Much of what we acquire in life isn’t worth dragging to the next leg of ourjourney. Travel light. You will be better equipped to travel far.

Until that rainy Sunday at the movies 31 years ago, for me, companionship had been a mandate for life’s good times. After Orca, it became a choice. My trip to the theater helped me to...

As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to reconnect with a long-held love.

No map? No problem. Let commitment and determination lead the way.

Life lessons are not journeys traveled in straight lines but are crossroadsformed years and miles apart.

No matter. I was single, no children, a handful of plants and at 39, young enough to regroup. If I hit ground before I finished building my wings, I would not take anyone with me.

bucket list.

What do you believe about who you are? About your capabilities? When was the last time you trusted yourself enough to test them?

One of the best kinds of thrill is defining, honoring, and achieving our goals.

Mistakes help to sharpen your next steps. They don’t prove that you shouldn’t try again.

Distinguish between getting lost and losing your way. The first is a shift in direction. The second is the absence of perspective. Cultivate perspective and you will be able to steer home.

For all the energy directed toward the stratagem of big city living, New Yorkers are never too distracted to respond to, and more often, proactively assist visitors. Tourists tracing the routes of subway maps with...

Stand up for yourself by not standing yourself up.

My post-cruise sabbatical would spark the idea for my first book, Cheaper Than Therapy: How to Keep Life’s Small Problems from Becoming Big Ones – The Lesson of the Paper Clips. How? In my data...

If you’ve broken any promises you’ve made to yourself, now is the time to make up for it.

If it’s true we only live once, then raise your red velvet curtain every chance you get.

No moment is too small to claim. Strung together, moments fashion a life.

Forgive someone today. Especially if that someone is you.

No matter how many strikes are hurled at you, only you decide when you’re out.

Large bodies of goal achievement research encourage written goals for good reason. When we write down our goals, we transform what we imagine into reality.

The best way to teach is how you live your life.

If companionship is a mandate for all of our experiences, then we will miss out on many of life’s blessings.

Cultivate the art of maximizing serendipitous opportunities.

By necessity, we are direct and swift in speech and movement. This is the true dynamic that underlies our apocryphal rudeness. Also true: we do not make eye contact. Neither do we encourage it. Consider...

It is not so much the grand dramas of our lives that transform us as it isthe tiny one-acts we produce in between.

The gift of solo moments is that they are wholly ours. On or off the road, solo moments connect us inward to ourselves with heightened clarity and insight. They also direct our energies out into...

Be courageous: be still.

When life hands you lemons, why stop at lemonade? Create an entire product line.

Develop the habit of initiating change. You’ll be better prepared for whatever comes your way.

At times, productivity means doing nothing at all.

Stay open. You may find your tribe where you least expect it.

We often mistake letting go for giving up. Knowing the difference betweenthe two can make all the difference in the end.

Take time for yourself. If you feel guilty eating lunch away from yourdesk or lingering in a bath, let the deprogramming begin.

We can talk about it, dream about it and dissect the fine print.In the end, only action satisfies our longing.

Sharing our story is one way we create intimacy. And like a good novel, it’s more engaging – and lasting – when we allow it to gradually unfold.

Though I have not lived in New York City for more than two decades, these storytellers – from the United States, Britain and Canada – have touched my heart with their openness, inspired me with...

use the difficulty” in your life?

I knew I could always earn money from a job. What I didn’t know was could I extend the dream of writing beyond my trip?

Be who you are. You may not always please but you will never go wrong.

Want more fizz in your life? Shake things up.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to feel like a million. A good night’s sleep, a quiet walk by the river or a hug from a favorite person will do the trick.

Embrace those parts of yourself that you’ve skillfully avoided until now. That’s your true adventure.

Let your body move. It will give voice to a language that can heal.

Increase the number of adventures you act on and you’ll lighten the weight of regret.

instructions.

Each of us has our definition of adventure: ending an unsatisfyingrelationship, returning to school, parachute jumping or training for amarathon. Go ahead. Get your thrill on.

Solo” by contrast, is a willful decision to be the architect of our own experience.

Sometimes our dreams are affirmed in the most unlikely ways by the mostunlikely people. That’s why we need to speak our commitment out loud.

Whether you need to make a call or answer one,don’t put your passions on hold.

It’s tempting to believe that a break from life’s routine will only cause chaos. But regimen does not ensure security. The only constant we can count on is change.