The Pride

Do you take pride in YOUR Pride of cubs? Enjoy another short (43 seconds) video from our incredible trip at the beginning of this year…

Pride Was My Downfall

Pride t-shirt

There are a lot of “P’s” that help in life, but Pride is NOT one of them. I often extol the virtues of passion, persistence, and pharmaceuticals (just kidding), but pride is one of those things than usually gets in the way of our success.

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The Other N-Word

Pride in Chinese

No, this is not a column about race. The other N-word is nepotism. It often has a negative connotation but I actually have been re-thinking the word; how nepotism is practiced and felt today, and how I’m going to take this idea and expand it into helicopter parenting. A reach? But, of course!

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Did I Learn Anything This Past Holiday Season?

Every holiday season brings both wonderful times and challenging family situations for most of us, my family included.  This past holiday season included the first visit to our home of my in-laws, the first time my sons and I would be apart, and the first time my wife and I would be apart during this festive time of the year.  Can I say I learned more about our relationships?  You bet.  Was it easy and fun?  You be the judge.

Let’s start with the in-laws.  Like many things, I had expectations about how we’d all relate and get along, mostly based on our previous visits together at their home in Vancouver, B.C.  But, as I never seem to learn or remember, expectations rarely turn out as expected.  In this case, I am very pleased to say they turned out better. read more

Envy – One of the Seven Deadly Sins (“Just A Guy”)

I recently visited my best friend, who moved from L.A., to a small town in the Northwest.  He built a home, from scratch, supervising every detail, and with his wife, they created their dream home.  I found myself feeling a tad of envy, as he took me on the tour of the house, pointing out all the beautiful details.

As we’ve been renting for several years, the pride of ownership is just not part of our lives and our belief is that the practical choice is to stay in rent for the near future.  Our choice, certainly.  But, as I reflected on my own bout of envy, I thought about my boys and how often they’re comparing themselves to their peers. read more