Over the holiday, our granddaughter asked Alice and me if we could reject her “new cousins” who will enter the family upon her aunt’s marriage - two girls with whom she had formed a very close bond over the last few years.

The last thing I expected when I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science was that I would have a successful business career.  My pursuit of a business degree lasted one semester and ended with barely receiving Cs in economics, accounting, and finance.

Alice and I stood with Caitlin and her boyfriend at a music festival along the Chattanooga River.  The lights came on, a church-sounding organ began, and a man’s voice filled the night.

Shakespeare’s “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” and the Bible’s “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender” have been entirely ignored by me.

Since I began delivering newspapers at age 10, I’ve spent time every morning consuming the day’s news. Then, a few years ago I started to notice that I was becoming addicted to news and coincidentally becoming more alarmed about our country and our world.  Each year since then I have read less news from fewer sources.    

People resist change and most are successful at doing so…unless and until something dramatic happens.  Health crises seem to be the most motivating but also losing a loved one can change the course of one’s life, as well. 

“No one cares about your excuses as much as you do. In fact, no one cares about your excuses at all, except you."

What books changed how you think?  The list below is a small but significant sample of the ones that have changed mine.

For me, quotes are collections of words that make me think.  Whether famous or just from friends and family, my favorites cause behavior changes.  Below are from the less famous.