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The word “spa” may conjure up images of a mindless getaway—meditation, yoga, Pilates, hikes, healthy food in healthy portions, massages, facials, pedicures, manicures and whatever else can be shared with willing guests. And some also offer a menu of spiritual pursuits, from learning to accept loss to having your future read by a clairvoyant. At the same time, it may suggest big dollars needed to afford such special treatments, often in a stunning location since outdoor greenery can be a healer of mind and body, we now know from scientific research. It’s not unheard of for a visit to cost...

We love happy stories that make others’ lives better with good honest hard work and a big dose of heart. David Schwartz, caterer and chef for 42 years, exemplifies that model. A few weeks ago, he stood in the classroom of a St. Louis inner-city charter school where he set up a makeshift kitchen in preparation for a cooking class he was teaching. The room was a small dimly-lit space with several tables, chairs and a large teacher’s desk at the back near a window. David was donating his time to teach healthy, inexpensive cooking to 12, 10th grade-inner-city girls....

Passover or Pesach is an emotional and nostalgic Jewish holiday that celebrates the exodus of the Israelites as slaves in Egypt. For years, our family has gathered as many people around our Seder table as possible. This reflects our open-door policy of welcoming family, friends and almost-strangers who had never been to a Seder. In fact, it’s the most beloved of all our Jewish holidays with more than 70 percent of Jews participating in a family or community Seder versus only 23 percent attending religious services monthly, according to one Pew Research Center study.   I’m not surprised. Part of...

We talked in last week's blog about the challenges and successes of a female business partnership through the lens of Betsy Polk and Maggie Ellis Chotas, business partners and co-presidents of Mulberry Partners. We know the subject well from our own partnership in writing together for more than 30 years, far longer than many marriages. But we wanted to hear how other women achieved work nirvana, so here are two other teams that show how to manage the formula well. Co-Executive Directors Linda Popky and Lisa Anderson Linda Popky, a strategic marketing expert with her own business, Leverage2Market Associates, and...

Writing is a solitary profession as we well know. And when we were lucky enough to be introduced more than 30 years ago, we quickly realized that we had similar interests and goals. Both of us were driven by the simple desire to do good work fueled by ideas that we wanted to express through words. We gave our writing partnership a try. That was in 1985. After a honeymoon period when we penned a 30-page book proposal together which turned into our first book, “Corporate Bloodlines,” we knew this was a good match. We also understood that our relationship...