Building Personal Strength

I was once in a meeting with some colleagues when I used the word "ensure" in the context of making sure something happens. To my ...

I've been reading about traditional and modern rites of passage. So far, the two most helpful books have been Crossroads: The Quest for ...

I have a friend whose dad had a personal library of several thousand books. When my friend was about ten years old, his dad enrolled him in ...

Men's NCAA basketball - On January 4, 2012, Duke (ranked 3rd in current ESPN poll) was beaten by unranked Temple 73-78. Big deal. To...

I almost never post about basketball. But I'm an over-the-top Duke fan, and I rearrange my calendar around Duke hoops. I monitor recruit...

When I was 25 and serving my combat tour in Vietnam , I got two important letters. One was from the head of the Department of Psychology a...

Yesterday I wrote about why Phil Mickelson blew his chance to win the British Open . The U.S. women's loss in the World Cup final game w...

The 2011 NCAA men's Division I basketball tournament turned out to be one of the most unusual. Not a single No. 1 seed made it to the ...

As I write this post, my favorite college basketball team, the Duke Blue Devils , are warming up for their first game in the 2011 NCAA men...

I have a Ph.D. in English from Duke University. Studying there some 35 years ago was a peak experience. The learning was intense, and it cha...

One Saturday not too long ago I got to do three really cool things, which is pretty good for one day. First, I got to pet an alpaca.  ...

I've been collecting quotes for a long time. I started back in the early 1970s when I was pursuing a Ph.D. in English at Duke University...

In 1972, I was at Duke University studying British and American literature. For me, it was an intense time of learning and personal growth. ...