Poverty or Plenty: A Perspective The following story is unattributed: A father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how much poverty exists in the world. They spent several days and nights on the farm of a very poor family. On their

On-The-Job Straining Ever get that “burned out” feeling? You’re operating at maximum capacity and doing a darn good job of it, but the inspiration and the motivation start to wane. Don’t feel badly about it – after all, you can only really hit a slump when you’ve been experiencing a streak of succes

Learning to Fly In the 1930’s and 1940’s, there were numerous women’s magazines. Besides offering a fictional short story and maybe some celebrity gossip, these magazine showed women in the role of the day–keeping their home. They suggested the number of times per week the home should be dusted, scr

The Carpenter Challenge Picture a builder hiring a new framing carpenter to help construct his new homes. The first day on the job, the new carpenter shows up without a tool belt . . . and without any tools . . . and asks, “Where do I begin?” How much progress do you think would be made by the end o

Keep Your Eyes On Your Desk! Watch young children on the playground and you will notice them trying to duplicate each other. One hangs upside down on the monkey bars, and soon everyone is doing the same. Teens behave the same way;  one tries an extreme hair color or social media challenge, and soon

Here’s an Underused Solution if You Work From Home… If you’ve been hoping to buy a home, you’re probably well aware that prices (and competition) for places to live have both been steep for quite some time in many areas. And even though mortgage rates have risen in the past year, a drastic drop in e

Ask “Why?”The 1960’s brought about a revolution of sorts in this country. It was a revolution that was irreverent at times, almost always anti-establishment, and it turned many traditional social customs upside-down.How did it begin? The young, many of college-student age, began to ask, “Why?” They

Be a Hero Are you one of those people that other people always come to with their problems? It’s easy to become frustrated when your day is interrupted by a crisis you didn’t know existed until now. There are a couple of “attitude adjustments” that might help you cope when you don’t feel like rescui

We will never forget.On Sept. 11, 2001, America was forever changed. It has been 22 years since the attacks, but that tragic day, which served as a true test of the American spirit, will be remembered always.“The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged st

Honoring Labor Day Summer seems to have passed in the blink of an eye, soon making way for autumn festivities and the joys of pumpkin carving. But before we bid adieu to summer, let’s pause and reflect on the significance of Labor Day before we embrace the seasonal shift. Labor Day, observed on the

Age Doesn’t Matter Whether you’re 23, 43, or 73, ask yourself this wonderfully refreshing question: “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Regardless of our age, it’s so easy to lose sight of the specific “somebody” we always wanted to be. What’s more, the “somebody” we had in mind in our 20’s maybe

Expecting the Unexpected Weddings. Graduations. Birthdays. Holidays. An endless list of important occasions. We all have major events in our lives and others’ lives in which we participate. We and people close to us have sometimes exerted tremendous effort organizing celebrations with the intention

Back to school! Turns out the children are listening, too.The question is, what are they learning and what are we teaching? No matter whom we interact with, we should all take some time to reflect upon how our practices are matching up to our ethics and beliefs. We all have the potential to produce

Focus on the Negative From Wellsprings of Wisdom: Fascinating Stories and Parables that Guide and Inspire by Ralph Louis Woods comes this thought-provoking story: “A successful businessman was invited to address a group of young executives on the subject of opportunities. He began his talk by tackin

People will probably forget what you said and they will possibly forget what you did . . . but they will never forget how you made them feel! Either a good or bad word from someone will stay with you for a long while – but how they made you feel in what they said – will stay with you forever!!! Of c

Committee Comfort It has been said that a camel is just a horse that was created by a committee. You’ve probably witnessed the process yourself. Put any twelve decision-makers in a room together, and they can’t seem to make a decision at all. Worse yet, they create something that suits the members–a

Take Off the Bandage! What do transparent tape, “sticky” notes and adhesive bandages have in common? Each has a different function, is made of a different material, and serves its own purpose. Oh sure, you can say they’re all necessary supplies – and you’d be right – but look a little deeper for the

Can We Control the Weather? Problems with the leadership at work, current world events, too much rain, heat or cold–we can easily get stuck in frustration and worry about things like this, eventually affecting every aspect of our lives. Thing is, how do we free ourselves of so much negativity? Compl

If You Were the Carpenter A story written by an unknown author goes like this: An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his contractor employer of his plans to leave the house-building business and finally spend more time with his wife and family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed t

6 Metro Phoenix hot spots for luxury homes The Phoenix area is vast. It’s home to millions of people, a number of suburbs and countless individual neighborhoods. As one of the biggest metro areas in the country (both geographically and population-wise), Phoenix has carved out unique luxury real esta