In the 1950s, the late Earl Nightingale wrote an inspirational recording called “The Strangest Secret” that sold a million copies. And what is the strangest secret you say? Well, the strangest secret is that we become what we think about. A man is what he thinks about all day long, and if he thinks about nothing, he becomes nothing. Now, that is simple, but it is nevertheless true. If the number of gold medals in the Olympics is any indication of what most Americans are thinking about, it becomes obvious…

To be sure, what I want to share with you today is not on the lips of every American citizen. However, from time to time we need to revisit our roots, as this gives us perspective into what is taking place in America today. No doubt you have heard the name Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was a 19th century educationist and poet who penned some of the most memorable poems in the history of American literature. Other than being a poet of great repute, Longfellow was also a professor at…

In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin wrote a book titled “Poor Richard’s Almanac” that was credited with being the only book that was in every American home. Of course, today we have many thousands of times more homes than there were back then, and I feel my book “Your Future Begins Today,” deserves to be in most of them. After you read what I have to share in this column, I believe you will agree with me that there is no other book like it in the world. I did…

It’s time once again to look at another state in our great nation. Hope you are enjoying and benefiting from this series, as I only do one state each quarter. Our state today is California, and as far back as I can remember this state has been known as a trendsetter state. When I was growing up back in the 1950s, we knew that when something new came along, it was just a matter of time until it would sweep all across the nation and there would not be one…

There is a natural law that controls everything in the universe, and it is called the law of cause and effect. While most people do not know fully about this great law, the law we do know about is the law of gravity. We know that if we get on top of a building and fall off, we will always go down, we will never go up. The thing that is important for every person to understand is that natural laws always work, without exception, and they literally control our…

My wife Janis is a very wise and discerning person. She said something the other day that I believe merits sharing with you, because there is a real lesson here for each of us. We were talking about a member of her extended family that I had never met, and she had not seen in years. This person I am talking about has or had a very cantankerous nature and had a way of doing things or saying things that rubbed you wrong, regardless of how hard you tried to…

As the old saying goes, “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” I have no complaints, as the Lord has blessed me with excellent health. When I was much younger, I had a couple of triple bypass surgeries because of my eating habits -- greasy steaks on the grill will do it every time. But other than that, my insurance companies have made money on me. Now, here at age 85, the problem with my teeth has caught…

With all the bad news we get each day, how about some great news for a change? Back in 2018, I told you about a remarkable young man by the name of JoVoni Johnson. At the time he was a 10th-grade student from a single-parent home who had received one of our personalized bookcases in 2005, the very first year we started our project. His grades were so good in 10th grade that he was already getting scholarship offers from colleges around the country. He came and spoke to us…

It has been said that a small town is where everyone knows what everyone else is doing, and then you read the weekly paper to see if you have been caught in it. Shortly after Janis and I began to see each other back in 2015, we had lunch together at Mather Lodge Restaurant, located on top of Petit Jean Mountain. This restaurant is out of the way and more than 50 miles from home. Wouldn’t you know it, an old friend we both knew came by our table and…

In my 85-plus years I have never seen the massive amount of violence and bloodshed that we have in our nation today. As I write this column there have been more than 200 mass shootings so far this year, and it’s not even half over. To be sure, a lot of people are working on a solution, and most will require massive amounts of money. I have an idea that I would like to share with you and invite you to think about it. If you agree, work with me…