If you have a heart for children, you will really appreciate what I want to share with you today. We all know there are thousands, perhaps millions, of children across our nation who have a rough road to travel. Many are abused and neglected, which to me is a very sad story. I have a friend, and fellow church member, who is making a difference for at least some of these children. Back on August 1, 2007, Andrew Watson and his wife, Marla, officially opened the doors of Soaring Wings…

You know, from time to time life has a way of bringing you back to reality. A few weeks ago, I was invited to submit a copy of my latest book “Your Future Begins Today” to go in a time capsule that will be dug up in 150 years, which will be 2173. This took place as part of the celebration for our county’s 150-year celebration on April 12, 2023. While certainly I won’t be around in 2173, it makes you curious who will be. Will we still be a…

Back in the days when I was selling Earl Nightingale’s attitude motivation programs for a living, I was often invited to come to various companies and teach their people how to be more effective in planning their days and increasing their sales. It did not take me long to realize that one-time motivational talks do serve a useful purpose, but unfortunately, they also wear off very quickly. This is kind of like taking a bath once a month, and we know how that will turn out.             On the other…

In 1875 the sleepy little community of Conway, Arkansas, with a population of around 200, was incorporated. In 1990 the population was 37,586, and in 2020 it was 64,134, almost doubling the population in 30 years. Today I just shake my head as I drive around our community and see the massive amount of construction that is taking place. It seems like everyone, and his brother, is moving to Conway. Why is this taking place? If I had to reduce it down to one word that word would be “Education.”…

As I have traveled around the country for the past 50 years, there is one thing I have truly come to appreciate. We have one fantastic country, with each state having one or more unique features or distinctive things about it. Our state today is the great state of Arizona. It is known as the “Grand Canyon” state, because one of the seven natural wonders of the world is in the Northwestern part of this state. The Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, and the Petrified Forest attract millions of people each…

When I think about the unbridled violence problem we have in our country, I think the American people are getting a bad deal. The term “unbridled” is a wild horse term like the large herds of wild horses in the West that are free to run as fast and as far as they want to without a bridle or bit in their mouth to control them. This is what I see on the screen or television set when I see violence. The sky is the limit, they can have as…

In 1980, thanks to the inspiration of the late Earl Nightingale’s radio program titled “Our Changing World,” I began my own five-day-a-week daily program titled “How to Plan Your Life.” This title came about because in the past decade I had conducted more than 50 six-hour seminars with high school students. I called these seminars “How to Plan Your Life,” as we focused on career planning and how to succeed in today’s modern world. This was a commercially sponsored program and I helped stations find a sponsor to pay for…

Several years ago, there was an article in the Rotarian by Grayson Kirk titled “The Four Marks of an Educated Person.” It is my privilege today to pass along Mr. Kirk’s article to see if you agree with him. After reading this article I personally agree with him, but I also know that we need a great deal of common sense, which in many cases is sadly lacking. Now to the article:             No. 1 “The educated person speaks and writes clearly and precisely, no matter how much information he…

As a nationally syndicated columnist, I am always on the lookout for good ideas, those I feel will be of interest and helpful to you as one of my readers. From my perspective, there is no one in the world more important than you are. These ideas come along sometimes in the most unorthodox ways. The other day my wife and I were having dinner at a great barbecue restaurant here in Conway called Whole Hog Café. This little restaurant sits alongside Interstate 40, one of the most traveled interstates…

The other day I had a great suggestion from my friend, former County Judge Jim Baker, who said, “We should not eliminate our incentives.” What he was saying is that we should always have something out in front of us that inspires and motivates us. He was so right, and I felt it would be worthwhile to expand on this idea for you and my other readers, because it has a lot of great benefits. The word “incentive” means, “that which incites, or tends to incite to action, motivating force.”…