One of my favorite books is called The Rational Optimist. In it, author Matt Ridley describes how he remains sanguine amid the fearful expectations of so many in the modern world (e.g. “The middle class is disappearing,” “I’m going to lose my job if I don’t check my email every two minutes,” “The world’s going [...]

Source of this article: History.com
On this day in 1785, the Georgia General Assembly incorporates the University of Georgia, the first state-funded institution of higher learning in the new republic.
The previous year, the assembly had set aside 40,000 acres from which they planned to earn the money they would need to endow such an institution. In [...]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill passed away on January 24, 1965. For the past forty-seven years, Churchill has been remembered as a statesman, the man who got Britain through World War II, and a personality who was never without the perfect quip. We also think we know quite a bit about him which isn’t really true. [...]

Source of this article: History.com
A millwright named James Marshall discovers gold along the banks of Sutter’s Creek in California, forever changing the course of history in the American West.
A tributary to the South Fork of the American River in the Sacramento Valley east of San Francisco, Sutter’s Creek was named for a Swiss immigrant who [...]

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day’s a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride
Nickelback sang these lyrics a few years ago…I fell in love [...]

Source of this article: History.com
Ronald Reagan, former Western movie actor and host of television’s popular “Death Valley Days” is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States.
More than any president since the Texas-born Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan’s public image was closely tied to the American West, although he was raised in the solidly [...]

On January 20, 1937, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as president of the United States of America. 1937 marked the dawn of his second of four terms in office, a presidency which leaves behind the legacy of the New Deal. The New Deal is a labyrinth of truth and legend but, as it turns [...]

With all the (well deserved) buzz surrounding Meryl Streep’s latest award-winning role in The Iron Lady, we thought it might be useful to provide a short profile on Great Britain’s longest-serving prime minister in the 20th century.
Margaret Thatcher served as Britain’s head of government for 11 and a half years because she had both the aspirational vision [...]

On January 13, 1929, Wyatt Earp passed away at the age of 80. Earp was one of the legendary lawmen of the Wild West who are remembered as larger than life. They tried to bring law to the lawless world of cattle rusting and gunfights…or so we think. Is the Wild West really as wild [...]

Organizations have long range plans, strategic plans, communications plans, marketing plans, etc. They take the time and make an investment in planning for the future.
To formulate a good plans, like a good road trip, you begin with a goal or destination, and then work backward to plot a course to get there. In this case, [...]

In the first entry in our series on exceptional individuals, I profiled Steve Jobs.
Here, I will profile another exceptional person who is one part Steve Jobs and one part Rodney Dangerfield.
That person is the ever-grinning, blond-maned entrepreneurial superstar Richard Branson.
There is perhaps no single person alive who better personifies economist Joseph Schumpeter’s notion of “creative destruction.” [...]

The amount of time and level of consistency you put into something is directly proportional to your results: part time effort will get you part time return.

It is with time and consistency that children move from crawling to walking;
It is with time and consistency that small savings become golden parachutes;
And, it is with time and [...]

This past week, all eyes were on Iowa and Iowan voters. Why? Because Tuesday, January 3rd was the Iowa Caucuses, the first step in winnowing down the field of GOP hopefuls. The last man (or woman) standing will be the Republican nominee and will, of course, be up against Barack Obama in this year’s general [...]