I spent years in deep denial about office politics. I flatly refused to believe it was necessary to “play” politics in order to succeed. And – with a symbolic if not actual stamp of my foot – if it was necessary, then I’d sacrifice my career on the altar of my disdain! Many people confound themselves with the same denial and the same definition of office politics: bad, deceitful, backstabbing, brown-nosing – all of the slimy things we often think of, ...

Last time, I wrote about how we all grow up loving to hear stories, and how we continue to be attracted to – and even need – that element of fantasy and the dreams that stories can bring into our daily lives. And when stories are dreams, that’s wonderful; without the stories we dream for ourselves and our families, we would never reach for the things that make our lives special, or achieve goals that make us look around and ...

When Stories Become Malignant (Part I) From earliest childhood, we all love story time. We beg our parents for bedtime tales (as much to postpone “lights out” as to hear the stories, of course); we look forward to story hour in kindergarten; and we cluster around the volunteers in the children’s library as they read aloud. As adults, we dress “story hour” in more sophisticated clothing and attend poetry readings, literature society presentations, and “open mike” nights at the ...