Thought for the Day

A goal once achieved no longer motivates.

Resolve to Not Resolve

Last month I commissioned an extensive (and statistically valid) survey to study people’s relationship to goals and New Year’s Resolutions. It was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation. The results just arrived in my mailbox today. There are pages and pages of statistics — some of which I will post here in the future. One interesting […]

A Fishy Tale

Here is a fishy tale that humorously illustrates why goal-chasing can stop you from enjoying the life you want…now. An American businessman was at a pier in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican […]

Quote from Marshall Field

“One of the secrets of not having a nervous breakdown is not having goals.” — Marshall Field, founder of the large Chicago department store chain

Quote from Bernando Bertolucci

“My only goal is to have no goals. The goal, every time, is that film, that very moment.” — Academy Award-winning director Bernando Bertolucci (“The Last Emperor,” “Last Tango in Paris”)

The Voice of Tigger Dies

I was saddened to learn that Paul Winchell passed away June 26th. He is best known as the voice of Tigger on the Winnie the Pooh cartoons. For over six decades, he was a master ventriloquist, brining dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff to life on television. He was also an inventor who held 30 […]

Email from Visitor

I received the following email from a visitor to the website… “I took a Goal Setting course in 1989. I reached one financial goal. Did not reach the others. Since 1989 life often interfered with my goal setting. Many of the twist and turns were painful, however I learned many lessons and because of those […]

Create Many Paths

I am putting the finishing touches on the manuscript for Goal-Free Living. During the editing process, a lot of material has been left on the cutting room floor. From time to time, I will post some of these materials, starting with this one here. This piece talks about my cross-country trip, and a relatively long […]

Embrace Your Limits

A little more than a week ago, I was giving a friend a piggy-back ride. I lost my balance and fell forward on the sidewalk – with the weight of my friend falling on my head. Rather than my hands breaking my fall, my nose broke my fall…and my nose broke in the process. I […]

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers, recently gave a commencement speech at Stanford University. It is the story of his life. He describes why dropping out of college led to the design of the computer interface as we know it today. Why getting fired by Apple the first time led to the creation of Pixar […]