It has been said that boats are safe in the harbor, but boats weren’t made for the harbor. I love sailing and I recently read a book by Jessica Watson, the 16-year-old Australian who sailed her 34-foot yacht nonstop and single-handedly around the world. Her story is one of amazing preparation and courage. Though I…
DetailsMy Dad had a traditional activity at family reunions he called a “scrambles.” He first gathered all the children in a semi-circle in front of him. In his arms was a huge box filled with candy which he would toss into the screaming crowd while yelling, “Scrambles.” This wild event was always very popular with…
DetailsRonald Reagan warned us to fear the words, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” With congress obsessed over trillion-dollar stimulus packages to “help” struggling Americans, let me share an analogy from college football. Imagine for a moment that the Rose Bowl game will be played this year with 100,000 fans in attendance.…
DetailsIn 1897 the New York Sun responded to young Virginia O’Hanlon’s simple question about Santa Claus. She had heard conflicting opinions on the issue of Santa Claus but her Papa had assured her that she could find the truth by asking the paper because, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ The response to…
DetailsWhen I renew the company airplane insurance, I have to fill out a questionnaire that lists how many hours I have flown in my lifetime, in the prior year, and during the last 90 days. Pilots love to brag about their total hours, with the commercial guys routinely claiming 30,000 or more. That’s an impressive…
DetailsAs a young boy living in beautiful Yorba Linda, California, I felt like I had it all. A treehouse, swimming pool, horses and miles of open land surrounding our property on which to carry out endless childhood adventures. One such adventure was a lemonade stand my brother and I setup one day on the road…
DetailsIt all started with a 12’ tree. We were preparing a special Christmas celebration with our entire family at our Duck Creek cabin. No detail was overlooked as Launa and I stacked our truck with games, presents and a mountain of food. Our meticulous planning left us confident this would be our family’s most memorable…
DetailsMy wife’s grandfather was a brilliant investor. Though limited to a high school education, he taught himself to analyze a stock like few I have known. Whenever we visited, he would call me into his den to discuss the financial markets. Our discussions always involved a fat resource book that he received in the mail…
DetailsI just returned from my annual recurrent training required to maintain my ability to fly. Flying is important to me because it allows me to travel long distances to visit with clients who for many reasons are not able to see me in my office. But more important than visiting my clients is being safe…
DetailsWriting a weekly column for so many years has allowed me to create a pretty good journal of world economic events. With the election only a few days away I re-read my thoughts from the prior presidential election. Just two days before the 2016 contest I finished my article with this line, “It has been…
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