Robert and I were in DC a few years ago for some client meetings and the Washington Capitals hockey team was in contention for the Stanley Cup. Robert played collegiate hockey -- goalie and selective mover -- and DC not being a hockey town like Boston or Montreal we were able to get tickets the day of the game.

Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.

At the moment for decisive action, whatever's going on right now, which is your context -- meets your experience -- which is everything you've learned, remembered, trained for, patterns you recognize, analogies you can apply. This rapid integration of your context with your experience occurs every time your awareness becomes an understanding that generates an action. This is what happens when you wake from sleep; when you're driving and a green light turns to a yellow light, when you hear someone call your name, when something comes moving quickly toward you: a car, a volleyball.

If you want to annoy me, say, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" Sayings like these were called bromides after a primitive sedative. It was widely observed at the time that people under the influence of potassium bromide lost their spark. They were perceived as boring.

"Where did I put my cup? Oh yeah." "What's the name of that variety of mountain laurel? Oh yeah."

I talk to myself all day. A lot of it is when I'm retrieving something from memory in one of those "at the tip of my tongue" moments. So often, all I need to do is announce out loud to myself what I'm trying to remember, and it appears.

"That's a pie crust promise," said Mary Poppins, "Easily made; easily broken."

Go ahead and make a New Year's Resolution. Ceremonial dates are important. They give us pause. We look behind to the last one; look ahead to the next one. We draw energy from the pause, leverage that energy to imagine what could be different next year, and make a commitment to make that difference.

"Hear that?"

I listened and didn't know what he meant.

"It's the HVAC system. It makes nine distinct annoying sounds."

Ninety percent of the medical doctors who have taken the Kairos Assessment appear in the Sequential preference. That's in comparison with almost 60 percent of the general population assessed as Sequential preferent.

Southern Florida contains a magically complex ecosystem known to most as The Everglades. The Oxford dictionary defines it as as a marshy tract of land that is mostly under water and covered with tall grass, which is a start, but hardly prepares one for its 2 million acres, big enough to soak the bottoms of five cities of Los Angeles, all without rising much more than 8 feet above sea level.

Ugh.

End of the year insurance policy review. The mail box had engorged thick envelopes of health insurance policy renewal for our businesses, a very long and detailed workers' compensation document, an even longer and more detailed business insurance document; plus documents for our personal health insurance and automobile insurance.

Let's start with a great thing about humans. For all our flaws, we have the ability to look at ourselves and make plans and decisions for improvement.

Having spent a lot of time in cities, I've been impressed by rats. Rats are extremely clever and resourceful. At the same time, I don't see them lounging around thinking,"How can I be a better rat today? I've been all about my needs; what do Francis and Susan need?"