Archives for July, 2010
Your 168-Hour Week. Can’t You Wrestle That into Shape?
My Kindle edition of “168 Hours” by Laura Vanderkam just whooshed into my Home Page. A lifetime, if calculated from week to week, is “simply 168 hours, back to back, repeated again and again,” according to Ms. Vanderkam. Subtract 56 weekly sleeping hours (eight a night) and 50 for work and you still have 62 […]
Owning the Life I’ve Built
Over a cup of coffee at Folly Beach, a wise friend told me what I needed to hear. I’ve experienced several major changes in my life during the last six months, including putting a home I’ve owned for 13 years on the market and moving to another state. I told my friend that I feel […]
How a Volunteer Sabbatical Changed My Career and My Life
In my previous life (this is what I call my life before my sabbatical), I worked as a project manager in the UK at an American insurance company called ACE Insurance. I worked all hours, earned decent money, was stuck in a rut and was going through a divorce, which like all divorces was costing […]
Message to Gen X, Y and Z: Boomers Were Dead Wrong About How to Live A Happy Life
Dead wrong? I’m overstating it a bit. At least half of us in mid-life are happy. In fact, we’re happier than we’ve ever been. The other half of Boomers? Suicidal and making good on it. That’s a brutal reality for the largest and richest generation in history. The results of the latest Centers for Disease Controle […]
Getting Life Right: Jane Pauley’s Here to Help
There may be nothing more powerful to get you off your procrastinating toadstool than listening to stories of other people’s 50-year slog through life until – bingo – they get it right! While the first step may be negotiating that sabbatical you want or changing careers, let Jane help you. Relegated to the last 20 […]
Did I Create My Wee, Wonderful Life? Or Is My Fortune Cookie Fixed?
So far this week I counted my blessings twice and neither time lasted longer than it takes to scroll down my home’s digital thermostat so I can be cooler. Sunday night’s bedside reading about the dire straits of Haitians 6-months post earthquake (The New York Times, cover story, July 11,2020) regurgitated Monday night by Katy Couric […]
The Visual Sabbatical: Making Your Plans to “See” Versus “Do”
Forget the backpack and walking sticks. Ditch the health goals. To set your eyes on a place or thing is all it takes for an extraordinary sabbatical experience. People returning from a career break often talk about the impact of the expereince by describing something they saw, not something they did. What they carry back into the […]
Difference Between People Happy in Life and Those Unhappy? Advice From a Super Smart Shrink
Presented as “deep thoughts” for 2010 graduates who are poised to make decisions and take action about their lives, this conversation between CBS Sunday Morning contributor Ben Stein and his shrink is astounding and crystal clear. No matter what date is on your diploma, read it. It could change the direction of your life. Ben Stein’s segment […]