Lou Tice

What is the difference between mediocrity and greatness? Possibly not as much as you think.

You know, it really takes very little to make a big difference in our lives and in the world. In professional baseball for example, most batters hit for an average of about .250, which means that they get one hit for every four times at bat.  Anyone who hits .300, three hits out of ten, is considered a star.  By the end of the season, there are only about a dozen players out of hundreds in the leagues who have maintained a .300 average, and… >>>

Most of us worry a bit from time to time, and there are probably a lot of us worrying about our finances these days. But you know, too much worry is a dangerous thing. You see, our awareness of the future is an important part of our search for meaning and purpose in life. However, when awareness of the future becomes dominated by uneasiness, restlessness, fear and worry take over.  

One of the staples on my bookshelf is by J. Ruth Gendler, "A Book of Qualities," and she makes worry into a person who seems very real:  

"Worry etches lines… >>>

How tolerant are you of people who look and think differently than you? With global terrorism continuing to rise, this is an important question - one which drives down to the very core of who we are as human beings.

I am deeply concerned about hate crimes (meaning crimes motivated by racism, intolerance or bigotry) today. It's also very troubling that people under the age of 18 commit more than half of these vicious crimes in the United States - and the trend seems to be spreading to other countries not normally known for such behavior.

A Harris Poll some… >>>

Do you know what Scotomas are? Everyone has them and they can keep you from seeing the opportunities all around you.

So what exactly is a "Scotoma?" It's what doctors call the defect that blocks sight in one part of our visual field. It's also a term I use to describe our occasional failure to see what's right in front of us because we build our own Scotoma, or mental blind spot, to it.

You see for the most part, we see what we expect to see or what we look for, not what is really there. What we expect… >>>

How do we build a better society, a better world? Today, I will give you my prescription for a better world.

I get e-mails nearly every day, and some come with special requests. A while back, one such person wrote, "I've been reading your words lately as you talk about raising kids and dealing with conflict and adversity, and the importance of self-respect and self-esteem. Now, would you please talk about how we can build a better world?"

I'd be glad to. In fact, I have been all along. Because, you know, if we want a world with more intelligence,… >>>

What do you say to a friend who has had a death in the family? I suppose this may seem an odd choice for a daily e-mail message, but it is something that affects us all at one time or another. As I write this, I feel confident that many of you reading this have recently dealt with this very situation.

Many people feel bewildered when it comes to the etiquette of death. Because they don't know what to say or do, they don't do anything. But even discomfort and ignorance are not good reasons for ignoring friends or acquaintances… >>>

Most of us know that too much stress can create problems, but did you know there is a kind of stress that is good for you? I know, hard to believe, isn't it? Let me explain what I mean.

All of us have comfort zones. Now a comfort zone is just a term for the physical or psychological area in which we feel comfortable and at ease. When we move away from the familiar to the new and different, we are moving out of our comfort zone.  

If the move is not something we choose to do or are not… >>>

How is your energy level? Do you sometimes wish you had more get-up-and-go? Today let's look at how high-energy people get that way. 

Why is it that some people seem to have a never-ending supply of energy? They get up feeling eager to get started and they radiate good spirits and high energy all day long. Did you ever stop by the vitamin counter at the drug store, wondering what you could take to get that kind of energy?  

Let me tell you what I think. Assuming you are in good health, your strength and energy will come from having… >>>

Managers who want quality from their workforce need to hold themselves to the same high standards. To borrow an old saying, "What's good for the goose, is good for the gander" - or it should be.

You see, in the quest for total quality and continuous improvement, many managers forget about the role that they themselves play in bringing these things about. They ignore the baggage they bring to work every day, but expect their employees to be totally focused on their jobs. Or they announce a new corporate ethic, but continue to behave as they always have because they… >>>

Today let's talk about self-blame. Unreasonable expectations and self-blame can really make our lives miserable. For example, how often do you hear yourself say something such as, "I left the car lights on - how could I be so stupid?" Or, "I really put my foot in it that time - I guess I will never learn."

Sound familiar? Self-blaming statements like these are commonplace for far too many of us. Now, there is nothing the matter with the first part of these statements - they are just simple facts. But it is the second part - the judgmental blast… >>>