Fear is the bane of many people’s existence. Fear manifests itself as sickness, broken relationships, opportunities missed and regrets. It doesn’t have to be that way and there are strategies you can use to kick fear where it hurts. Recently, I read the book Hunch: Turn Your Everyday Insights Into the Next Big Thing by…

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Yesterday was my 51st birthday. Below are five resolutions for year 52 of my life. I think of them as compass-like and guiding. I am a steadfast goal setter and this feels like a different exercise. Goals are specific, measurable and attainable and my five resolutions are more like guideposts. Don’t get me wrong, and…

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Seven years ago today was a hard day for me. I wrote about the 10 Things I Learned When I was Knocked From My White Horse 18 months ago in an article published by the Success Blog. This story was shared more than 25,000 times on Facebook and from this, I infer I’m not alone…

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Yesterday,  Jean LeClaire said, “I will,” when asked by Father Rolf Tollefson if she will love me and honor me all the days of her life.  On February 9, 1990 she said words similar to these but instead to The Honorable Patrick Burke during his lunch break at the Hennepin County courthouse. I remember that…

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According to Worldometer, there are about 7.3 billion people in the world today. Bangkok, Thailand is the 15th largest city in the world with about 14.3 million people. Even with this data, it’s humbling to me how small the world may be at times. My daughter, Anne Gaslin, is away for this year teaching fourth…

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Last night, my wife Jean and I celebrated a nice, simple New Year’s Eve with Jean’s sister, Denise. Jean made a wonderful salmon and beet salad that was a thoughtful diversion from the heavy, butter laden dishes consumed on New Year’s Eve’s of the past. Going around the table, we each talked about some things…

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Father Howard Hansen entered my life on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2003. At the time, I was not ready to meet him or understand the impact that he would later have on me. Fr. Howard died on Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011. I attended the Franciscan Retreat Center’s Men’s Holy Week Retreat for the first…

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