They say that a lot of humor comes from pain.

And that some of the best comedians developed their senses of humor to help them deal with their pain.

But sometimes, the pain is just too recent to try to laugh about it.

So, if you’re currently out of work, you should probably skip this Journal post.

And if you’ve been out of work long enough to lose your home, [more...]

I don’t get that cable channel, so I’ve never seen the TV show, Mythbusters.

But I occasionally read stories about it, describing how the show’s hosts do tests to either confirm or disprove popular myths and old-wives’ tales.

From what I’ve seen, I think it would be really fun to work on that type of show; getting paid to entertain and educate people by making messes and having fun. [more...]

When she was a teenager, my wife worked as a waitress for a couple of summers.

So she is very sensitive to the needs of waitresses — and whenever we go out to eat, we always overtip.

Starting the summer of my twelfth year, I had several different labor-intensive jobs, including installing and removing huge circus-sized tents, caddying, doing lawn care, bagging groceries and [more...]

Those who really know me, know that I have a very dry sense of humor.

For example, several years ago, one of my coworkers asked a group of us, “Hey, did anyone watch Friends last night?”

With a straight face and a calm, even tone, I replied, “I’ve heard that millions of people watch it every week.”

Okay, I admit it — not [more...]

I know that you think you remember something about me.

But it wasn’t me.

It might have looked like me.

It might have sounded like me.

But it wasn’t me. [more...]

Every once in awhile — but possibly a little more often as I get older — I’ll be sitting at my computer in my home office and I’ll think of something that I want to get or do in another room.

So I’ll stand up… walk into the other room…

And my mind will suddenly go blank.

Sure, I’ll remember that there was [more...]

Six years ago, I began my very first speech on domestic violence with the following words:

“I grew up in a 4-bedroom brick house, in an upper-middle-class Chicago suburb. My father worked for IBM, and both of my parents were leaders in their church.

All through school, I was [more...]

Over the years, I’ve helped many people strengthen their resumes.

People trust me, because I’m very knowlegeable and meticulous.

And they appreciate the fact that I’m very honest about what needs to be done.

Sometimes, all it takes is some careful editing, organizing and clarifying.

Other times, the final result [more...]