For almost two weeks that stretched from late October into November, my wife and I drove through the heartlands of America. We packed our SUV full of household items for delivery to family members along our route. The trip was scheduled before winter weather arrived. Although we journeyed during the …
Elon
In my last blog, I wrote that wealth is relative. However, when it comes to the super wealthy —the billionaires — I believe that most will agree that these few individuals are wealthy and they are spotlighted in the media, whether they like it or not. Money attracts attention. Family and friends …
Wealth
Wealth is relative. When I was in high school, I worked in a grocery store and mowed lawns to earn income. Most of my high school friends did not work, so based on my earnings, I was wealthier than my friends. Yet, by outward appearances, I was not wealthy. Most of my friends drove more expensive …
Office Romances
I worked for a small domestic energy company early in my career and managed reservoir engineering. Three employees worked for me: two female administrators and one reservoir technician. Once a week, we had a team meeting in my office. The group worked well together, and we discussed our team goals …
Office Life
In the early 2000s, I worked on a project team that integrated US energy trading, based in Houston, into global energy trading, based in London. One of my tasks was to redesign the US trading office so that US energy trading worked together in one building. It was decided to relocate US hydrocarbon …
Bragging
When I was growing up, my parents would say, “no one likes a showoff.” The phrase, bragging rights, was not exclaimed before or after a competition as it was considered bad manners to brag. Winners usually said kind words of praise and encouragement to the losing side. If someone danced or …
Stamina
One of my God-given gifts is stamina. I have the ability and discipline to expend energy over long periods of time. The dictionary defines stamina as the bodily or mental capacity to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity. Another definition of stamina is the moral or emotional strength to …
Tocqueville (Religion as a Counterbalance to Individualism)
I try not to write about politics. America is polarized, and I would prefer to concentrate on our common values rather than divisions. I seek unity rather than separation. The reason I chose this Tocqueville series was its relevance to our post-modern world. Individualism, taken to extremes, can …
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Tocqueville (Individualism in Democratic Countries)
I held leadership positions when I was employed and upon retirement, held leadership nonprofit positions. One of the main leadership attributes that I tried to exhibit was not using the singular pronoun “I” when discussing the work performed by the team I led. I wanted to uplift the contributions of …
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Tocqueville (Religion in America – Part II)
I discussed Alexis de Tocqueville’s (1805–1859) writings concerning religion’s influence on American democracy in my last blog (Part I). He believed that religion maintains democracy by preventing laws that diminish democracy and placing moral boundaries on the nation. “Tyranny may be able to do …