That great theologian Lucy, of Peanuts fame, once mused, “I can change the world; it’s me I have trouble with.” I can relate. Fixing everyone else is far easier than fixing myself. Francis of Assisi said it well: “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming…
A hundred years ago, only seven percent of Americans brushed their teeth. In 1929, a company called Pepsodent set out to change that. Within a few years, more than half of all Americans had become daily brushers. The company’s strategy was not to invent a substance that would clean teeth – that was the easy…
A scientist did a study on frogs. He told a frog, “Jump!” And the frog jumped four feet in the air. The scientist wrote in his journal, “Frog with four feet can jump four feet in the air.” The scientist cut off one of the frog’s legs and said, “Jump!” The frog jumped three feet…
A pastor, priest, and rabbi debated the subject of when life begins. The priest said, “Life begins at conception.” The rabbi argued, “Life begins at birth.” They waited for the pastor’s response. After much thought, he said, “I have five kids. For me, life began when the last of them finally left home.” When our…
Several visitors to the Chicago Museum of Natural History marveled at the site of the dinosaur bones. “How old are those bones?” they asked one of the workers. “This particular dinosaur is three million, seven years, three months, and five days old,” said the worker. The visitors were impressed with the specificity of the man’s…
On this date in 1770, Daniel Lambert was born. He was a slim, athletic boy. But at the age of 21, Daniel’s vice became known. He was addicted to unhealthy foods. Out of control, Daniel would balloon up to 705 pounds, making him the heaviest person who ever lived. He died in 1809, at the…
A college freshman was struggling to keep up with his classwork assignments. When his parents came to visit him, they asked him what the problem was. He said, “The guys in the apartment above me keep their TV up too loud. I can’t concentrate.” His parents asked, “What do you do when they get too…
In the 1980s, I used to go to large water parks for fun. There was a huge water park in Dallas called Wet ‘N Wild, which was one of the largest such parks at the time. One day, as I was walking around with some friends, we saw several other guys at the park who…
I’m typing this from 30,000 feet, on a flight from Baltimore to Minneapolis. It is 9:15 p.m. and I just noticed something amazing. The plane is almost full, but from my seat in the back I can see that not a single reading light is on in front of me. That means that about 120…
I have known and worked with hundreds of sex addicts. And each one shares the same thing in common – a desire to get well. The problem is a disconnect between our will and an actual plan to make it happen. Benjamin Franklin was determined to avoid that trap. Ben identified 13 virtues that he…