Day one in Encinitas, California. I have lived in Minnesota my entire life and have never missed a Minnesota winter. Check that one off the list.
My plan was to return to Minnesota in five months. Yeah, that might not happen. I think I’ve discovered paradise!
I just got back from walking around downtown Encinitas in the (more…)
In early 2001, I received an assignment from Minnesota Monthly magazine: Interview famous people and ask what they like about Minnesota. It was a fun story to work on! Here is my audio interview with Patrick Stewart and the resulting story that was printed in the May 2001 issue.
Click on the audio player below to listen to my six-minute interview with Patrick (more…)
In early 2001, I received an assignment from Minnesota Monthly magazine: Interview famous people and ask what they like about Minnesota. It was a fun story to work on! Here is my audio interview with Tommy Smothers and the resulting story that was printed in the May 2001 issue.
Click on the audio player below to listen to my six-minute interview with Tommy (more…)
Doc Severinsen
In early 2001, I received an assignment from Minnesota Monthly magazine: Interview famous people and ask what they like about Minnesota. It was a fun story to work on! Here is my audio interview with Doc Severinsen, the longtime band leader for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, and the resulting story that was printed in the May 2001 issue.
Click on the audio player below to listen to my ten-minute interview with Doc (more…)
Singer Al Jarreau
In early 2001, I received an assignment from Minnesota Monthly magazine: Interview famous people and ask what they like about Minnesota. It was a fun story to work on! Here is my audio interview with five-time Grammy winner Al Jarreau and the resulting story that was printed in the May 2001 issue. Al knew Minnesota well, referencing everything from Minnesota’s industrial base to the finer points of state culture.
Click on the audio player below to listen to my fourteen-minute interview with Al (more…)
Sportscaster Bob Costas
In early 2001, I received an assignment from Minnesota Monthly magazine: Interview famous people and ask what they like about Minnesota. It was a fun story to work on! Here is my audio interview with Bob Costas and the resulting story that was printed in the May 2001 issue. The interview went very well, other than him calling me Bill instead of Phil!
Click on the audio player below to listen to my four-minute interview with Bob (more…)
I was thrilled to find this Memory Book, a treasure trove of important family history
During the course of putting my things in storage at my mom’s house before my impending move to California, I discovered a black, lace-bound “Memory Book” high atop a shelf. To my surprise and delight, it was a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, photos, letters and sundry items having to do with the history of my father’s family. It was a great find; with my dad gone, my mom, sister and I have only a sketchy idea of names, dates and events from our family’s past. It’s comforting to know that we have loads of family records in files that I hope to go through in the near future.
On the first page of the Memory Book was a death notice of a twenty-three-year old woman that clarified a question I had asked my mom just a week ago. The woman’s name was (more…)
Jess snapped this photo of Jon Bon Jovi from her front-row seat on April 7, 2010 “right before he took my hand and smiled at me.”
Back in 1989, I took my niece, Jessica, to her first Bon Jovi concert. It was not her last. Twenty-one years later, on April 7, 2010, she attended her twenty-eighth Jon Bon concert. The next night she made it twenty-nine. Thankfully, her husband, Bob, is not a jealous man!
Here is an article I wrote back in 1989 for a Minneapolis newspaper about getting tickets for Jess’ big, big day:
I am a 31-year-old suburbanite. I have a respectable job and a wonderful family. So why the hell was I standing outside with 400 teenagers in sub-zero temperatures at 7:30 in the morning a month ago Saturday?
To save the life (more…)
Are you one of the many people who wished you had more money and a life of abundance, yet feel selfish or unworthy asking for such blessings? In an earlier post I wrote on accepting the gift of financial abundance, I pointed out that limiting yourself financially may be limiting the amount of good you can do in the world.
Therein lies the key to hurdling the obstacles that are blocking your success: a commitment to service. Whatever or whomever you choose to serve, using your good fortune to serve a higher good takes your ego out of the equation and clears the way for you to welcome true abundance into your life.
Here’s what I mean. Repeat the following affirmation three times:
I gladly accept all (more…)
In her book, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron wrote:
I have a friend dying of AIDS. Before I was leaving for a trip, we were talking. He said, “I didn’t want this, and I hated this, and I was terrified of this. But it turns out that this illness has been my greatest gift.” He said, “Now every moment is so precious to me. All the people in my life are so precious to me. My whole life means so much to me.” Something had really changed, and he felt ready for his death. Something that was horrifying and scary had turned into a gift.
I have heard this story in so many different forms over and over again. Heidi von Beltz, a former championship (more…)
The Momma and me
The other day, as I was going out the door, I stopped for a moment and smiled at my mom, who was standing in the kitchen. She gave me a big smile back. I said, “I’m glad that you’re my momma!” She said, “I’m glad that you’re my kid! And I gave her a big hug.
Have I mentioned that my mom is (more…)
Pema Chodron
In her book, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron tells this story about Buddhist meditation master Trungpa Rinpoche:
He told a story about traveling with his attendants to a monastery he’d never seen before. As they neared the gates, he saw a large guard dog with huge teeth and red eyes. It was growling ferociously and struggling to get free from the chain that held it. The dog seemed desperate to attack them. As Rinpoche got closer, he could see its bluish tongue and spittle spraying from its mouth. They walked past the dog, keeping their distance, and entered the gate. Suddenly the chain broke and the dog rushed at them. The attendants screamed and froze in terror. Rinpoche turned and ran as (more…)
I leave for California in less than two weeks and my emotions are taking me by surprise. I’m excited but also somewhat sad about moving so far away from my family and friends. I’m also a bit apprehensive; living in Minnesota is all I’ve ever known. Of course, that in itself is reason enough to go; it’s healthy to (more…)
Long before Rhonda Byrne wrote The Secret, Napoleon Hill was talking and writing about the Law of Attraction. Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, learned the art of directing his mind to whatever ends he desired from legendary businessman Andrew Carnegie.
The secret behind The Secret is that (more…)
I was intrigued by Matthieu Ricard‘s Buddhist-flavored thoughts on the art of happiness. Plus, it’s the first time I’ve seen a Buddhist monk quote Ayn Rand! Here is the Q&A article by Justine van der Leun of AOL Health.
Matthieu Ricard
Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard claims you can practice your way to happiness, and he should know: After MRI scans showed that he experienced extreme levels of positive emotions and few negative ones, he became known as “the happiest man in the world.” Trained as a cell biologist in France, Ricard moved to the Himalayas in 1972 to study Buddhism. He’s now a translator, a photographer and the Dalai Lama‘s (more…)
My friend Rachel Bird told a quick story about how the law of attraction is working in her life. In her blog post, she masterfully weaved a wet toilet seat and a Roger Federer jacket into the same story, which can be difficult to do! Here’s how she manifested her desire:
Roger Federer
A few days ago I realized my favorite sweater, a trendy white and gold Baby Phat number, is getting undeniably stained. I thought, “Aw, I’d really like another white sweater.” I haven’t been shopping in months and didn’t have any plans to go. I just put the idea out there and forgot about it.
This was around the same time I’d been thinking, “I really want a Roger Federer jacket, the official kind with his logo.” That’s just ludicrous (more…)
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Triumph of the Spirit 