If you go to just about any beach in America and there is a red flag flapping wildly in the wind, it probably is there to serve as a warning that swimming is not recommended due to dangerous conditions. There is typically no lifeguard on duty and...

In surveys that I have studied over the years, nearly 50 percent of all people list public speaking as their number one fear, out ranking the fear of death by two to one. That’s surprising, especially if it’s not one of your fears.

The...

I met Ben more than twenty years ago, when our family moved into the house that was across the street from his family’s house on a quiet cul-de-sac.

Married with four kids, Ben is a hard-working man with a firm handshake and a big laugh....

We were sitting across from each other in two aisle seats on a flight from Georgia to Michigan. His gray suit and glasses gave him a distinguished air, but he seemed approachable too, so I struck up a conversation.

As the two of us swapped...

Let me tell you, we’re talking about a really big “if.”

If I think about it long enough and hard enough, I can remember what it was like—what it was like long, long ago—to be a kid.

If.

For starters, the piano...