Showing results by author "Michael Gates Gill" in All Categories

In his 50s, Michael Gates Gill had it all: a big house in the suburbs, a loving family, and a top job at an ad agency with a six-figure salary. By the time he turned 60, he had lost everything except his Ivy League education and his sense of entitlement. First, he was downsized at work. Next, an affair ended his 20-year marriage. Then, he was diagnosed with a slow-growing brain tumor, prognosis undetermined. Around the same time, his girlfriend gave birth to a son.

In response to overwhelming requests from readers who wanted to know how they, too, could weather downturns, Michael Gill has distilled his experiences into fifteen meaningful lessons. Some of these include: leap with faith (Gill accepted his Starbucks job immediately on a whim), let yourself be helped (pride is even more paralyzing than fear), look with respect at every individual you see (realize the potential in all who cross your path), and lose your watch (and cell phone and PDA) (our obsession with productivity produces madness, not gladness).