Mysteries

On January 20, 1987, Unsolved Mysteries began a run that lasted for 602 episodes. Hosted by Raymond Burr, Karl Madden, and Robert Stack, the show unearthed some of the great mysteries that had never been solved. Everyone loves a good mystery. Mystery books are the second most popular genre of books sold each year. Over…

Why We Lie

Paul Ekman is a well-known psychologist and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2009. Ekman has spent over 50 years studying the habits of men and women. As a result, he has produced a list of the reasons that people lie. Interestingly, Dr. Ekman concludes…

Home Field Advantage

In baseball, teams play 162 games to see who can get the best record and that which comes with it – home-field advantage. In football, playing at home is worth about three points in the odds. In the NBA, the home team wins 63 percent of the time. In the NFL, it is 58 percent.…

Toy Story Lesson

The question is not whether you will fail, but when you will fail. And what you do next. Andrew Stanton, the director behind Toy Story, offered wise counsel: “Fail early and fail fast. Be wrong as fast as you can.” In other words, learn from your mistakes. Let your failures instruct your future, and move…

Napoleon’s Sad Ending

Finishing strong is epic. Ever heard of a fellow named Napoleon Bonaparte? One of the greatest military minds and conquerors in history, Napoleon died on this date 203 years ago. Things didn’t end as he would have hoped. After expanding the French empire across Europe, he began to experience military setbacks in 1812 and suffered…

Pain for Blessing

Your pain is the price you must pay for someone else’s blessing. Rick Warren writes, “In every area of your life where you’ve had pain, you have a testimony.” It is your suffering, not your success, that gives you credibility. No one turns to your God because you handled your great days well. They turn…

50-1 Longshot

In the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby, in 2009, jockey Calvin Borel rode Mine That Bird to a most unexpected victory. A 50-1 long shot, the horse was running dead last until the final turn. No race was ever won before the final turn. You may not be winning right now, but the outcome…

Psychic

Jay Leno asked that probing question that has kept so many of us up at night. “How come you never see a headline that reads, ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’”? That’s a great question. I mean, if I were a psychic, I promise you, I’d buy every winning lotto ticket I could. It wouldn’t even be gambling,…

Prefrontal Cortex

Why do addicts become addicts? What happens on a physiological level? Substances and behaviors of abuse act directly on the reward center of the brain to deliver their high. This involves the speedy and intense release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Addictive behaviors become a shortcut to reward, which, over time, can have a high cost…

Recovery Rules

Last year, I wrote my favorite book to date, Recovery Rules. I unpack 100 truisms of recovery. Let me give you a few of the rules here. Pick one that you like and live by it today. The Bible says we are to sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). I pray these…