Meditation Boosts Focus
These days, it seems nearly impossible to pay attention to one thing for a long time. A new study indicates that meditation helps people focus because it enables them to discern small differences between the things they see. The research was inspired by work of Buddhist monks, who spend years training in meditation. "You wonder if the mental skills, the calmness, the peace that they express, if th... posted on Jul 30 2010, 4,821 reads

Oprah: A Case Study Comes Alive
Intuitively, there's something very powerful about Oprah Winfrey. At least that's what Professor Nancy Koehn of Harvard Business School thought. Of the entrepreneur who juggles her own talk show, magazine, and book club, one might ask, What exactly is Oprah in the business of? Why is she such a compelling leader? According to Koehn, it boils down to two elements: Purpose and Service. "It is a stor... posted on Jul 29 2010, 8,834 reads

Thinking Outside the Human Mind
Dr. Temple Grandin is one of the most fascinating and respected figures in the world today. As a child whose parents almost sent her to a mental institution, Grandin became the first autistic individual to publish an autobiography. She has utterly transformed how we view people with autism and how we treat animals, specifically in the cattle industry. She explains to us what it is like for her to ... posted on Jul 28 2010, 6,370 reads

The Miracle of Mistakes
Do you remember the first time you rode a bicycle? Can you relieve the exhilaration of riding free, the sense of triumph as you broke free to the crutches of support? Now step back. How many times did you fall off the bike before that first ride? Today, fear of making mistakes is deeply ingrained in our psyche. At home, mistakes lead to admonishments. At work, mistakes have serious repercussions. ... posted on Jul 27 2010, 7,285 reads

From Untouchable to Businesswoman
Plenty of people visiting Times Square traveled a long way to reach New York, but it's safe to say that few covered anything like the distances Kakuben Lalabhai Parmar had. This is not just a matter of mileage, although it's certainly a hike from Madhutra, a rural village in India's western state of Gujarat, to 42nd Street. At a deeper cultural level, her journey embodies a half-century of global ... posted on Jul 26 2010, 3,556 reads

A Yogi Stumps Science
In hopes to find insights on how soldiers, astronauts, or victims of natural disasters might survive without food or drink, military doctors studied an 83-year-old holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water. Prahlad Jani spent 15 days in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed cir... posted on Jul 25 2010, 3,621 reads

A Message in a Wallet
Many years ago, when I was working weekends to pay for extras my parents couldn't afford (school ring, class trip, etc.), I lost my wallet. A man called and asked me if I had lost it. I checked my purse and, to my horror, I had. He asked me to tell him how much money was in it. I told him. He then told me where to pick-up my wallet. As I pulled into his driveway, I noticed his handicapped van a... posted on Jul 24 2010, 3,759 reads

10 Pieces of Wisdom for Painters
Artist Leigh Hyams of San Miguel Allende, Mexico writes, "I found this script today in a forgotton portfolio. It was dictated to me by my four-year-old granddaughter Annalena, who could not write then, but she knew how to advise people to paint and draw. I like her advice enormously, not to mention her attitude..." Here's just one example of Annalena's painting wisdom: "When I don't have anything ... posted on Jul 23 2010, 4,371 reads

Entrepreneur of Small Things
Jay Shafer lives in an 8-by-12 foot house. He built it from scratch. With no prior carpentry knowledge or experience. "I'm sure there are people out there who think I'm crazy for living so small, but living in this little house has allowed me to totally reinvent my life," he says. With a desire to "escape the rat race," the former grocery-store clerk's intentions were simple: focus on the things h... posted on Jul 22 2010, 9,161 reads

The Ripple Effect of Kindness
Being kind is nice. But why do it on a daily basis? Why do something for a total stranger when there seems to be nothing in it for you? One regular practitioner of small acts of kindness shares: "I had experienced a moment where I wanted to give out of habit; almost as if that was the only way I knew how to respond to the situation. For that moment, there was no difference between a stranger and a... posted on Jul 21 2010, 3,491 reads