Justin Robinson

I have had occasion to reflect upon my Signature Character Strengths again this week. When I joined Toastmasters International over two years ago – to retain my confidence in the public arena after retiring from classroom teaching — I decided to deliver my Ice Breaker speech focusing on my Signature Character Strengths. I entitled it,… Read More

Every so often, a book arrives that feels less like new information and more like a deep exhale – a reminder of what we already know, but too often forget. Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks is one of those books. Burkeman begins with a sobering truth: if we live to the age of 80, we… Read More

“One of my great loves is having deep and fulfilling conversations. So I plan to continue unpacking people’s lives with them, and sharing that with as many people as possible because as we turn more inward and feel more fractured, being reminded we’re all kind of the same, that we’re all here for a similar… Read More

You will notice in our current newsletter, that we are currently conducting our inaugural Principal Manifesto Series. As I was thinking about this unique opportunity to assist Principals to reveal their personal manifestos in the specific context of their leadership roles, my mind turned to some memorable words of Principals that I have experienced in… Read More

Altruism is a big word for a simple, very human impulse: helping someone else without expecting anything in return. It’s a cousin of kindness and caring, but not quite the same. Kindness is often about warmth in action – offering a smile, holding the door, sharing a meal. Caring can be ongoing – tending to… Read More

Stephen Cope is a psychotherapist, Kripalu Yoga teacher, and an author of several books on yoga and meditation. He is the founder of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living. In this book he asserts that in order to have a fulfilling life you must discover the deep purpose hidden at the very core of yourself.… Read More

Please and Thank you: an act of kindness – even to a bot Earlier this week, I read a short blog post from Seth Godin that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. It ended with these simple words: “Sometimes, I say please and thank you to ChatGPT. Not because I think it can… Read More

Some sunsets are gifted to us – like a spontaneous moment of stillness, or the view on your evening walk on a clear evening. They ask nothing of us but our presence. They invite us to pause, to breathe, to feel. These are the sunsets given. Others, however, must be earned. You know the kind.… Read More

I allow myself the right to construct the meanings by which I live – Sue’s personal manifesto. To some, this statement might be alarming. What do I mean? Am I seriously suggesting we open the floodgates to everyone – including the ‘crackpots’, the seriously misguided and the narcissists – to construct and act upon their… Read More