My wife Janis is a terrific cook. In fact, she has written four cookbooks that have been sold in stores and gift shops all across the nation. Almost every week I see her with her finger on a page in one of them, selecting ingredients for a dessert or some other dish that is sure to please. We eat most of our meals at home, but because of our busy schedule we also eat out two or three times each week. Our favorite place to go here in our community…

Over the past two-plus decades since I started writing this column, and as time has passed, I have had the opportunity to think a lot about what I really believe and what is important to me. From the very beginning, and is still true today, my purpose has been to share useful information and ideas that are positive and encouraging that will bring glory to God and help you achieve greater success. When I make a decision to share something with you here, my first consideration is: Is it right…

Sometime back I read a statement that has had a tremendous impact on my thinking. The statement goes, “Be kind to unkind people, as they probably need it the most.” If you will think about this for a moment, I believe you will agree that we can’t be kind to unkind people if we are not organized, live a balanced life and are at peace with ourselves. This statement, contained in a wonderful article sent to me by a friend, was only a small part of a larger group of…

When it comes to doing business in these highly competitive times, every once in a while I hear something that just floors me. I was talking with a lady the other day who told me about a recent shopping trip to a major department store. She said when she got ready to check out at the register, she was the only one there at the time, and two female clerks were engaged in conversation. She went on to say, “I stood there for over a minute and neither clerk offered…

The famous news anchor, Walter Cronkite (1916-2009), had a famous sign-off saying that went, “And that’s the way it is: these are the events that tend to alter and illuminate our times, and you were there.” The reason I share this is because there was another event where famous people were involved, and I was there. I am talking about a recent concert at our church, where Janis and I were blessed to be in attendance. We had the famous Blackwood Brothers Quartet perform for us, and it was such…

It’s been said that if we want to know a lot about a person’s character, just watch how he or she acts. But I’m here to tell you, if we really want to know about their character, watch how they react, because this is the real test. In these days of shades and pastels, it’s the best way on earth for us to see a person’s true colors. Sometime ago, I ran across a terrific article that was printed in the Readers Digest way back in 1960 titled “Do You…

There is a little six-letter word in the English language that has far more impact on people’s lives than most of us ever realize. The word is “mentor” and means “a wise and trusted teacher or guide.” This truth was brought home to me some time ago when my good friend Coach Dale Brown sent me some excerpts from a book by Joey Green titled, “Famous Failures.” Coach Brown and I have a wonderful relationship because we have a common bond: we both want to encourage others to be the…

While it is much too late to tell him in person, I am thankful and truly indebted to the late Dale Carnegie. This “icon” of the public speaking profession passed away back in 1955 in Queens, New York, but while he was here on earth for 66 years, he made a difference in the lives of thousands and thousands of people who took his famous Dale Carnegie Course. Born into poverty in 1888 in Maryville, Missouri, he overcame an unbelievably harsh childhood and early life to discover that success comes…

Our local CBS television affiliate station in Little Rock has a terrific theme. It’s called “We are better together.” Each time I watch this I am truly inspired, especially when my friend Craig O’Neill has the closing line and employs that tremendously expressive face of his to end the jingle with the words “we are better together.” As I thought about this, I realized that this is not only a “theme” but also a principle that any of us can use to make things better in our homes, our businesses,…

A few days ago one of my friends in another state sent me something titled, “It Can’t Be My Boy.” For many people, this contains a very sobering message. Since I started writing this column, I have learned that you can be “sobered up” without having ever been drunk. Unfortunately, too many people are “sobered up” by something that happens to a loved one that has far greater consequences than simply having too much to drink.             As I have gotten older, from time to time I look back over…