1: It’s the late ’90s.  John Ortberg “was working at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, one of the most influential churches in the world,” John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

“John himself is a well-known teacher and best-selling author—the kind of guy you figure pretty much has apprenticeship to Jesus down,” John Mark notes, “But behind the scenes he felt like he was getting … continue reading

1: Professor Gay Hendricks was mad.

He sat in his car at a stoplight, replaying in his head the latest rant from the dean of his program at the University of Colorado, he writes in The Genius Zone.

His counseling department “locked horns repeatedly with the dean, who didn’t like some of the nontraditional things we did in our program.”

“I had left the meeting steamed up and found … continue reading

1: The year was 2022. Dave Prout was scrolling through Twitter when he saw a post by Sahil Bloom.

“Call your parents more often,” Sahil wrote, “they won’t be around forever. When you’re young and arrogant, death is a theoretical construct. Realize the people you love won’t be there forever. If your parents are 60 and you visit once a year, you may only see them 20 more times … continue reading

1: It was a warm California evening in May 2021. Sahil Bloom and an old friend sat down for a drink.  

“As we settled in at our table, he asked how I was doing,” Sahil writes in The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.

“I gave him the standard response that we’ve all grown so accustomed to: ‘I’m good. Busy!'” he recalls, “with … continue reading

1: The year was 2016.  Katherine was visiting the offices of the Harvard Study of Adult Development in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Why? Her father, Leo DeMarco, was one of the original 724 participants in the longest in-depth longitudinal Study of human life ever done.

Now in its eighth decade, the Study had expanded to include three generations and more than 1,300 descendants of those original participants.

“Leo, a high school … continue reading

1: “If you’ve ever seen a picture of your mother or father as a young adult, you know how startling it can be,” Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz write in The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.  

“They seem like people we might have met along the road rather than the parents who created us,” the authors observe.  “They often appear less burdened, more … continue reading

1: The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest in-depth longitudinal study of human life ever done.  The study has followed the lives of 724 individuals beginning when they were teenagers, and now spans over three generations and includes an additional 1,300 of their descendants.

“For eighty-four years (and counting), the Harvard Study has tracked the same individuals, asking thousands of questions and taking hundreds of measurements to find … continue reading

1: The minister said, “It’s now time to say something nice about the deceased,” Charlie Munger told the 2007 USC School of Law graduates.

“And nobody came forward, and nobody came forward, and nobody came forward,” he recounts in  Poor Charlie’s Almanack.

“And finally, one man came up and said, ‘Well, his brother was worse.'”

That’s one way to live our lives.

“Occasionally, you will find a perfect … continue reading

1: Marc Schulz has been a professor at a prestigious women’s college for over twenty-five years.

He also serves as Associate Director of The Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest scientific study of happiness.

Every year, “a new cohort of bright, excited students ask to participate in his research on well-being and how people’s lives evolve across time,” Marc and Robert Waldinger write in their book The … continue reading

1: “When Alan Silva was 14 years old he was in love with the movies,” Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz write in  The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.

Alan was one of 456 inner-city Boston boys selected to participate in what became known as  the Harvard Study of Adult Development.  

“They were children who grew up in some of Boston’s most troubled … continue reading