Kids these days have it easy — Uncensored Death and Pain One time when I was about five years old, my mother saw me picking at my belly button. She got out an ointment, rubbed it where it was red, and said, “If you keep picking at it you’ll go to the hospital and die.” No other explanation. That’s just how…

Let your pride take a fall early so you’ll accomplish your goals this year — I’m guessing that most of you are on Day Two of your New Year’s resolutions if it’s still Wednesday where you’re at. January 1st fell on a Sunday this year, and I’m positive most people don’t like starting their resolutions on the weekend. …

My mother isn’t smiling in my childhood recollections of her. If she is, her eyes don’t agree. I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m dishonoring her, but I’m 99% sure she had a bad case of post-partum depression that was never treated. Moreover, her overall emo rubbed off on me…

And thank God I’m not dead yet! — Buried deep in a drawer, I found an envelope that said: “2006 Will” with my name on it. (Of course, these kinds of things would surface when you’re not looking for them.) Judging from the year on the envelope, I’m sure it was written because I would soon be heading…

We tend to explain our decades with as few words as possible — Cancer is a hellish beast. It took my mom’s life and stole whatever life we could have continued to create together. So if I stop to think about it, it amazes me that I can bring up the topic of her death mid-conversation and then move on as if nothing…

What do seasoned winners say about what it takes to succeed at anything in life? — “Describe winning.” It’s an open-ended prompt, but I imagine most people would describe winning as gold medals, “Mom, we made it” speeches, getting the car, the girl, or a whole gamut of feelings that border on exhilaration. The type of talk that inspires you on its own. But how do…

Keep your eye on these companies as they are less impacted by the current supply chain crisis — The buzz phrase as we head into the holiday gift shopping season is “supply chain issues.” Supply chain = manufacturing + transportation + logistics that get goods from production to the end consumer It’s not like supply chain issues weren’t already bad. …

You can call them “MUP” or “GOAT” — whatever the label, they’re a sight for sore eyes — Clickbait headlines. I love to hate them but can’t live without them if I want to survive as a writer. After all, it’s how I wrote the headline that ultimately got you here. Yet I still have boundaries when it comes down to it. …

Their proof is not in the pie — Domino’s started like any other aspiring small business. In 1960, Tom Monaghan and his brother bought a small pizzeria that was closing down in their home state of Michigan. And like most fledgling businesses it fell on hard times early on. …