My 96-year-old mother bid farewell to her house a few weeks ago, and moved to an assisted living facility. She’s happy there, with lots of people to talk to about what matters most to her. Her physical move necessitated the dispossession of her house and belongings. Who would assume that daunting job? That honor, with its headaches and backaches, falls to her adult children and grandchildren. Mom let it be known that she would be watching. Relinquishing personal items

“How can I prepare myself to be a leader?” That question, in one form or another, is posed to me often by parents, teens and young adults who view leadership as a worthy or even a noble goal. Jasmine, a 17-year-old high school senior who had distinguished herself in and out of the classroom, recently asked that same question. She was the reminder I needed to finally offer some recommendations. I felt that Jasmine deserved a thoughtful answer so I decided to send her the le

Risk and novelty can get us into trouble, but the power of the familiar might be even more dangerous. That's because what we are used to goes down easily. Familiarity offers security and a sense of control. There are no new steps to take, no difficult questions, few, if any, obstacles. Life is good – until it's not. Ease, in any facet of life, can blind us to possible hazards. It also presents no challenges, no new thinking, no creativity. Clinging to familiarity, we become