Success can feel hallow and empty if our lives are not balanced, filled with love, grounded in the present, and a deeper sense of personal purpose. In fact, chasing success (wealth, beautiful home, building a business, community status, power, etc.) are all outer symbols and expressions of a desired inner experience. It is the inner experience we really want—to feel peace, pleasure, aliveness, joy, love; to find meaning; to sense that our lives are full, and that we’ve somehow made a difference.

Fulfillment versus success–which is more important? I have thought about and studied these two concepts for many years. Although interrelated, they are distinct. Each is important and understanding the difference can help us find balance in the journey of life. So I want to share with you the following passage from my book, The Hero’s […]

Most people want to go to heaven, they just don’t want to die to get there.  I chuckle every time I hear this phrase. We want the rewards that come from big goals but fear the price. This is true in so many areas of life. For example, I may want: to be lean and […]

Stood Up A number of weeks ago my wife and I arranged a meeting with the president of the local religious congregation we are serving. We were to meet at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon to plan some upcoming meetings with his presidency and other leaders of the congregation. My wife and I arrived at […]

I ran a cross-country race sponsored by the US Track and Field Association a few weeks back. The weather was wet and drizzly and much of the course was a muddy mess from the rains of the past several days. Like all runners my feet were slipping and sliding. I was taking short steps and […]

For years people assumed that IQ was more predictive of life and occupational success than any other variable. After all, doesn’t it stand to reason that the smartest people will outperform others most of the time? It’s logical, but not true. In fact, recent research has found that people of average IQ will outperform those […]

I studied developmental psychology in graduate school. In fact, it was the topic of my doctoral dissertation. So I’m aware of many theories related to the stages of childhood, moral, cognitive, and ego development. In this article, I want to present my own theory of four stages of emotional maturation in adults. Four States of […]

Abundance and Prosperity: What Made You . . . You? If you ask someone who is, say, less than 25 years old to name the most defining moment of American history, they’re likely to say 9/11. “Why,” you might ask. “What made that the most defining moment?” “When the terrorists took over those planes, it […]

One of my core beliefs  is that people want to succeed. Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking, “Today I’m going to see how many ways I can fail… or make my life miserable.” The desire to succeed is innate in each of us. The question is, what is success? Society has taught us that […]

“He who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet Arthur Brookes, an economist and professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Syracuse, works with successful entrepreneurs. In an article entitled The Privilege of Giving (Marriott Alumni Magazine, Winter 2008), Dr. […]