Our Best Environment

It had been a little over a year since we lost our dog, and our family felt like we needed another 4-legged friend running around our house. My wife was on the hunt for a dog that would work for our kids’ allergies and landed on a great dog rescue organization called Forever Home Dog…

Power of Starting

Working in the retirement industry for 17 years, I’ve noticed there has been nonstop change. Whether it’s legislation like SECURE 2.0 or consolidation of recordkeepers and asset managers through acquisition, there is constant need for adaptation. While the industry remains fluid, one discipline has never wavered – the importance of saving early. When we save…

The Magnet of Comfort

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese proverb One of the most difficult forces we face in our growth journey is the magnet of comfort. Lately I’ve found myself going through the motions a little too often in a couple areas of my life. Once I feel the…

Win the Inner Game

One of my favorite commercials I’ve run across recently is one from Red Bull with monks in a sand garden. It’s the subtle genius of it. The commercial shows a young monk raking an area of sand in circles. He started from the outside and worked his way in close to the center only to…

Keeping Promises to Ourselves

This past Friday school started back up for the kids. With that comes busy days trying to get them to school, typical busy work schedule, after school activities, sports, maybe even a family dinner if we are lucky. As schedules start to get a little crazier, sometimes my wife and I reflect and joke on…

Making Our Teammates Better

With school soon upon us our family took an adventure out to the city of Boston. As we explored the Freedom Trail it seemed there was a historically significant monument or site around every corner. The rich history of where so much of the U.S. was first fought for and shaped. While I appreciated the…

High Expectations

This past weekend the USA men’s and women’s teams rose to expectations and stood atop the medal stand with gold shining bright. To many that follow international basketball, the heavy favorites were both the star-studded USA women’s team with the best of the WNBA along with the iconic roster of NBA greats on the USA…

Developing our Emotional Intelligence

In the middle of summer, the last thing my family is thinking about is finding access to coats for the cold Midwest winter ahead. That’s because we’re a family fortunate enough to be able to afford coats, gloves, hats, and everything else we need for the blister cold days. This past Saturday was a good…

Overcoaching

One of my favorite parts of the warm weather is heading to the local playground with my son to play basketball. Whether it’s a game of knockout, H-O-R-S-E, or 1 on 1, my kid comes ready to beat up on dad. While this is technically off season, I’ve found I occasionally slip into coach mode…

Watching Miracle

I love summer Olympic time. It’s story after story of amazing athletes and their perseverance, dedication, and ridiculous work ethic.  The other night our family was in the mood for a movie night. My wife had a great suggestion – Miracle. What better way to get in the Olympic mood then reliving one of the greatest U.S.…