Summer

While every summer brings different adventures, one priority that does not change is to squeeze in several books, including a few I've read many times before. At the top of that pile can be found Betty Smith's classic, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

In a novel of rich language, there's one particular favorite:

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory."

Perhaps that's easier in summer -- the first sweet ear of Jersey corn, the first firefly of the evening -- so much is around us that should not be overlooked or taken for granted.

Same can be true of business -- not taking any speaking opportunity for granted but approaching each one with freshness, with creativity, and with careful thought.