"Field of Dreams": Choosing Priorities

Field of Dreams is a movie about baseball, pursuing a dream, and choosing life's priorities. Half way through the film, Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin ...

John Grisham: Rewards of Perseverance

Success seldom comes without pain and perseverance. Take the case of author John Grisham.

Grisham is the world's most commercially successful novelist ...

World's Empty Promises

When I was a senior in high school, I was voted co-captain and most improved player on the basketball team. At the annual sports assembly I was called ...

Rest Is Productive Too

The story is told of two men who had the tiring job of clearing a field of trees. The contract called for them to be paid per tree.

Bill wanted the day ...

Running toward Unseen Goal

United States runner Marla Runyon has been legally blind for 22 years. Even so, she competed in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. In ...

Company President Misses Opportunity

After my first year at Stanford Business School, I went to see Jim Levy, then-president of Activision, Inc., which, at the time, was arguably one of the ...

Old Age and Accomplishment

The world seems to worship youth and is terrified of aging. But there was a time when getting older was associated with wisdom and experience. In fact, ...

Cradle of J.S. Bach's Creativity

After various moves and prominent jobs, [classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach] finally settled down in Leipzig in 1723, where he remained for the ...

Clarence Thomas Reevaluates Life

In a recent speech, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said his brother's death caused him to reevaluate his own life. Baring his soul, as he often ...

Self-control and Success

In a segment of ABC's news magazine show "20/20," reporter John Stossel interviewed Dr. Roy Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University. ...