Dear reader,

Last Friday I gave a workshop on how to start and run a successful business at the Entrepreneur’s School of Culver Academy in Culver, Indiana. In addition to addressing what it takes to be an entrepreneur, the presentation placed entrepreneurship in a larger context of principles for living a good life. For those who are interested, some of the key ones are listed below:

1. Approach each day with excitement and curiosity. You’ll be interesting, vibrant and dynamic to those around you.

2. Take good care of your mind by exercising it daily. Reading and lively conversations beyond shallow “what’s the weather” topics stimulate the brain.

3. Keep your idealism as long as you can. The world already is full of jaded cynics.

4. Embrace the spiritual side of your being. It can help you overlook other people’s failings and be a shelter in adverse times.

5. Find nice things to say about the people in your orbit. My mom often said we know nothing of the burdens others have to carry, so why not give them a break.

6. Keep your beliefs, core values, and integrity intact. At the end of the day, all you have is you.

7. Do what you say you will do; it will inspire honesty in you and generate trust from others.

8. Be a problem-solver not a complainer; isolate the issues and then address them.

9. Pursue the things you like. To paraphrase that well-known song by Bill Staines, everyone has a place in the choir; we all have gifts that make us shine.

10. Be persistent. Many people fail because they quit too soon.

11. Take good care of your body with a healthy diet, regular activity, and sleep. You may need this earthly shell for a long time.

12. Admire beauty but don’t be tricked by it. Surface beauty can blind you to inner, unseen brilliance.

13. Be magnanimous in victory and generous with your blessings. Everyone loves a generous heart, so let people see and love you for the generous person you are.

Patrick J. Wood

Publisher