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Author: willrjconroy

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Hair Clips

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Hair Clips

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One of my current job responsibilities includes traveling to colleges and universities to meet with students about the program offerings at Dartmouth College. One of my favorite conversations always starts with, “What is your biggest dream?” or “What do you want to accomplish?” Students talk about consulting, investment banking, and starting their own businesses. Some want to be professors or work in the medical or technology fields. These answers are great in their own way. These industries are associated with…

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The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Saying Sorry in Chicago

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Saying Sorry in Chicago

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Monday, February 6, 2023 I just got back from a long weekend in Chicago. It was a nice change to have some quality family time with no distractions. We went to the aquarium to see the Beluga whales, we got the best donuts I have ever tasted, and we watched the Chicago Bulls play the Portland Trailblazers. I always love going to NBA basketball games. The stadiums are designed really well for the viewer experience. Since I have started this…

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The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Rex

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Rex

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Listen with intent. Listen to understand. Ask for clarification. Then speak or act freely. In 2019, I lived behind the Supreme Court Building at the top of the national mall in Washington, D.C. I was working my first job after grad school at an education startup in Arlington, Virginia. As the only full-time employee at the company, I worked daily from 7am-7pm and was tasked with writing and implementing educational programming for our growing pool of clients. There are several…

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The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Two Forces of Optimism, One Change of Heart

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Two Forces of Optimism, One Change of Heart

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Weekly Optimist Newsletter Attila the Hun; barbarian, cruel, powerful. Pope Leo I; spiritual, authoritative, unifying. By 452, Attila had led sieges across Western Asia and Eastern Europe, resulting in a broken treaty with the Romans and mass destruction throughout the region. His ambition was relentless. He wanted more land, more power, and more control. By 452, Pope Leo I, also known as Pope Leo The Great, had arbitrated several disputes between religious leaders, and acted as a trusted advisor on…

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The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: The Process of Thought

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: The Process of Thought

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One instance of thought does not define us. Live by a process of thought. It is the process of thought that makes us who we are and what we will become. Commit. Have you decided what you will dedicate 2023 to yet? Resolutions can be great. They start us down a fresh path to health or well-being. Sometimes they lead to success. But how many success stories begin and end in the same year? Ok, maybe not end. How many…

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The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Productive Procrastination

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Productive Procrastination

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Doing things can get in the way. But there is so much that needs to be done. And all that needs to be done gets in the way of all the other things we need and want to do. How is it possible to pick the first thing that must be done? What comes second? Productive procrastination is a trap. When we wake up in the morning there are priorities. When I wake up, my priorities are exercise, reading, and…

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Little Red Duck Flies Upside-Down

Little Red Duck Flies Upside-Down

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Wings went woosh! Head upside down. The funniest way to fly around town. – Early in the morning, Red was always seen flying upside down on his morning routine. – Red flapped to the diner, breakfast a piece of pie, then fluttered to the playground, feet pointed to the sky. – Other ducks were playing, gliding down the slide. Red always watched, but today decided to try. – Wings went woosh! Down the slide so fast. Joining the other ducks,…

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If You Give a Mom a Break

If You Give a Mom a Break

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When a Mom is done her week at work she should get a break. If you give a Mom a break, a break she will never take. If you give a Mom a break she will do the chores. she will throw the laundry in and mop the entire floor. If you give a Mom a break and everything is clean, she will find more to fit into her routine. If you give a Mom a break and all her…

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The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Don’t. You can’t. Not Possible.

The Weekly Optimist Newsletter: Don’t. You can’t. Not Possible.

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Monday, January 2, 2023 Happy New Year! Welcome to 2023. Thank you for reading in 2022, I am very excited for what the new year will bring. If you typically follow the newsletter but do not navigate to practice-optimism.com, please make sure you take a look at some of the new material on the website. There are new articles, children’s stories, and more in-depth conversations about the topics we cover every Monday. Thank you again and enjoy! Don’t, You Can’t,…

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Can you feel the storm a-brewin?

Can you feel the storm a-brewin?

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A man approached a woman and said, “What a beautiful work of art.” She asked, “Do you know anything about it?” He replied, “From the beginning, let us start.” There is a story that many don’t know of a man in a boat in a storm long ago. On a dark, early morning a sailor set out, rowing blind and splashing about. He rode waves high and then down low, what he had in store he did not know. His…

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