Monthly Archives: March 2001

If you’re never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances. – Julia Sorel If I had my life to live over, I’d dare to make more mistakes next time. – Nadine Stair Why not go … Continue reading →

I got a note from the editorial team at Transom yesterday, rejecting my three Joe to Go readings for placement on their web site. They said: Kindly and thoughtful, a good reading voice, but subject matter didn’t rise up to … Continue reading →

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have. – Abraham Lincoln The success/motivation industry probably has trouble … Continue reading →

It was odd going to the memorial mass for my dad yesterday. It actually wasn’t a memorial mass at all. I knew it wasn’t going to be a service dedicated to his memory, with a sermon, et al. But I … Continue reading →

The only difference between a rut and a grave…is in their dimensions. – Ellen Glasgow I’m going to a memorial mass for my dad this morning. His job career was the epitome of a rut. He worked for 35+ years … Continue reading →

I was IMing with one of my sons earlier this week and he mentioned that he wanted to try some personal goalsetting… something that he thought would be good for him, something that he’d never really done. I had a … Continue reading →

Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future … Continue reading →

Dr. Drew on the pitfalls of TV shows like Survivor: Spare us from this “reality” I’ve not watched any of the reality shows but I’ve read plenty about them, especially criticism. But this is the first piece I’ve read that … Continue reading →

To arrive in the Rocky Mountains by plane would be to see them in one kind of context, as pretty scenery. But to arrive after days of hard travel across the prairies would be to see them in another way, … Continue reading →

I got a very detailed email feedback letter yesterday from a nationally-known, independent radio producer. Other than reading too fast, he really liked my demo CD and encouraged me to plow ahead. I met early this morning with my local … Continue reading →

Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket, and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show you have one. If you are asked what o’clock it is, tell it, but do not proclaim it … Continue reading →

I’ve been asked to link Real Joe to a men-oriented web site and while perusing it, I stumbled on an article written by a woman about her approach to ogling men. It occurred to me this morning that in the … Continue reading →

The desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world. – John Le Carre I don’t like commuting two hours a day for this consulting gig I’m on. I miss having copious amounts of time to write and … Continue reading →

I’ve been working on Real Joe for a couple of years, but only the last twelve months in earnest. Here’s an article about a guy who’s been working to solve a huge problem for thirty years and just now is … Continue reading →

I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work. – Ben Franklin I got word on Friday that the media outfit that I’ve been pitching my Real Joe radio show proposal to for the past four months has decided … Continue reading →

My mom has sold her house and is moving out in a couple of weeks. It’s odd to write ‘her’ house since it’s always been either ‘our’ or ‘their.’ My dad started building it the year I was born, 1949, … Continue reading →

Too many books that claim a spiritual focus really speak from a plane where we can’t live our daily lives. It’s important to be uplifted, but it’s equally important to know that the most ordinary and confused moments of our … Continue reading →

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain. – Susan Orlean I really like this statement. It’s from the introduction to Orlean’s new book, The Bullfighter … Continue reading →

You’ll break the worry habit the day you decide you can meet and master the worst that can happen to you. – Arnold Glasow I don’t think the phrase “meet and master” works for me. I’d maybe substitute “learn from” … Continue reading →

There ain’t much fun in medicine, but there’s a heck of a lot of medicine in fun. – Josh Billings I rented the movie City Slickers last night and watched it with my wife Robbie (her suggestion) and daughter while … Continue reading →

Jackpot winner contends with devastating loss after accident This is an article about a Las Vegas woman who last year won the world’s largest slot machine jackpot ($35M) and then five weeks later became a quad after being hit by … Continue reading →

Last week’s Santana high school shooting in California indicates that, like Columbine, the shooter may have been really abused and harassed by some of his peers. Today’s newspaper has two gut-wrenching commentaries by adults who suffered similarly in school. One’s … Continue reading →

Our vision is more obstructed by what we think we know than by our lack of knowledge. – Kristen Stendahl This quote scored a direct hit twice this week, now that I think about it. For my current consulting gig, … Continue reading →

Deliberately challenge the premise that the past and the future are more important than the present. – Timothy Miller A few days ago when I wrote about the struggle I’m having with meditating, a fellow Joe wrote to me and … Continue reading →

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes the ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. – Albert Schweitzer There’s a guy who works at this place where I’m doing a consulting gig who seems particularly … Continue reading →