WITH INTENTION BLOG

I read this parable many years ago and once again saw recently in a Jimmy John’s as I was with my son, Gabe. I think it’s a really great lesson for anyone chasing success and wondering what really matters. It’s a question all of us should ponder consistently as it’s easy...

Today, I write this with the heaviest of hearts. Sunday night I was planning my week. I went through a process that I learned from my friend Scott where I look back at the week before and made a list of my accomplishments. Then, thought about where I fell short. That led to planning the week...

So, Gabe, my seven year old, and I are driving Sunday night and I asked him what the coolest thing he learned last week in camp was. He said, “to face my fears.”

I love that my seven year old is learning this. And not only was told this but got to see it in action. He was at a local...

“But it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius note, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.”

― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

So, there we were. In the air, Michelle is upset b/c we’re...

Hello from the air….Air travel – I’m always fascinated by it. I write from 10,000 feet (or whatever it is). For some reason, flying brings out a lot of creativity for me. I think it’s the disconnection, although I did buy the wifi to send a few emails for work, etc.

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I guess the old adage is true. As we age, we become wiser. Or, maybe it’s that we learn to let go of the pride we learned to blanket ourselves with at such an early age.

We’re taught, especially the guys, to keep our feelings internalized. To keep your chin up….to never let...

“Let’s fill other people’s buckets full so you can have friends.” – Gabriel Giganti (7 yrs old)
Wow. I can’t tell how happy this makes me. Michelle has a quote board up in our kitchen. It’s usually a quote or bible verse from another source. This quote is...

In the movie Glengarry Glenross, there’s a famous scene where Alec Baldwin comes into the room. Jack Lemon, Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey are real estate salesmen. Baldwin is the big boss from corporate. The sales numbers are down and he’s coming to fire the boys up. Lemmon is pouring a...

What if your life ended today?

I know, tough question. It’s a question I started to wrestle with when my kids were born. In fact, it’s why I started putting my thoughts in writing and really why I started a blog a few years ago.

So, what if your life ended today?

I ask again, b/c I...

This is lesson #2 from one of my best friends TJ, who died recently from a brain hemorrhage.

He left 39 lessons that his kids will always have. They are full of wisdom. Many are quite simple like this one.

Simply saying hello and really meaning it when you say “how are you” is...

“Jon teaches the meaning of being selfless. A year after a car accident that left me paralyzed from the chest down, I moved into a place called Creative Living to finish my Civil Engineering degree at Ohio State. Jon believes in their mission of providing housing for people with severe...

Without failure, there’s no understanding of success.

Without pain, there’s no hope for a better place.

Without the knowledge of death, there’s no embracing life to the fullest.

I recently had a very close friend of mine die. His name is TJ. He was 39. Just 39 – he died...