There are probably many people in your life who believe in your ability to succeed. Mom or dad or the significant other. But those individuals’ own lives consume the bulk of their time. They are too busy…

Hate making mistakes? Me too. But unless you never attempt anything hard, making mistakes comes with living a full life. I've made a lot of them, but I'm lucky to have a daily reminder of the importance of being free to make those mistakes. It comes from…

If there is one activity that has vastly improved my life in multiple ways, it’s journaling. I’ve mentioned this to numerous people who’ve asked me for…

Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

My friend’s dad used to say that often. It sounds old-fashioned in this day and age. Most people used to…

When I started training for my pilot license, I was amazed at how I felt after a flight ended. If I ever lifted off from...

I’m a sucker for a distraction. Too often I’ll walk into my home office with a specific purpose in mind only to...

In my last post, I promised ideas to help you flow with life versus forcing it. If you’ve been trying to force life to...

Continued from Life Force:

There must be an easier way.

Those words sifted through my mind five years ago as I...

I’ve penned Lessons from the Cockpit for over four years and in all those posts I don’t believe I’ve written one as important as this. If I’ve cultivated any major life philosophy over the years, this is it…

A great actor can transform a bit part into something amazing and memorable. That is why the acting great Stanislavsky said, “There are no small roles, only small actors.” The quote stood out for me in a passage when I recently read…

My friend, David Horne, occasionally writes a “Movie Lessons” segment for his blog. I love these and constantly nag him to write them more often. So, while I wait for…

Summer always reminds me of childhood when I’d play outside with friends until dusk and beyond. Many evenings, when the light faded, the soft glow of fireflies pulled us from…

I have a secret to share: I’ve been leading a double life. For many readers of this blog, I’m Christopher Laney, writer. But there’s another side to me…

Several years ago I drove to a friend’s mountain cabin near West Jefferson for ten days to get my novel jump-started. I’d dabbled…

Fitness has been part of my life for a long time. I’ve worked out enough to have a little insight into building muscle. One absolute truth is, muscle doesn’t grow unless you…

If you suddenly found yourself with enough money so you no longer had to work, what would you do with your time? When I ask that question to a variety of people, most answers are not…

There is a person you are meant to be. You know this because you’ve dreamed of it. Perhaps that person is a painter or a photographer. Maybe it’s an entrepreneur or a scientist. But whatever the goal, many of us have…

I’ve always loved the quote, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” It gets misattributed to…

Inspirational speaker and award-winning author Janae Bower co-hosts a blog currently featuring an A-to-Z series on spirituality. This week's letter is "C"—as in Christopher—and Janae has…

In May 2009, I left a high-paying job to write a novel, and I’ve never regretted it one bit. Navigating the traditional publishing route—versus self-publishing—takes vast patience, but…