Doug Smith, former CEO of Kraft Foods Canada to name a few, now writes and speaks extensively on the subject of abundant living. Today we introduce the objective and concept of Doug’s message, “Living and Leading in the Second Half of Life.”

This past week, all eyes were on Congress and the debt ceiling negotiations. A budget deal was struck, but there were a couple important provisions of that bill not being talked about which impact Social Security claiming options. Specifically, two key strategies were targeted which are now being phased out.

Criticism is like medicine, it all depends on administration and dose. But here’s the problem: If we’re quick to judge, we’re upping the odds that we’ll misdiagnose and seriously hurt someone. New York Times bestselling author and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers shares with us three reasons why we should be slow to judge.

“If you were to close your eyes and not look at the market for the next five years, where do you think you could make the most money?” Our answer to the question:

When the well-known journalist Ted Koppel received a “Broadcaster of the Year Award,” he stated, “Consider this paradox: Almost everything that is publicly said these days is recorded. Almost nothing of what is said is worth remembering.” Sadly, how true this statement is…

First the bad news. The 3rd quarter of 2015 was the worst quarter for the financial markets in four years. From July through September, most major stock market indexes experienced a correction of 6% to 10%, with areas such as energy, health care, and emerging market stocks getting hit even harder. With markets generally flat in the first half of the year, the correction in the 3rd quarter means virtually every index we look at for asset classes around the world is down 6% to 10% on a year-to-date basis.What’s the good news?

Author John Maxwell shared the following insight regarding the process of mentoring and teaching others. It’s simple but powerful and believe it applies not only to work settings, but also to athletic teams, volunteer activities, even families. If you agree, begin to apply it today!

Fears of China’s slowing economy and the resulting correction it caused in late August has clearly rattled investors. Understandably, investors are asking, “what’s next?” Read about some of the key things we are looking at:

We are delighted to share with you today a short story encouraging us all to stop and think of those who have helped shape our lives in a positive way. At the same time, it is important to realize the ways in which we are impacting the lives of others.

Japan is known as the “Land of the Rising Sun,” but could it also be known as the Land of the Rising Stock Market? So far in 2015, foreign stocks have broadly outperformed U.S. stocks, but European companies seem to be attracting the most attention. Japanese stocks have risen alongside Europe, but seem to be flying under the radar.