People talk about reinventing themselves, as though adopting a new focus for work or a new outlook after a painful divorce or even a new “look” is enough to change the trajectory of their existences. Certainly, I applaud those who hit rough patches or hurdles and don’t give up, instead summoning new interests and perspectives […]
With July 4 just a few days away, we will be celebrating America achieving independence from Great Britain. That should be a remarkably inspiring part of history for any citizen, but it should also serve as a model for every human being. Every one of us needs to achieve independence and autonomy from forces that […]
Cross Kubik, 17, of Springfield, Missouri, who some have dubbed the Miracle Kid, returned to the pitching mound this past spring. That would be remarkable enough, given that he had just beaten leukemia, but there’s a lot more to the story. See, Cross Kubik was treated for neuroblastoma, a dreaded childhood cancer, at age 2. […]
This one isn’t easy. Love Your Fate. It’s translated from the Stoic saying, “Amor Fati.” So, what does it mean? Well, from the Pain-2-Power perspective it means that life is not random and that the painful chapters of your life story (or the story of your business or your family or your country) are actually […]
Okay . . . did that get your attention? I hope so. That was my goal. Because I want you to focus on what really matters in life. And the way you want your epitaph (the words describing you, after your death) to read might help you do just that. Sure, thinking about your death […]
This week’s Pain-2-Power Person of the Week is Curtis Sliwa. Curtis, who, full disclosure, is a friend of mine, is a radio talk show host on WABC-AM and a candidate for Mayor of New York City. But he is also the Founder of the Guardian Angels, the nonprofit New York City-based group responsible for launching […]
Stoicism is an incredibly powerful philosophy advocated by great thinkers like Seneca and Epictetus and embraced by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Its core belief is that everything relies on “virtue”—that no turn of events is inherently good or inherently bad, but that all events are the raw material upon which a person should act […]
It’s tempting when troubles mount to fantasize that you can avoid them. Maybe if you get very quiet, the people who mean you harm will just go away. Maybe if you strategize enough, you can dance around the difficulties your family or your company faces. But the Pain-to-Power path is to acknowledge challenges and move […]
Jane Marczewski, who goes by Nightbirde when she sings, has a two percent chance of surviving the cancer that is present in her spine, liver and lungs. Yet, she stunned America’s Got Talent (AGT) last week when she sang an original song of hers called, “IT’S OK.” She received a standing ovation from the crowd […]
Every Pain-2-Power person has, or is intent on developing, the strength to stand on his or her own two feet. After all, if you can endure pain, learn to take lessons from it and even see the opportunity in every kind of challenge, you don’t need to lean on anyone. That’s different, though, from relying […]