Great business ideas can come from anywhere—frustration and frugality, for instance. One such story began in a tiny monastery in the countryside of western Wisconsin.
Father Bernard, one of five Cistercian monks living in at the monastery, was perplexed by …
While Bill Bryson was toiling away at a London newspaper, he was dreaming about being a freelance writer. With a wife and family to support, this seemed a risky and selfish dream. So he continued to drag himself to a …
Two years ago, I took a little poll asking people what they thought was the best thing about being Joyfully Jobless. Overwhelmingly, the most popular answer (about 85%) given was ”Freedom.” That’s a word that has long been near and dear …
The way to change your life, Elizabeth Gilbert told Oprah, is to, “Get a new mantra.” She wasn’t talking about mantras in the spiritual sense, but as a personal motto or phrase that inspires you or expresses something you believe …
On Friday morning, Pat Egan sent out an SOS on Twitter which read, “Does anyone know a good dog trainer in the Boulder, CO area?” A couple of hours later, it hit me that I did, indeed, know such a …
Should I ever wake up some morning and think, “I guess it’s time to get a job,” I know exactly how I’ll abort that thought. I’ll just get in my car and head for the nearest freeway. A few minutes …
Some people go all fuzzy at the sight of a new puppy. My daughter the doula feels that way about babies. And I get all shivery over startup businesses. Seeing a baby idea come to life makes me want to …
Three hours after the opening of Compelling Storytelling last June, Sandy Dempsey decided she had made a terrible mistake in coming. During the lunch break, she ran into co-presenter Alice Barry and shared her misgivings. Alice smiled at Sandy and …
Barbara, I read your book years ago and took your class at the local Adult Ed program here in Seattle. I have also taken a couple of your teleseminars when I needed more encouragement. You really inspired me to push …
For years I was a hotel-hopper with every visit to London. In my quest to find a reasonably priced hotel, I ended up staying in plenty of shabby (but not chic) hotels that were well past their sell by date. …
