Active Reading – My Note Taking Process

I read or listen to around 4-6 books each month. This habit has helped me improve my business and grow on many personal and professional levels. But I’ve come to realize that as powerful as reading can be, I don’t get as much out of reading as I could. And that is because I am … Read more

Where Were You? Remembering September 11th

It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since terrorists attacked America on September 11, 2001. But at the same time, the after effects of those events continue to be felt today, making it hard to remember what life was like before those terror attacks shook the world. Like Pearl Harbor, the assassination of … Read more

Remembering Tony Gwynn

Tony Gwynn Autograph - 1993 Upper Deck

The baseball world lost one of the game’s greats today. Tony Gwynn passed away from cancer at age 54. I saw him play several times and was lucky enough to meet him once. My buddy Jerry Shoemake and I used to go to Houston Astros games to get autographs when we were in high school … Read more

The Music Will Go On… Thoughts on Military Bands and Budget Cuts

The military has a variety of special duty assignments and jobs which fall under the radar. Some of them are assignments many service members aren’t even aware of. I had the pleasure of serving in one such duty assignment while I was in the USAF. In 2002 I toured with a group called Tops In … Read more

What Happened to Patrick? A Few Thoughts About Blogging Anonymously

Note: this article was originally published in 2010, three years after I started writing anonymously at my personal finance site, CashMoneyLife.com. The article has since been moved to this site. I have a confession to make. For the past three years, I have been blogging under the name Patrick, which is my middle name. My … Read more

Let it Breathe

One of the most difficult things for me to learn about running a business was when to back off and let things go. As any blogger or webmaster can tell you, watching traffic stats or other metrics can be addicting. You want to know how much traffic is coming to your website, where it is … Read more

How Much is Your Time Worth? – The Story of the Riding Lawnmower

Yesterday I wrote an article about outsourcing tasks for my small business and one of the commenters mentioned that the same principles can apply to your personal life. I agree 100%. I recently wrote an article about whether or not changing your own oil was worth the savings. My time is more valuable to me … Read more

The Greatest Generation is Missing a Member

I received a phone call yesterday while I was driving home from work. The news was not unexpected, but nevertheless, it was not easy to hear. My Grandfather, a member of the group of Americans Tom Brokaw dubbed The Greatest Generation, passed away. Brokaw defines “the greatest generation” as American citizens who came of age … Read more

My Wife and I Went on a Hot Air Balloon Ride

I surprised my wife two weeks ago with our first hot air balloon ride; a surprise two years in the making. I promised her I would take her on a hot air balloon ride for her wedding present. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that right after our wedding because she had military obligations that … Read more

The Playground Economy

I collected everything when I was a kid. Along with my huge baseball card collection, I also collected stamps, coins, rocks, arrowheads, Garbage Pail Kids, and just about anything else I could get my hands on. For me, collecting things was a part of growing up. I look back on it now, and I wonder … Read more