Our Insider subscribers know that this week's Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week), is #31: Listen Up. Find a place to sit quietly for ten minutes. Listen for at least one sound that you would not have normally noticed. When's the last time you sat quietly for ten whole minutes? If you're like me, you are feeling a bit surprised that the first month of '08 is coming to a close. Where did the time go? As Ferris Bueller reminded us, "Life moves pretty fast. If we don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." …
General
Do You Suffer From Sunday Night Dread?
When I was a kid, there was nothing worse than a Sunday night during the school year. The foreboding end of weekend freedom was perilously near. As the sun set and the clock ticked older, the pit in my stomach grew and grew. I did well in school, but thinking ahead to a week of early mornings, boring lectures, bad lunches, stupid bullies, and unexciting homework was hardly a thing to look forward to. I was suffering from Sunday Night Dread. …
Simple Acts of Love
Over Christmas my in-laws had a house full, everyone was home. It was so nice being together. My father-in-law shared afterward that one of his favorite moments was on one of the mornings after his shower. He got dressed, came out of the bathroom and found his five-year-old granddaughter, our niece and god daughter, standing proudly next to his bed. She had decided to surprise him by making his bed. And what a surprise it was! We later found out from her mom that she likes to do this sort of thing for her in the mornings, too. It's not uncommon for my sister-in-law to come out of the …
In Search of Good News
Is it just me or does watching the nightly news make you want to jump off a cliff? Filling my head with images of tragedies, war, and political fighting is not my idea of a natural transition to a peaceful night of sleep. It's no surprise studies show that tuning into the news leaves viewers needing psychological intervention to get back to a relaxed and healthy state of mind. Yikes! No wonder Adultitis is so common and widespread. My childlike optimism refuses to believe that the ratio of good to bad news is that far off. Somewhere along the line, producers decided that bad news sells …
What Does Bill Gates Know That You Don’t?
I am a die-hard Apple dork and I don't much care for anything made by Microsoft. But I have to give Bill Gates credit for at least one thing: he doesn't take himself too seriously. If ever there was a dude who could be expected to take himself seriously, it would be Bill Gates. I mean, the guy is as smart as a whip, changed the face of computing on the planet Earth, and is a gajillionaire to boot. (By the way, whoever decided that whips are smart?) This video from this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) demonstrates Gates fun side, which is often overshadowed by his über-wealthy …
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Just a Bit of Silliness, Really
On New Year's Day Jason and I played a fun game with our family called Quelf. The game is described as "Insanity in a box!" It was outrageously fun and just plain silly. At one point I had to slow dance with my sister-in-law. We laughed so hard, switching between the "high school" slow dance (girl's hands around the guy's neck and the guy's hands around the girl's waist) versus the "classic" slow dance style. Another wacky thing I had to do was talk like a pirate for about fifteen minutes. Anyone who knows me well knows that my fake accents are way off. Terrible, really. If I had to make …
an interview with…Mark Sanborn
(This is an excerpt of an interview from Kim & Jason magazine with Mark Sanborn, the best-selling author of the “Fred Factor” on balancing work and family, having fun amidst the busyness, and lessons we can learn from kids) Kim & Jason: Your book, The Fred Factor, contains the example of a remarkable postman named Fred to demonstrate how passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. We found the book to be very inspiring and the techniques very simple. You make the benefits of being a “Fred” a no-brainer. In your opinion, why don’t we see more “Freds” …
Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
Some smart person once said, "If we keep doing what we've always done, we'll keep getting what we've always got." And I know it was Einstein who said in a similar vein, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Makes sense, right? Any time we try something different (with the admirable and sensible intent of seeing different results), we can expect the road to be a bit bumpy, because change is always uncomfortable. If we wanted to be comfortable, the best way would be to just keep doing what we've always done (and keep seeing the same …
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Being Honest With Yourself
Something we all have in common as adults is the need to exercise and the continual search for that "perfect routine" you actually enjoy and look forward to. I, like many of you, have been re-evaluating my routines this last week, with the start of a new year. We all know we need to be getting 20-30 minutes of cardio everyday- not just to fit into those skinny jeans, but for our heart health. I heard recently that if your mind moves at a pace that is not matched by your body, you will feel off balance. Makes sense to me. My challenge as of late has been the answer to this question: How do I …
Don’t Blink
As you finalize your plans for New Year's Eve, it's natural to become overwhelmed by how fast each year goes. If you're like me, you're amazed that we only have two years left in this decade. Wasn't it just yesterday we were stocking up on canned goods and batteries for the turn of the century? A good song to listen to this time of year is Kenny Chesney's, Don't Blink. It inspires me to start the new year with an even greater appreciation for each new day and opportunity. If this isn't an Escape Adulthood anthem, I don't know what is. I love the video, which starts with the wisdom of a …