Posts by Alex Green
How to Take a Vacation Inside Your Head
On a recent Oxford Club tour of Italy, I got to know Dr. Satinder Swaroop, a cardiologist based in Fountain Valley, CA. Among the many topics we discussed during our ten days together was Transcendental Meditation (TM). Dr. Swaroop is a lifelong meditator. And he has found that his patients who practice it enjoy better…
Read MoreThe Great Key to Successful Living
At a party last week, I bumped into a distracted woman wearing a frown. “Hey, don’t hog all the fun,” I said with a wink. She shook her head and gave me a slightly embarrassed smile. “It’s just that when I come to social events like these, I cringe when people ask what I do…
Read MoreLook for the Best in People… And You’re Likely to Find It
As a father of teenagers, I’m all too familiar with the popular response: “whatever.” I much prefer how Paul uses the word in Philippians 4: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –…
Read MoreHow to Eat for Energy
My recent column about habits – and how changing two of my bad ones allowed me to reach my ideal body weight in three months – provoked an outpouring of letters from readers asking for specific details. I’d like nothing better than to unveil some unique, heretofore undiscovered weight-loss secret, but keep your seat. For…
Read MoreThe Solution to Happiness
Our nation has a happiness fetish. Each year, publishers print thousands of books on the subject. Talk show hosts offer advice from psychologists and therapists. Magazine covers promise “The Short-Cut to Happiness” or “The 7 Secrets of Wedded Bliss.” You might reasonably wonder why the market is so large. A Pew Research Center poll reports…
Read MoreThe “Atheist” Who Governed the Country
“Make your own Bible,” Ralph Waldo Emerson proclaimed in his Journals in 1836. “Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” He meant to encourage readers to follow the Renaissance practice of compiling favorite quotes, poems, letters, passages, and aphorisms…
Read MoreAre the Rich Smarter Than You?
Growing up, when I got into an argument with my mother, she would sometimes resort to the nuclear option, her tried-and-true conversation stopper. Putting her hands on her hips and using the worst faux Southern accent imaginable, she’d say, “Well if you’re so damn smart, why aren’t you rich?” I never knew how to respond…
Read MoreHow to Avoid Getting Ripped Off When Investing
You don’t know how much you’re paying in investment costs. (I’ll explain why in a moment.) But if you are using a full-service broker or insurance agent, it’s almost certainly way too much. Take mutual funds, for instance. Broker-sold funds don’t just have front-end and back-end loads (commissions). They also come with “12b-1” fees attached.…
Read MoreThe Most Powerful Thing You Can Do For Your Body
One of the most common practices found in the world’s great spiritual traditions is fasting. The Buddha refrained from food and drink during his period of asceticism – and Buddhist monks fast on the new moon and full moon each month. Fasting is an integral part of the Hindu religion. And abstaining from food and…
Read MoreWhy His Final Victory Was His Greatest
A few months ago, I wrote a column on “The Most Misunderstood Man in American History,” Robert E. Lee. Today I’d like to tell the story of his adversary Ulysses S. Grant, a nineteenth century hero whose final victory was his greatest. Born into meager circumstances in 1822, Grant was the eldest son of an…
Read MoreThe Top Five Regrets in Life
Once we are no longer young – and therefore no longer immortal – most of us spend at least some time trying to figure out how best to live, so that when the time comes to die we can do so without regrets. For this important task, we have two great human resources: the elderly…
Read MoreHow to Tell If You’re Rich
One of the biggest points of contention in the last election was whether the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Polls show the majority of voters don’t believe they do. Of course, this raises the questions: Who is “rich” and what is “fair”? Answers are largely a matter of opinion. But here is a…
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