arrival. I watch her crawling around the house, picking up toys, blankets and…

We define ourselves using so many different definitions. At times we have multiple ways of describing ourselves, such as our professions, whether we are married, whether we have children or even our hobbies. Right now, I can still use parent, grandparent, coffee roaster, trumpet player,…

With all of the tragic events going on in the world, we’re seeing some of the impact reflected in the global economy and stock market. Times of unrest often introduce new uncertainty to the market.  If you’re investing, it’s normal to feel nervous about what…

Last night, I had a recollection. I was probably eight or nine, and it was a warm summer day where I had nothing to do. No friends around or activities planned. (Of course, this was a time when we had the freedom to roam without…

When we begin our careers, we have very little in the way of “tools” in most cases. We don’t even know what we don’t know. As we learn, grow, fail, succeed and experience, our toolkit grows and we gain mastery. Why would it be any…