Eyes on the Goal
Young Clarence had an unusual way to pay for college. He trapped frogs and sold them to the Bronx Zoo. When his part-time business failed to meet his second-year tuition, he dropped out and moved from New Jersey to New Mexico to work for the U S Department of Agriculture as a taxidermist. Clarence left […]
Find Your Champion
In 1977 a professional musician from Texas named Randy Brooks wrote a Christmas song. He based it on childhood memories of his family, especially his grandmother. Randy performed his song at local events for the next two years. While in Lake Tahoe he met a touring couple whose van had broken down in the resort […]
Looking for Heroes
I recently read an important and inspiring story of a young man who spoke about his search for heroes. The 28-year-old was asked to speak to a youth group in the Midwest. He recognized this as an opportunity to affirm his belief in the American Dream. He grew up in poverty so severe that he […]
The Agreeability Key
Barry Sonnenfeld began his career as a cinematographer in Hollywood. He was so good he eventually became a major film director. He has directed several highly popular films, including the Addams Family, and the Men In Black movies. He is known for his expertise with cameras and lighting but is best with people. He is […]
The Flames Will Not Hurt You
As I am writing this, this week is the five-year anniversary of our life-changing house fire. The flames took our home (we had lived there since 1988) on May 20, 2020. Amy and I were in the back yard when we heard the approach of fire trucks. Our son Jonathan, home from Law School, was […]
Obey God Early
Recently I recovered a picture I had not seen in decades. In the photo, I am standing next to a young man I worked with in college (I’m the one on the left). I am nineteen. Ed and I (along with Terry and Harold) were selected by Asbury College to spend the summer conducting Youth […]
Get Help
What do Rudolph, Ole and James have in common? All three were exceptional inventors who lacked basic business sense. They were brilliant but refused to ask for help. Rudolph was fascinated by the emerging automobile industry and experimented until he created the best engine of his time. His engine performed better and lasted longer but […]
Constant Improvement
Arthur was reared in a devout Christian family that believed in hard work. Arthur knew he wanted to build a successful business. He decided to pick one thing and constantly improve it until it was the best. Only then would he sell his product. While working for a railroad, he first saved money. Then he […]
Keep Trying
When he was nine years old, he and his family walked to the neighboring state of West Virginia in search of financial opportunity. He was smart and hungry for an education and after a long day working in the coal mines, he attended school at night. When he was sixteen, he travelled to Hampton, Virginia […]
Running Over Obstacles
Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.” This especially applies to a young child with polio, the 20th of 22 children from her father’s two marriages. She had both pneumonia and scarlet fever as a child and contracted polio when she was five. She recovered […]