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The Power of Your Past

Thoughts on wisdom, coaching, and the human journey

Motivation
Neglecting Our Democratic Infrastructure No More

John P. Schuster on February 6, 2017

Like physical systems, we use the democratic infrastructure all the time; they are in constant use and need maintenance and metaphoric oil changes.

Like physical systems, we use the democratic infrastructure all the time; they are in constant use and need maintenance and metaphoric oil changes.

Politics
Keeping America's Kids from Being Politically Wounded

John P. Schuster on October 13, 2016

After watching the presidential debates, I think we have an obligation to our grandkids. We need to tell them how political discourse used to be and how it can be again someday.

After watching the presidential debates, I think we have an obligation to our grandkids. We need to tell them how political discourse used to be and how it can be again someday.

Friends
Original Teenage Soul

John P. Schuster on August 18, 2016

The soulful social psychology of this weekend was not lost on any of us. We were celebrating the best parts of us that only these old friends know in its purest forms.

The soulful social psychology of this weekend was not lost on any of us. We were celebrating the best parts of us that only these old friends know in its purest forms.

Time Management
Reading as Deliberate Confrontation

John P. Schuster on April 8, 2016

Yes there is time for fast reading. Indulge away and keep yourself broadly informed. But do another kind of reading. Be revolutionary. Slow down.

Yes there is time for fast reading. Indulge away and keep yourself broadly informed. But do another kind of reading. Be revolutionary. Slow down.

Fear
The Sky Behind Me

John P. Schuster on October 9, 2015

A worthwhile read for anyone who wants to sense the ghost in the machine.

A worthwhile read for anyone who wants to sense the ghost in the machine.

Attention
Exploring the Good Kind of Disobedience

John P. Schuster on August 17, 2015

Intelligent Disobedience. I recommend this book to all of us interested in the implications of the Hoffman Report, and to everyone not in psychology but interested in human courage in the face of collective evil.

Intelligent Disobedience. I recommend this book to all of us interested in the implications of the Hoffman Report, and to everyone not in psychology but interested in human courage in the face of collective evil.

Wisdom
Angeles Arrien

John P. Schuster on May 12, 2014

Thank you, Angeles, for appealing to our better angels by knowing how to bridge us, the lost children of the modern scientific age, to our wisdom traditions.

Thank you, Angeles, for appealing to our better angels by knowing how to bridge us, the lost children of the modern scientific age, to our wisdom traditions.

Resilience
Lance, Andy and Elliott: Gump or Gatsby?

John P. Schuster on July 30, 2013

What do you have—a destiny you accept even if it means taking on some hard truths from your past, or a fate you try to avoid but tends to catch up with you no matter what? The choice, in large measure, is ours to determine.

What do you have—a destiny you accept even if it means taking on some hard truths from your past, or a fate you try to avoid but tends to catch up with you no matter what? The choice, in large measure, is ours to determine.

Friends
The Eight Great Grandparents

John P. Schuster on May 16, 2013

Think of a value you carry and think of an aptitude you have and then consider their origins. To what in your personal past and ancestral past can you trace this value and talent?

Think of a value you carry and think of an aptitude you have and then consider their origins. To what in your personal past and ancestral past can you trace this value and talent?

Wisdom
The Seven Effects of Highly Habitual People

John P. Schuster on August 13, 2012

But to Steven Covey, I do give a major thanks. He made our field better and our work easier. He once again showed that the soft stuff is hard.

But to Steven Covey, I do give a major thanks. He made our field better and our work easier. He once again showed that the soft stuff is hard.