We walked into the small room with eight men wearing bright orange jumpsuits; one man’s presence surprised us. “Kevin, weren’t you going to get out on work release?!” He smiled. “I told my lawyer I wanted to stay in. I want to re-do the course with you guys.”

At that moment, Kevin was no longer the hope-starved person we met seven weeks prior. He just demonstrated the first bloom of hope — he chose to be hopeful.

Does hope lead to spirituality, or does spirituality lead to hope?

I first introduced Kevin’s story in Spirituality — The Secret to the Power of Hope. When our small team first met Kevin, he…

We sat in a small, whitewashed sterile room off the noisy jail cell block with seven men wearing bright orange jumpsuits. Kevin raised his head slowly off the table and angrily asked, “Why does God take away the people you love?”

After four weeks of not saying a word, we finally understood the source of Kevin’s pain. He lost his grandmother, the woman who raised and cared for him after his parents abandoned him. But Kevin also lost something even more important; he lost hope.

Dr. Anthony Scioli, a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Keene State College, believes your level…

I sat hunched in the early morning grey, head in hands, scared out of my mind. I fought hard to control my focus and to keep panic in check. It was October 2009, and I had just started my business in the depths of the Great Recession. I didn’t have any clients, but I had something much more valuable:

Hope.

You may be surprised to know that hope is not a feeling; hope is something you can cultivate. Dr. Benjamin Hardy says that hope is a key predictor of your future success. …

As we approach the end of a tough, tough year, what keeps you motivated? Maybe it takes a bit of daydreaming, daydreaming about a better life? Did you know that your view of the future determines your future success? It’s true. Your view of the future shapes your current behavior, which in turn drives your future results.

Years ago, whenever a business colleague and I got stuck on a complicated problem, he would say, let’s pursue the art of the possible.

I love that phrase because creative thinking is art, and thinking about the future is to think about the…

I’m addicted. I’m hooked. No, I’m not talking about anything villainous; I’m referring to the morning fix with my gratitude journal.

I’ve journaled for 20+ years but didn’t start the affair with my gratitude journal until March 6, 2019. It began as a 40-day practice and grew into a daily ritual that kickstarts my day. No matter where I am in the world, regardless of the time zone, nothing stands in the way of my gratitude journal. It sets the tone for my day and has changed my life.

Keeping a gratitude journal helps me focus on the good in…

How can you be grateful and happy if you’re just not feeling it? Maybe you‘re down because of the pandemic, or perhaps you’ve been through an all-around awful year. So, do you want to know how to boost your mental health during a difficult holiday season?

Fortunately, research shows that you can improve your mental health by exercising gratefulness and thankfulness. One particular strategy shows that it will not only increase your optimism but can decrease depression.

A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength. (Proverbs 17:22, NCV)

Maybe you would never watch a…

Given that we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I want to share with you the most valuable piece of advice I’ve ever received.

The advice I am sharing is THE secret weapon to help you live a healthier, happier, and more successful life. Here it is:

“Every day, cultivate an attitude of gratitude.” — Rick Warren

Gratitude, an antidote for stress

When I first heard this advice three years ago, I was in hand-to-hand combat with my arch enemy — stress. I longed for a sense of peace and ease, and I needed to reorient my inner compass. So I gave Rick’s advice a shot.

I…

Agency refers to the feeling of control over actions and their consequences. It’s the feeling that we’re in the driver’s seat. (Dr. James W. Moore, University of London)

Successful people make decisions, even in difficult times, because they have what’s called a high sense of agency. You, too, can cultivate this valuable and life-changing skill.

I get that it’s hard to make any decision in 2020. Like most people, you feel out of control because you don’t know what the future holds. We’re all now staring 2021 in the face and asking, what will 2021 be like?

But is that…