"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.

So goes the poem, "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  This piece by the acclaimed poet discusses the importance of following one's own conscience instead of conforming to the whims and dictates of society.

I was particularly taken by this, particularly as I found it in an unexpected place -- a book I'm reading entitled "Where Men Win Glory" by author Jon Krakauer (of "Into Thin Air" fame) on the life and death of former NFL player-turned US Army Special Ops Pat Tillman.  Apparently Pat was a prolific reader and the book goes into the impact Emerson made on him at that point in his life before his untimely death from friendly fire.

Emerson shares in the poem some wise thoughts: "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think."  Those words are even truer today when so much of the world is going by pursuits that do not bring peace or happiness.  Materialism, selfishness, greed, competitiveness, bullying even -- all these things can result from the pursuit of "what the people think" instead of belief and trust in what you think.  (more...)

This is a topic I've pondering a lot lately.  In both my professional and personal life, there's been a lot of activity around the idea of "values" and character -- both positive and negative examples.  Sadly, more of the latter than the former.

As my readers probably know, I'm a huge believer in the importance, and "value" of good character and sticking to your beliefs. It's something I also believe is a strategic differentiator as I discuss in my soon-to-be-released book "It's Not Who You Know It's How You Treat Them."

What really hit me today was someone else's writings on the subject. I picked up a copy of Craig Duswalt's "Creating Wealth on a Shoestring Budget" and turned the page, after opening it to the bookmark.  Here's what Craig has to say in the section called "Stick to Your Values"... (more...)

What am I doing writing about a financial institution meltdown?  Isn't this supposed to be about education (well, ok, not everything I write about has to do with education)?

There's a lesson to be learned in this. This morning, I was getting ready for "work" after having already completed an early morning interview with WPHM's Paul Miller on the NYC Samaritan who was ignored as he was dying by dozens of passers-by (I still have to write about THAT horror!).  Anyway, I was watching the Today Show and Senator Claire McCaskill was commenting on the Goldman Sachs hearings scheduled to start today.

I was struck by something the Senator had to say (more...)