On The Fly

In this episode, The Gleam Within We grow up steeped in fairy tales and grand mythologies. From a young age, we are taught to scan the horizon for the hero—the knight, the savior, the titan who will arrive to make sense of the world. We marvel at the mountains' beauty and nature's majesty, yet, as the old wisdom goes, "we pass over the mystery of ourselves without a single thought." I remember being the little guy from a small town in rural Illinois, looking up at the world and seeing only Giants. I would listen to Earl Nightingale’s Our Changing World broadcasts, mesmerized by the towering figures of success and intellect he described. When you feel small, you naturally seek out those Giants for a glimpse of their light—hoping some of it might rub off on you, preferably without having to do whatever it was they did to earn it. In 1985, while I was earning my G.G. credential, I met Richard T. Liddicoat, the Patriarch of GIA. To everyone in the industry, he was the Fat...

In this episode, Finding Peace Beyond the Headlines. This afternoon, I sit by the open window as the house settles into a generous quiet. Beyond the screen, the backyard breathes. A gentle slope rises to a vine-draped fence, as if the earth has drawn a soft green curtain. A breeze stirs the wind chimes—no performance, just a few wandering notes—and birds move in quiet procession to and from the feeder, intent on their small, necessary lives. I haven’t stepped outside, and yet I’m there—folded into the rhythm of it all. Then, inevitably, my gaze shifts. Away from the trees. Toward the world. And the contrast lands. The headlines arrive like a tornado we didn’t ask for—except this weather has producers. Somewhere, I imagine, a meeting is underway: “Gentlemen, what do we have today?” “Well, sir, things are mostly stable.” “…That won’t work. Can anything be on fire?” And just like that, the day is rebranded. Chaos loops. Anger echoes. Division hums beneath everything. If a meteor doesn’t s...

In this episode - Open the Box. . . When you receive a gift that’s beautifully boxed, what’s your first impulse?  My guess is you would enthusiastically open the box. Let me ask you this, what if, in a flash of insight, you realized that you’ve had in your possession the most precious gift on earth yet you’ve never taken the time to open the box? I’m referring to the power of your creative imagination. Earl Nightingale summarized it best, “We become what we think about, but the thinking is up to us.” Let’s examine our daily thoughts, what do you think about? Are your thoughts dependent on your reaction to situations and others? If so that special gift we’re talking about is not being used at all. And if we’re not careful our imagination can lead us into confusing complications. So let’s strive for simplicity.   It's been said the brain has four powers, think of them as switches you can turn on and off.   Switch number: The power to absorb informatio...