Posted on October 23, 2014 by Robert Ringer
In Erich Fromm’s 1956 classic The Art of Loving, he provides some unique insights into the subject of faith that have given me a lot to think about. Fromm did not believe faith is in opposition to reason or rational thinking. On the contrary, he simply made a distinction between rational faith and irrational faith. […]
Posted on October 21, 2014 by Robert Ringer
By dictionary definition, joy is “an emotion of great happiness.” I would be tempted to refer to it as ultimate happiness, but there is no accurate way to quantify either happiness or joy. The truth is that none of us can ever be certain of what constitutes ultimate happiness. Whatever it is, joy seems to […]
Posted on October 16, 2014 by Robert Ringer
A friend of mine just returned from a trip Down Under, and I was saddened to hear him tell me that the visible destruction in Christchurch, New Zealand, my one-time home, is still enormous. Christchurch suffered a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in 2011 that killed one hundred eighty-five people and destroyed scores of buildings. This got […]
Posted on October 14, 2014 by Robert Ringer
I never cease to be amazed by the uncertainties of life. Americans have been cruising along for years, enjoying the nonexistent economic recovery, rooting for their favorite thug teams, and piling evermore vacations, cars, and all kinds of frivolous and discretionary goodies onto their credit card balances. But times they are a-changin’ — beheadings in […]
Posted on October 12, 2014 by Lauri Ringer
Years ago, I dined with a surgeon friend who ordered a meal that was a favorite from his childhood. I was curious as I watched him dig into his fat-laden meal. Finally, I had to ask him, “How can you — a medical doctor — eat food that you know is unhealthy for you?” Almost […]
Posted on October 9, 2014 by Robert Ringer
Throughout much of my life, I paid little attention to the miracles that surrounded me. I was too busy thinking about business and money … too busy being annoyed by annoying people … too busy being too busy. I had no time to think about the realworld — the one that actually matters. Nature and […]
Posted on October 7, 2014 by Robert Ringer
Some years ago, while on a nationwide seminar tour, I happened to be staying overnight in Houston. After a particularly tiring, stressful day, I made an appointment for a massage at the health spa in the hotel where I was staying. By the time my appointment rolled around, I was in a pretty gruff mood […]
Posted on October 4, 2014 by Lauri Ringer
When I used to drive my son to school, one particular roadside advertisement always caught my attention. In it, a mother was tending a tray of burnt cookies, with the caption “You don’t have to be Perfect to Be a Perfect Parent.” I often pondered the meaning of the ad and sensed that the message […]
Posted on October 2, 2014 by Robert Ringer
In the Preface to Stephen M.R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust, his father, Stephen R. Covey (of Seven Habits fame), stated: “My interactions with business leaders around the world have made it increasingly evident that ‘speed to market’ is now the ultimate competitive weapon.” Just think about that for a moment — the ultimate […]
Posted on September 30, 2014 by Robert Ringer
It’s amazing how often we automatically assume that someone’s words represent set-in-stone fact. Nothing amazes me more than when someone says, “I know that for a fact,” then, when pressed for his source of information, says that Freddie Fibber told him so. Of course, just because someone tells you something that turns out to be […]
