James Barnett

My girlfriend and I have been away from each other for over 8.5 months. I got to return to Canada to take care of some… Read More »Collective, Impromptu Love Letter

A recent conversation with my girlfriend about things in the past sparked our interest in the subject of blessings in disguise. We discussed our previous… Read More »What Is a Blessing in Disguise — A Reflection on a Chinese Fable

What is AWAI about? AWAI stands for American Writers and Artists Inc., which is a company that trains people to make a living as a writer.… Read More »What Is AWAI About – A Writing Exercise from the Accelerated Copywriting Program

What is Proverbs about? The Book of Proverbs is a well-known example of wisdom literature, which is a literary genre where we can learn wisdom from.… Read More »What Is Proverbs About – Learn and Apply Wisdom with The 5 Year Proverbs Challenge

Imagine this scenario. You’re newly married, and you’ve just gotten your wife pregnant. Only thing is, the two of you never discussed beforehand if you… Read More »A Message for Men from a Son

What’s with all the yelling? There is a gentler way. It can’t just be that yelling is the default reaction. On that note, why react… Read More »What’s With All the Yelling? There Is a Gentler Way

“The secret to living is giving.” – Tony Robbins Where can I start with giving? “Give, and it will be given to you. … For… Read More »The Secret to Living Is Giving. Where Can I Start With Giving?

I don’t envy cops. They’re in a line of work that I can so easily imagine isn’t enjoyable for them. There’s the physical risk involved.… Read More »What I’ve Learned from 4 Times I Got Pulled Over by the Cops

Another day has dawned. Sometimes sunny. Sometimes not. The next day of your life has arrived. Seemingly without fanfare. But it’s here. What are you… Read More »Why You Got Up This Morning

Children, in certain ways, are much wiser than adults are. Children understand the importance of playing and having fun. They are more accepting of themselves… Read More »5 Options for How to Use Your Imagination

I’ve been watching a webinar series by Mike Dooley. The previous post “Miracles Happen Every Day. Here Are Some of Mine” was me working through… Read More »Mapping the Future: Mike Dooley’s 3 Steps for Creating Change

I struggle with identifying miracles that have happened in my life. I also struggle with doing personal development exercises, including this one from a Mike… Read More »Miracles Happen Every Day. Here Are Some of Mine

See this scar? The one on my left wrist? That’s from when my front teeth got knocked out. I scraped my wrist when I landed on… Read More »What Your Scars Say about You

In a previous post, I gave my review of the “Learned Optimism” book by Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology. I explained what learned… Read More »How to Apply Learned Optimism: A Sample Disputation Record

What is an overdose about? Over a period of 19 years, I overdosed multiple times on multiple substances. Wanna know what the silliest part of… Read More »What Is an Overdose About – My History of Non-Fatal Overdoses

If I dare to be humble enough, then I admit that I can learn from anyone and anything. Truly, the learning opportunities are unlimited in… Read More »What I’ve Learned from Cats and Kittens about Life

Dear Speaker, As an introvert, I’ve often wondered what speaking is about. I’ve seen so many other people throughout my life talk as if they… Read More »What Is Speaking About: An Introvert’s Perspective

New year’s resolutions are well known for not working out. How many don’t work out? At least 4 out of 5. And the ones that… Read More »Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail and the Word of the Year Alternative

I’ve seen it. Perhaps you’ve seen it, too, The proud grandparents. Happy that they made it far enough to have grandchildren. A reward for keeping… Read More »Why Being a Grandparent Can Be More Fun Than Being a Parent

Dear Friend, Have you ever had a situation where you were right, but you still lost? Yes, and probably more than you care to admit… Read More »Lessons Learned from Getting My Teeth Knocked Out

Heart disease. Cancer. Depression. Anxiety. Diabetes. Obesity. These various forms of sickness are some of the major killers throughout the world. But it doesn’t have… Read More »Want to Live Longer? Then Say Goodbye to Getting Sick

Here is the template that you can download and use to put your vision for your life in writing. No sign up required. For more… Read More »How to Design Your Life: Get Your Life Vision Template

Does anyone remember the Peanuts book “Happiness Is a Warm Puppy”? It contains a series of “Happiness is …” statements accompanied by Charles M. Schulz’s… Read More »What Is Happiness About? The Elusive Search for Something Real

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you make a purchase through my link. What… Read More »What to Do When Your Depression Hits the Hardest

There is more to experience, see, hear, taste, touch, smell, feel, and learn than can be done in one lifetime. Yet… Even with all that,… Read More »8 Places to Look for Variety in the Monotony of Life

Dear Great One, Here you are. You’ve made it to another day in your life. Congratulations are in order. You’re still breathing, and you still… Read More »How to Be the Best You Can Be. It Is Possible…

Isn’t freedom a good thing? How could freedom possibly be unhealthy? Isn’t freedom something that we need more of, not less? All good questions, and… Read More »Why These Types of Freedom Are Unhealthy… and What You Can Do About It

Dear Friend, Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were forced to get clear and to take immediate action? Yes, and probably… Read More »What I Learned From When I Was In Over My Head and Bouncing Off the Bottom

Dear Lifelong Learner, You are too important to leave your growth to chance. The sooner you accept that and do something about it, the better… Read More »Personal Learning Plan Template: Your Path for Intentional Growth

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you make a purchase through my link. When… Read More »The Genius Equation: You’re Closer Than You Thought to Revealing the Genius That You Are

“My parents were separated before I was born. I never met my dad. He died when I was 18.” Whenever I shared those three sentences… Read More »I Have Never Met My Dad – Making Peace with the Past

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you make a purchase through my link. Depression.… Read More »How to Find Your Inner Strength – and Why That Matters

The purpose of this website is to create a learning space to discover who we truly are and the unlimited potential that we each have… Read More »About Me