Lessons From The Donner Party

The story of the Donner Party, trapped in the Sierra Nevada during one of the worst winters on record (1846), is too well known to require retelling. However, after reading the latest account of their journey by Ethan Rarick, which includes some new research, I realized that the story of the Donner Party’s ordeal contains some […]

Planning or Scamming?

As a long-time financial planner I know how hard it is to do good planning work for individuals and couples.  Such planning requires, among other things, meticulous attention to detail, an effective process to elicit the values behind the numbers and a constant review of assumptions and goals over time to make sure the client […]

Building Character At The Point Of A Gun

Earlier this year I led a small group of twelve and thirteen year olds on a hike to Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park.  This hike has been described as Zion’s equivalent of Yosemite’s Half Dome.  Although far less strenuous than Half Dome the last half mile of the Angel’s Landing hike involves walking and […]

A Meditation On Forgiveness

I upset a very old friend the other day with something I said in an email. When I sent the email I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, but I was mistaken. Re-reading the email I can see exactly why he was upset. I had acted foolishly, rushed the email and used the […]