From the Heart

  By Alan Cohen While I was in Japan I met an American woman, who had been living in that country for 20 years. I asked her how long it had taken her to learn the Japanese language. “A couple of years,” she answered. “But I still don’t understand everything. …

By Alan Cohen The world is not the same place it was just a few months ago. The pandemic and economic downturn have put humanity’s activities on pause and caused nearly everyone to make significant lifestyle changes. We are required to stay home, conduct business from our living rooms, homeschool, …

By Alan Cohen As I was walking into a local market, a homeless woman stopped me. I had seen her from afar, talking to herself, apparently mentally unbalanced. She asked if I would buy her some potato chips. “Sure,” I told her. “What kind would you like?” “Lay’s—spicy, please.” Tickled …

By Alan Cohen I met a fellow who had been diagnosed with a rare debilitating disease. For seven years, Stan consulted with over 100 doctors, submitted to endless tests, ingested more than 100 pills daily and tried a wide range of treatments—none of which helped. He kept losing weight until …

By Alan Cohen When I asked my friend Brenda, “How’s your love life?” she sighed and answered, “Working on it, like everyone.” Were we really born to be constantly working on our love life, or were we born to be enjoying it? After many years of coaching and leading seminars, …

By Alan Cohen   I am a big Beatles fan. The more I hear their music, the more I recognize the sheer genius behind it. I saw a rare YouTube video of an especially vibrant 1964 Beatles concert in Australia at the height of Beatlemania, “Beatles Live—Australia.” One comment on the …

By Alan Cohen                        On March 9, 2015, pilot Andre Borschberg lifted his experimental aircraft Solar Impulse 2 from the Abu Dhabi runway. His bold plan: to fly a fully solar-powered airplane around the entire globe without using a drop of fossil fuel. In the stirring documentary, The Impossible Flight, …

By Alan Cohen I was stunned to see the long line of customers waiting in front of the rental car desk. As I counted 50 people and just a few agents to service them, I realized I would be here for at least an hour. Never again will I rent …

By Alan Cohen In the ninth grade, I did a project for the city science fair. It was about photosynthesis. I set up a little lab in my bedroom with colored lights on African Violets. I had no idea what I was doing and I learned nothing. I would rather …

By Alan Cohen When one of my coaching clients complained to her doctor that she was depressed, he diagnosed her as having a personality disorder and referred her to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told her she did not have a personality disorder at all; She talked through her feelings and …