I still recall the time I led with intimidation and... wow, did it backfire!“Bobby, you gotta help us.”“What’s up?” I asked the three scouts who stopped me on the trail to the lake.“It’s Benjy. He pulled a knife on us,” replied one kid.“A really big knife,” added another.“Yeah, big like a sword,” said the third.“What do you mean, he pulled it?” I asked.“He pulled it out of its sheath, and threatened us with it.”“And, he poked it at us, and said he’d cut us.”“And what did you guys do to provoke this?”“Nothing, he’s trying to act tough, but he’s scaring us.”“And, we’re not the only ones, he’s done it to several other kids.”“Why...

I carefully filled the cake cone  from the frozen custard machine, pushing it up at just the right moment to create a perfect ball; then as I shut off the machine, I pulled the cone away with a circular motion to give it the company’s signature curl on top. It was beautiful, and I was proud of the way it looked, knowing that my customer would be happy.As I turned away from the machine, I heard, “What the hell is that?”It was the franchise owner. Baffled, I asked, “What do you mean?”Snatching the cone from my hand, he replied, “This is too much ice cream; they only get six ounces.” (Note: this was not a corporate policy, but his own.)With a large kitchen knife, he cut off...

Are you a succulent Eloi ripening for a Morlock feast?Last weekend, as I was clearing clutter, I found a copy of H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine.As I thumbed through it, I recalled that Wells, in his future world, describes man’s descendants as evolving into two distinct species: the Eloi and the Morlock.The Eloi live in a Garden of Eden like setting where their food and clothing are provided for them by the Morlock. The catch is that the Morlock harvest and eat the Eloi at night. These creatures are Wells’ metaphor for the divisions in English society. I see them as metaphors for the concepts of motivation.If you’re living in the Garden of Eden, you have no motivation to till the...

Over the years, I have beaten myself up over business breakdowns, lost relationships, and countless other failures.I would only look at what I had done wrong and where I was at fault. And, of course, this would only make me feel worse.People would tell me, “Rob, you need to love yourself ”.Wow, that sounded great, but the problem was I didn’t know what that meant. I knew that they didn’t mean that I should be self-absorbed or narcissistic. I also knew it didn’t mean soothing myself with several shots of whiskey.I understood how to love others – at least the feeling that made me want to give attention, caring, respect to someone – but feeling that for myself? I was completely...

Running as fast as I could, I zigzagged across the field. I dodged and ducked, and stayed just out of reach from the grabbing hands.I stumbled and fell, but quickly rolled away from my pursuer and bounced back onto my feet before he could catch me.I charged toward a short stone wall and leapt over it, then I slid down a hill of soft grass to safety.I touched the light pole and cried out, “Home free!” It was the greatest game of tag I ever played.It was a warm Sunday evening after a church dinner.There must have been two dozen kids on the lawn behind the Social Hall.At seven years old, I was one of the younger kids playing.I was completely absorbed in the moment.I was free of any...