Tag: life lessons

  • Breneโ€™ Browns Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto

    Breneโ€™ Browns Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto

    I just finished reading Daring Greatly and I wanted to share the link to Brene’ Brown’s Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto. I was blown away by her final words on the subject that both summed this section up so well and were incredibly convicting personally as well. Who we are and how we engage with the world…

  • Pepop: A Decorated Veteran of the Game of Life | Four For Soaring

    Pepop: A Decorated Veteran of the Game of Life | Four For Soaring

    Some months ago I wrote a story about my grandfather and how he taught me how to be full of CHIT: Curious | Humble | Intentional | Teachable. Today, I want to talk about this World War II veteran and how he has lived a life as a gritty hero, not just of World War…

  • The โ€œColonelโ€ Of Truth and our bias in the war against him.

    The โ€œColonelโ€ Of Truth and our bias in the war against him.

    Why do I write this blog? What is this whole #four4soaring thing about anyway? As I ponder this question I am assaulted by what Steven Furtick calls the Chatterbox in my own head: You are writing this blog out of ego. You want to be liked. You crave attention. You don’t really care about anyone…

  • An open hand

    An open hand

    Read the full Story on Medium โ€œJohn, when your hand is open you can give things away and at the same time make room for more.โ€

  • Thankful ain’t what YOU think

    Thankful ain’t what YOU think

    I used to dream of the ability to shower people with gifts that I thought would thank them properly and adequately. I used to pine tirelessly to imagine a way of thanking my bride for all she did to lift me up with “a big house” to quote Elton’s poet, Taupin: “where we both could…

  • Pepop: A Decorated Veteran of the Game of Life

    Pepop: A Decorated Veteran of the Game of Life

    Some months ago I wrote a story about my grandfather and how he taught me how to be full of CHIT: Curious | Humble | Intentional | Teachable. Today, I want to talk about this World War II veteran and how he has lived a life as a gritty hero, not just of World War…

  • Once Upon a Time, There Were Three Little Girls…and I was their Bosley

    Once Upon a Time, There Were Three Little Girls…and I was their Bosley

    Our childhood wasn’t all Charlie’s Angels and Bosley to be sure! We rallied around each other when times were tough.ย  I call them my war buddies because we’ve seen and been through some scary stuff together….I can see when someone has the potential to grow from obscurity to the highest heights…ย  My sisters are such…

  • Summer Melt and Mentorship

    Summer Melt and Mentorship

    I had the right people around me at the right times to avoid the “summer melt.”ย  Summer melt is a term that refers to a phenomenon where every year, many students who have overcome daunting obstacles in high school receive good news โ€” they’ve been accepted to college, and often they have been awarded enough…

  • What my grandfather taught me about being full of C.H.I.T.

    What my grandfather taught me about being full of C.H.I.T.

    There is a hilarious image I have in mind of a cartoonish, slightly more balding version of me, giving myself a Homer Simpson slap on the forehead and exclaiming “DOH!” as I think back on just how many things I got wrong as I was growing up.ย  For instance….

  • Moms and Teachers: Every Kid Needs A Champion, Thankful For You and Those Like You

    Moms and Teachers: Every Kid Needs A Champion, Thankful For You and Those Like You

    Moms.ย  They are our champions.ย  Whether it is your actual Mom or someone who simply pulls you into their circle and treats you like their child, like the best teachers do, they are fiercely and ferociously for us.ย  They provide us with the unfathomable, unconditional love that we typically only receive from one Other Place,…