"You’re a better father than I ever was….” Those were the words of my late father two weeks before he died of cancer many years ago.

Glorious! I just spent a few days in the Rocky Mountains experiencing the change of seasonal colors and the sound of the last flutters of the aspen leaves before they tumble to the end of their lives.

A long-time female friend confided in me that she went to her college reunion not long ago and one of her male classmates offered her the observation that serves as today's blog post title. She felt mixed about this as she was a true hottie in the day and had staked her identity on turning heads.

I felt like a complete failure. The 2001 dot-com bust made me question everything I believed to be true. In just one year, I was laid off, the twin towers fell on 9/11, and my dad was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer.

I can be a maniacal multi-tasker. Some of it is due to overcommitting myself. Some of it is the adrenaline rush of seeing how many plates I can spin at once. Of course, if I am completely honest, some of it is an unconscious desire to distract myself from what's really going on in my life.

As a for-profit entrepreneur, I spent the first half of my life focused on Return on Investment (ROI). Now, I’m spending the second half of my life focused on a different form of ROI: Ripples of Impact. I love this phrase coined by our MEA faculty member Justin Michael Williams and mindfulness teacher and author Shelly Tygielski.

This is the first sign we saw on Thursday when we arrived at our rustic Rocky Mountain retreat.

The question I get most as a spiritual-financial coach is "What is enough?" And as with any other essential question, it sparks deepening thought and personal reflection.

I loved this Washington Post story by Matt Fuchs that outlines the research showing that singing, dancing, improv comedy, writing, and painting all help create more openness in older adults, leading to greater longevity. Of course, creativity is not just limited to the arts. Problem-solving, landscaping, traveling, and advising a friend also can make the same difference.

The only thing worse than being taken captive is sympathizing and bonding with your captor. But what if our captors are our own beliefs and aspirations?