In the city that I live a very popular chain restaurant just closed. Apparently, it was the lowest performing restaurant in the state and so they decided to shut it down. When I first heard about this I was really shocked. Five years ago if anyone would have told me that this chain would be closing stores, rather than expanding in 2018 I would have bet against you. But the fact remains that times change, tastes change and that nothing is guaranteed. Like the beginning of so many things, opening a new store, starting a new job, and entering into a new relationship the beginning is often filled with excitement, joy, and hope towards a bright future. But, all too often I think we all experience seeing things fail, diminish and not meet the future expectations that we had set in the beginning.

Today, I wanted to get you thinking about the relationships that you currently hold near-and-dear to your heart. Most likely, these relationships that you’re thinking about are family members, a spo...

Could you imagine what would happen if we got rid of driver's education (ed.) courses for teenagers? Instead of having teenagers prepare for their license we just said, "Here you go" and "Good luck" when they got behind the wheel. It would be a disaster. My son is about two months away from starting driver's ed. and I'm terrified of all the what if's. He's a super responsible and accountable young man and that helps relieve a little bit of the fear, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that you can't always protect him. 

In order to prepare for behind the wheel my son will go through 50 hours of training. I think it's awesome. I wish the requirement were double. 

Now think about your life, your career, your spouse or significant other, your kids, etc. What lessons have you sat down to take in order to prepare yourself for these responsibilities?

If you're like most, you haven't prepared very much. You have shot from the hip and reacted more in your life than you have...

This past weekend my company hosted a pre-marriage retreat for couples from MN and ND. It was an awesome experience and one that I’ll never forget.  

I’ll never forget it because of the connections and break-throughs that we had with so many couples. Couples struggling with communication challenges, family issues, depression, anxiety, sexual abuse and jealousy.  
Although I could focus on any one of these issues, one connection I made with a young man at the retreat reminded me of the pain and anguish I used to put not only myself through but my wife through when we were first dating and first married. 

To be completely blunt and honest, I was an A#$%HOLE when it came to my wife’s past relationships. I was a jerk. 

Not only would I make her relive those past relationships, but I would then critique her on why she had made such bad decisions.  Thinking about my past behavior - I am really embarrassed. 

Jealousy for me wasn’t something that I had ever really experienced before...