Grief and Suffering

Back to blog Patrick McCalla Scott Peck’s book The Road Less Traveled spent more time on the New York Times best-selling list than nearly any other. Perhaps because it starts with the simple phrase “life is difficult” Listen to episode 35, the first of two episodes with Chris Hilken, as he shares about his family’s […]

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Generous Living

Back to blog Patrick McCalla People tend to have a lot of things to say about the person in the casket or urn at the funeral. However, as time marches on, that same person eventually is reduced to one short sentence. Bob, he was a good man. Bill, he had a bad temper. Mary, she […]

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Our Obsession with ‘Buts’

Back to blog Patrick McCalla I have come to realize we are a society obsessed with ‘buts’ (No, I did not misspell the word). It has become apparent that many of us require a refresher course in “Encouragement 101” to develop a basic knowledge of extending compliments. Why is it that few people can distribute […]

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Mindset Matters

Back to blog Patrick McCalla As children, one of the greatest truths we should learn is that we are “not given” who we are and what we become, but we are made. Greatness is never handed out. Greatness never just appears one day. The problem for many of us is that we want to go […]

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Life is Messy

Back to blog Patrick McCalla Life is not a straight line. It’s not a simple package with a few major decisions leading to a clear and laid-out path full of mountain top experiences. Life is anything but a straight line. Instead, life feels like a chaotic, wind in your face, white-knuckle bicycle ride down a […]

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We are what we DO not what we SAY

Back to blog Patrick McCalla “Talk is cheap.” “Actions speak louder than words.” “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” Each of these phrases indicate that overpromising and underdelivering are chronic problems for both individuals and institutions. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century American poet, put it this way, “What you do speaks […]

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Handling the Critics

Back to blog Patrick McCalla There is a longstanding fable about an old man who was traveling with a child and a donkey. As they passed through the first village, the man led the donkey and the child walked behind. The villagers said the old man was a fool for not riding his sturdy donkey. […]

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