Calling Cards

“…a permission slip to a better conversation.” Those words were spoken by a friend who is with the Catholic Charities of Oklahoma on a recent tour for SALLT graduates of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. They made me think about how we initially connect and then continue to maintain connections with people.  My friend was talking about his involvement in…

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Uncle Ben

I saw the new Spider-verse movie recently. Stan Lee, through Spiderman, was responsible for making “with great power comes great responsibility” a household quote. However, the concept of a kid who is accidentally bequeathed superpowers through a radioactive spider bite having a duty to use that power for good is actually a very old and…

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The Eyes Of History

I saw the musical Hamilton recently and noticed some lines that made me think. General Washington says, “Even now, I lie awake knowing history has its eyes on me.” It is during the first act, and Washington is granting Hamilton his first command. He talks about all the mistakes he made early in his career, then he…

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The Weight Above Us

As summer approaches, so do blue skies filled with fluffy, white clouds. Clouds that weigh over a million pounds each! That’s right. Clouds are really heavy. However, the air below them is even heavier (actually, more dense). The molecular weight of a water molecule is less than the molecular weight of a nitrogen molecule or…

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Better Than Nothing

To hear my grandma talk about my grandad, you would think he was perfect. He was tragically killed as a passenger in a car that was hit by a train a few months before my father was born. When she spoke about him as I was growing up, she could have been talking about Superman.…

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Don’t Make The Easy Hard

I flew Southwest Airlines recently. One of their mottos is “Don’t Make the Easy Hard” which seems to be exactly what they have done. Herb Keller knew that a valued employee would offer an extraordinary customer experience. Done well, this would ultimately result in the company and shareholders profiting. Somewhere along the line, they lost…

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Mommy

One of the things I learned in recovery was everyone has a role to play in our lives. We can have many friends, change therapists and sponsors, and even add extended family members through marriages and births. You cannot swap moms easily. The role of mother is unique and special. (So is the role of…

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The Point Of Strategy

I was at West Point (Revolutionary War fort turned Military Academy) recently for leadership training with my team. West Point is literally named for the point of land that juts out into the Hudson River from the west bank as the river makes a tight S-curve. George Washington believed controlling this point and being able…

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Infrastructure

I rode the subway several times last week while I was in New York City (along with 6,335,700 other people). Every time I’m in Manhattan, it amazes me how much stuff is packed into the 23 square mile island. Over 1.7 million people live there, but the commuters raise that number to closer to 4…

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Just Do It

Of course, you recognize that tagline. It was created in 1987 by Wieden + Kennedy to accompany Nike’s first major television campaign, and it was sparked by the last words of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore who said, “Let’s do it!” to the firing squad before his execution. Despite its inauspicious origins, this phrase has become…

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