Life Optimized
Sydney J. Harris wrote for the Chicago Daily News and, later, the Chicago Sun-Times. He also authored 11 books and a syndicated column, Strictly Personal, that was regular reading for me when I was growing up. In 1980, he penned a New Year’s message focusing on those resolutions we love…
By Scott Westerman “The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change” ~Heraclituse It’s impossible to stay in your comfort zone long without getting uncomfortable. Watch a satellite image of the inexorable progression of the weather across our continent and you begin to get a sense for the truth in the…
We’re living on the Atlantic Ocean this summer. Colleen and I get up before dawn most mornings and stand on our 12th floor balcony to watch the sunrise. Every panorama is unique. Some mornings present an orange fireball that peeks above a placid sea into a cloudless sky. On other…
By Scott Westerman There are six magic words that determine everything that happens in your life. “We become what we think about.” Our thoughts define us so learn how to model winning behaviors and every goal you can conceive you can achieve. “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and…
By Scott Westerman It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that you cannot sincerely try to help another without helping yourself. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson A great misconception is that money is the ultimate success metric. The dedicated contribution of inspired, caring individuals is the true coin…
By Scott Westerman “You can choose courage or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both!” ~Brene Brown We live in a culture that values making things easier, not harder, trying to eliminate risk and discomfort. And yet, everyone who has done something amazing with their lives has paid…
By Scott Westerman “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche If you’ve been a parent for any length of time, you’ve endured the “why” phase of childhood; that time when your kid continually asks “why” in response to everything you say. Eventually, we’ve…
By Scott Westerman “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.” ~ ORISON S. MARDEN “People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change,” writes Charles R. Swindoll. “They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some…
By Scott Westerman Can a police department gain a positive national following by engaging on social media? Here’s the story of one that did. I’m a huge fan of the Newport Beach, California, Police Department. Not only do they protect and serve their community with professionalism and class, they are…
By Scott Westerman I recently spent some time with Dacher Keltner, a perpetual student of the art and science of emotional wellbeing. He reminded me of one of its great prerequisites: Gratitude.