Michelle Weidenbenner grew up with five brothers. In fact, she used to cry whenever her mother would bring home a new baby because she desperately wanted a sister. However, the experience of growing up surrounded by boys helped Michelle build a mental toughness and a backbone for many of the…

Steve Rupert grew up in Michigan, but he moved 21 times since 1987 before finally settling down in Fredericksburg, Va., after meeting Patti, the love of his life, to whom he got married in September 2021. It opened a new door for him because Patti has a son and a…

John and Kathy Huggins, who are both in their 70s today, were lifted out of relative obscurity by a single idea to embrace a new hobby and teach others to join them along the way. John worked at an industrial manufacturing facility for many years, and Kathy served as a…

Janet Black has lived “all over,” but spent much of her time growing up in California. She moved to North Carolina eight years ago. She is married with two sons, two stepsons and a stepdaughter as well as three grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. Before turning 50, it took her quite…

Prior to turning 50, Mary Jane Williams was a homeschooling mother of six living in Fort Myers, Fla. Today, she has a 6-year-old granddaughter who is an ideal playmate for Mary Jane’s 5-year-old son. After passing the 50-year mark, she ventured into rehabilitating and flipping homes with a business partner…

“I believe you have a life purpose — we all do,” writes Daniel Scott in Entrepreneur magazine. “Since there is no other individual on the planet exactly like you that has the exact combination of nature and nurture, it seems obvious and logical that you must be capable of providing…

Listen to many success gurus today and they’ll preach about establishing an “Hour of Power” in which you completely devote 60 minutes of uninterrupted time toward the completion of a vital task every day. The gurus promise uncommon success, wealth and everything that comes with that. There is nothing wrong…

I can’t remember for sure when I started this tradition, but I have not missed a year in the past 25 years. Every Independence Day, I take time to read the Declaration of Independence as written by our founding fathers. …

This afternoon, I learned a Facebook friend died suddenly on July 1. He suffered from an aortic dissection and died quickly. That meant there was no time for goodbyes or to offer final words of advice and encouragement. People reflecting on his death and the man by viewing his Facebook…