The recent passing of George Carlin has meant the loss of one of our generation's sharpest observational critics. Many people mainly remember Carlin for his more notorious comedy bits, but I often found his jokes as insightful as they were funny. I was recently reminded that he is credited with coining a term that has [...]
This story has mainly been told in the Midwest, where a motivational speaker V.J. Smith was so touched by a Wal-Mart cashier that it ended up changing his life, and the lives of thousands of others. Smith was so impressed by the warmth and genuine personality of Aaron "Marty" Martinson that he began to talk [...]
Norman Plate remembers sitting in his first-grade class, appreciating the gifts of his teacher and knowing that he was called to teach. Yet subtle messages throughout his early years led him to believe that the field of medicine would be a more appropriate career choice. Finding himself with less aptitude for the sciences than liberal [...]
I remember hearing a colleague talk about the last performance appraisal she received when working for a large bank. She had made a contribution that year and she felt on top of her game. The colleague recollected how the appraisal began. Just as she had suspected, her leader acknowledged her accomplishments, praised her talents and [...]
