Methodology

I’ve never run a marathon—never put 26.2 miles together consecutively. I haven’t even run a half-marathon or registered for a 5K. In the United States, about 450,000 people per year run a marathon. Next January, I’ll be one of them. A lot of people say it’s crazy. I can’t disagree, but let me really tell you about crazy. Courtesy of my good friend Matt Galli, I recently read Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner. The book is an autobiography by Dean Karnazes, a relatively ordinary guy with an unbelievable passion for running. Karno (as he is affectionately dubbed by his friends) tells his story of transforming from a regular, 8-to-5-Corporate-America citizen into the Ultramarathon Man. ...

Why is it that we go through thirteen years of school (at least) learning things like Calculus and Latin-roots, doing geometry proofs and memorizing the molecular structure of chemicals we’ll never see again, but no one ever really teaches us how to interact with people? Our education system shoves us in a room with blocks and blankets at the ripe old age of six and says, “Go play with these other kids you don’t know and try to talk to them. You’ll figure it out.” But in all reality, how many people do you know that can’t hold a conversation with their best friend, let alone a complete stranger? We’re given so little instruction on the art of conversation. I’ve searched high and low and come up empty on quality resources that teach you how to master small talk (and the conversation that follows). ...

At some point in your life, you will realize you need a resume. At that point, you will probably find yourself unusually irritable. It’s a daunting task, and if you are starting from scratch, you probably think welfare sounds better than job hunting. You realize you either have too much or too little to put on there. If you already have a resume, you probably don’t feel like updating it because everything barely fits as it is or you can only stretch what you did so much to fill up the entire page. I’ve been down both roads. ...

‘Tis better to give than to receive. I know, it’s not Christmas, but this tiny nugget of truth resonates no matter what time of year it is. We’ve all heard it, but we’re not all sure about it. With the credit crunch, piling debt, and the cost of living continuing to increase, we feel we have less to give than ever before. We can’t possibly spare any money to give to our church or to charities. Can we afford to buy a friend’s lunch? Unlikely—we can hardly afford our own. ...

In today’s world, we’re bombarded with the media, peers, advertisements, and celebrities telling us what we want. A new car. Nicer clothes. A better phone. We’ve become conditioned to chase after money, and I think it’s a condition we need to remedy. You’ve heard money doesn’t buy happiness. It’s true–money is not something that we should chase after. You’ll end up disappointed. No amount will ever be enough.  The cardinal rule of living within your means is spending less than you make. Your income has to be greater than your spending. It’s not a novel concept, but it appears the millions of Americans who are in debt up to their eyeballs have failed to apply a simple math equation to their everyday lives. We live in a society fixated on instant gratification—buy now, pay later. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “At what cost?” If I buy this new HDTV, or new bike that I probably won’t even ride, or state-of-the-art-for-a-day computer, what is it going to cost me when it’s all said and done? Is it worth the debt? Can I bear the cost? ...

It’s only the second week of Fitness Friday, and I’m already using the topic loosely. This week, I’ve decided to touch on mental fitness through reading (I warned you it was coming) in a post that’s a bit more succinct than I’m used to. It’s tough to keep people’s’ attention for 800 words about something they want to know about, let alone something that’s my opinion. So, I’m going to hit you with some out-of-this-world advice in half as many words. Twice the wit. Double the kick. Half the words. All at the same great price. Welcome to The Point of Impact. Moving on. ...

I’m not sure I’ve ever talked to anyone who admitted they weren’t busy. What I love about busyness is that it is totally relative. If you asked me my freshman year of college, when I went to one meeting and attended about eight hours of class per week, I would have told you I was busy. And I wouldn’t have been lying. You see, I didn’t know any different. How can we possibly imagine being any busier than we’ve been at our most hectic point in life? No matter how busy we are, we use all of our 24 hours doing something. ...

A few months ago I attended a session at school on Servant Leadership put on by Christian Business Leaders. Jeff Hirsch, a manager at Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati and the father of one of my best friends, the infamous Jack Hirsch (who is indeed alive, after much concern) gave his testimony and shared his insight. Dean Kohmann, a vice president at Charles Schwab in Cleveland, also shared his story and outlook on life. Both men talked about the importance of building relationships in order to impact people. Dean shared something especially poignant that has stuck with me over the past few months. He said: ...

Welcome to the first edition of Fitness Friday. I have a thing for alliteration, but I thought Tone-Up Tuesday and Six-Pack Saturday was just way over the top. Let me preface this post with a warning: I’m absolutely not a personal trainer (and I’m not a journalist either, but I’m glad that hasn’t kept you from reading). I’m not a seven-time Mr. Olympia, and I’ve never even had a gym membership outside of Jeff’s Tough Bodies (my dad’s basement) and the Charles J. Ping Center (the “free” workout facility on the campus of Ohio University); however, I have had plenty of experience in today’s topic: a lack of motivation. Even if you aren’t interested in working out, I think you’ll be able to apply a lot of these tips outside of the gym.  Have you ever had plans to start up a new, state-of-the-art, totally-rock-your-socks-off exercise program, but somehow, in between day one and day thirty (when you were planning on being ridiculously chiseled) you failed to follow through with it? Let me put my cards out on the table: that’s has undeniably, 100 percent been me. ...

I officially retired from my unofficial career in journalism this past June. As far as I was concerned, I accomplished all I had hoped to in my time at WOUB. I made it onto TV, thoroughly enjoyed my time on air and the great people I worked with, but realized the news industry wasn’t for me. I was in it for the wrong reasons. In fact, I found that I rather hated news. I wanted to be on the small screen so that I could say I was on TV. It was vein. It was wrong. It was a poor career choice. Luckily, I righted my wrong. ...