Are you stretching?

seedlings are stretch the way we need to stretch to reach our goals.

Lately I’ve been stretched to my max. I have no one to blame but myself. I’ve created numerous deadlines for myself and challenges—opportunities—all within a very short amount of time. Sometimes the stretching doesn’t feel so good. Like a teenager with growth pains, I can feel myself aching from the effort. But I know it’s [...]

Can You Live With Yourself After You Reach Your Goal?

Cross the finish line honestly

I’m a big proponent of setting goals—and reaching them. And we all like to win—to cross that finish line once we’ve put ourselves in a competition, no matter if we  compete against ourselves or against others. We want to know we have done our best and achieved that gold medal, which could be anything from [...]

How Big, Tall and Wide are You Willing to Grow?

Redwood Trees

Every day I feel like I”m being pushed to grow bigger than my former self. No one has made me grow; I started the process myself. I wanted to grow. I added the fertilizer and the water. The problem is that now I can’t stop the process. The process has begun, and I no longer [...]

And You Shall Be a Blessing…

male dancer

How often do you leave your home and go somewhere else to live for any period of time? For the second time in two years, my son and I are going off to live in New York City for seven weeks this summer. This reminds me of the Torah portion we read called Lech Lecha, [...]

Advance Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams

BusinessPeopleWalking

Every day I wake up, come upstairs to my office, sit down in front of my computer, and begin working. Sometimes I manage only to accomplish a few minutes of time spent on my own projects. Other days, I spend many hours working towards my personal goals. Each day, however, my mind turns periodically from [...]

Put Jewish Ideas to Use on the Secular New Year

Most people don’t realize that through its choice of words, the Old Testament places emphasis on goal setting. In fact, it seems that God expects us to set targets for ourselves and at least to try to hit them. In other words, we are supposed to take the time to come up with resolutions or [...]

Stepping into the Future

It’s been a wild 10 days or so. My daughter and I discovered that her early decision application required that she show up in NYC for a portfolio review at New York University. She sent in her application on October 31. We called the university on November 2 and found out we had to be [...]

The Workings of Deadlines and Deadlines that Work

What is it about a deadline that makes you actually get your work done? I’m a journalist; deadlines constitute a way of life for me. I deal with them day in and day out. I don’t typically like them, but I deal with them. I meet them-always. When I don’t have deadlines imposed on me [...]

This Year, Just Do It

Yesterday I learned that Rabbi Alan Lew had died. I didn’t know Rabbi Lew well, but I had the honor of teaching at an event where he was the keynote speaker two years ago. I remember his speach well; in fact, I used what I learned from him later in a talk I gave – [...]