Do you like tea? If not, maybe you should take another look at it for your happiness...

You may not think that risk and tradition belong in the same sentence. But, one cannot exist without the other.

Of late, I seem to have been answering a particular question a lot. It did not used to make me think twice to answer it – but, now? It leaves me a bit tongue tied.

It may sound crazy, but every time that I return home from a vacation, I go on a cleaning spree of sorts. It could be a physical house cleaning, or a mental one where I reassess my activities, goals or how I spend my time. I didn’t put two and two together until one day last month when I read a New York Times article that hit the nail on the head.

The first time I remember hearing about there being “a time for everything” was in the movie Footloose when Kevin Bacon is trying to convince John Lithgow that the kids of his town want to have a dance. As cheesy as it sounds, the message has stuck with me for a lifetime.

Sometimes the goals that we pursue wind up being much more difficult and demanding than we ever imagined. With each step that we take it can seem like challenges that we did not expect or even know about can make us just want to just give up. What to do?

It is funny how something – perhaps a conversation or an event – can change our own reality. What we perceive to be true about ourselves may not be the reality for others. So, what do we do when we are made aware of the discrepancy? That is the question...

We all remember the big moments in our lives – your first kiss, passing your driver’s test, getting your first job, buying your first home, graduations, weddings, funerals – you can fill in your own blanks. But, think about how your life has been impacted by little things like an unexpected conversation, a random act of kindness, or perhaps an off the cuff suggestion by a friend. It is sometimes the most trivial and seemingly insignificant thing that can change our lives forever.