-3 min readen
The Power of Hope
Hope. Hope by definition means, “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Think about this. It’s a feeling of expectation and desire. Your marriage is going through some rou...
Dave Worthen
Author
Rankin Acres
I am the Founder and Executive Director of Be More Able, a consulting practice that spans 40 years helping professionals isolate personal issues that are blocking or sabotaging sales and profitability in any business. I am also a published author and International Speaker.
78 articles
Topics
Articles by Dave
2023
1 articles
2020
11 articles
-6 min readen
*The Day I Met John Lennon
I was eight years old. My parents were watching the Ed Sullivan Show. At school the next day, some girls were all huddled around each other showing cards they had of each of the Beatles. It was an int...
-3 min readen
An Ex- is Not a Hex...
I met her. She was kind. She was funny. She had an engaging personality. She would giggle a certain way. She would smile at you like you thought no one would ever smile at you like that. She could mak...
-5 min readen
Falling Head over Heels: A Crazy and Wonderful Somersault in Life...
If I asked you what you thought the term “head over heels" meant, you might reply it means something like being madly in love. And you would be right. But there’s more to this expression. Which I beca...
-3 min readen
Cooped Up, Corona, and Crazy.
Your problem isn’t a virus. Your problem has never been a virus. Not when you had the flu, the measles, or the mumps. Your problem is being cooped up. You got through the measles and every flu you’ve...
-2 min readen
Refusing to Look: The One-Way Conversation in Your Head
Your partner, colleague, or friend is communicating their viewpoint about something to you. If you can completely look at what they’re saying, you’ll be fine. However, at the exact moment you find you...
-5 min readen
False Listening: What Happens When Couples Don't Listen with The Intention to Understand...
When you listen to a bird singing, all your attention zeroes in on the melodic sound coming from the bird. When you’re listening to your favorite song your attention is often completely immersed in th...
-5 min readen
You Never Grow Old if You're Always a Kid...
You remember when you were a kid in school standing in line and someone would cut in front of you ? Deep down in our school-kid-soul we knew this was not cool. And this is what age is trying to do now...
-6 min readen
Telling Your Partner the Truth: Why it's Not So Easy...
I was trying to recall when was the first time I heard this phrase: “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” I know it was sometime very early in grade school. And I got to thinking that in grade school we would...
-6 min readen
The Perception of Counter Intention...
A counter intention is an intention counter to your intention. Simple. You want to go to Paris and your husband does not. You have a great idea for your company’s expansion and your boss doesn’t think...
-5 min readen
Why We Invented Forgetting...
If you look up the word forget it means: “a failure to remember.” So in the actual DNA of the word forget is a failure. A failure to remember. And I’m here to enlighten you on how the hell you can "fa...
-2 min readen
Wrinkles, Relationships, and 2020
Ever tried to iron a blouse or shirt and then somehow you ironed a wrinkle into your blouse or shirt? You know. The kind that no matter how much you spray it or iron over it, it’s like there now stari...
2019
29 articles
-2 min readen
The Feeling of Friendship
You can ask a dozen different people how they would define a friend and you’ll get a dozen different answers. Some similar, some very different. You can Google “friend,” and you will see there are def...
-5 min readen
Reaching Your Goals, Flying Monkeys, and Dorothy's Unrelenting Intention...
Intention: The word intention comes from intend. And when you dig deeper its roots mean to “extend or stretch.” And I’m not talking about, “ Can you stretch and touch your toes without bending your kn...
-8 min readen
Considerations: How They Rob You of The Aliveness in Your Relationships...
You have something you want to tell your spouse or partner. It’s something you’ve been mulling over in your mind to talk with them about. But you have some considerations. Consider is from consīderāre...
-3 min readen
The Three C's of Creating
You’re a kid looking down at your crayons. That’s Confronting. You imagine a picture you want to draw, pick up your crayons and go into the kitchen. You see a big blank white wall and get busy with yo...
-6 min readen
Radioactive Texting
You may be asking yourself what the hell is radioactive texting? Well, I’m willing to bet you've experienced it and not known quite what to call it. So, I gave it a name. And just for context, here is...
-3 min readen
You Are The Wonder in the World...
Admire: The word comes from Late 16th century Latin admirari , from ad- ‘at’ + mirari ‘wonder’. The 16th Century. That’s when Michelangelo was hanging out. A Lesson from Michelangelo: You step inside...
-4 min readen
Affinity: A Natural Part of Who You Are
Affinity: a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc. Latin from affīnis "bordering (on), related by marriage , connected (with)" (from ad + fīnis "boundary, limit"). It’s intere...
-3 min readen
Your Own Personal Renaissance
When you are creating you will sometimes meet up with a feeling of tiredness, opposition, or counter-create. You will stir up unfinished paintings. Unfinished writing. A drawing left in a sketchbook....
-2 min readen
Modern Day Conjuring
You bought yourself some expensive new shoes and then right afterwards you said to yourself, “Rick will probably get mad.” Right after the doingness comes your decision or postulate. See? You’re now d...
-2 min readen
The Intersection of Thought
You know when you’re in your car on a side street and you’re facing an extremely busy intersection of traffic? You’re looking both ways like you’re watching a ping-pong game being played furiously bac...
-15 min readen
Hide n' Go Seek: What Happen's When Couples Play Hide Only...
Imagine for a moment that you are talking to your spouse or partner. And while you’re doing that, I want you to imagine that the essence of your communication (not the words), is an almost imperceptib...
-10 min readen
Exit Wounds: Covert Invalidation Exposed
Invalidation. When you read the word invalidation it may produce an immediate emotion or sensation within you. It’s almost as if you’ve stepped upon an ancient Indian burial site. You feel the presenc...
-10 min readen
Elsewhere: The Mini Series You Watch in Your Head
There is a Mini Series you watch that can wreak havoc on your relationships. And no, I’m not talking about St. Elsewhere, the medical drama TV series from the 80’s. I’m talking about the mini series y...
-8 min readen
What Happens When You Take the Suppress Off Your Communication...
When I work with individuals one on one, I find right away they have a lot to communicate. But what is readily observable is they have a lot of communication that is also on suppress. What does this m...
-11 min readen
You're Not Upset...You're Offended...
“ You’re not listening to me.” Right. And why is this? Is it because you blab and blab and blab? No. Is it because you have attitude? No. It’s much simpler than that. When you find the other person ha...
-9 min readen
The Reason Why Date Nights Are Not Always Warm and Fuzzy
I ask people the definition of the word inhibit and often they pause. They begin to describe to me when someone has inhibitions. Like sexual inhibitions or singing in front of an audience. Yes, there...
-16 min readen
Secrets Suck: What Happens Afterwards Sucks Even More...
What image do you get when you think of the word overwhelm? A single working mother with three kids juggling her hats while getting ready for work and her kids off to school? A stressed-out Fortune 50...
-10 min readen
What Happened to Singing into Your Hairbrush, Ants in Your Pants, and Living Happily Ever After?
Sometimes you will read a book or books that are defining moments in your life. Back in the 70’s one such book for me was “Fundamentals of Thought” by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. The follo...
-8 min readen
Responsibility & The Burning Match: Whose Matchstick is it Anyway?
Responsibility is one of those words that when you read it, it carries with it this unspoken thread of DNA that makes you sit up a bit straighter, you know? “It’s your responsibility…” “You’re respons...
-11 min readen
Being Immortal: A Major Pet Peeve
You know being immortal truly has its upsides. I mean for one you are immortal. It doesn’t get any better than that, right ? But dang, immortal spiritual beings have pet peeves. We do. And one real bi...
-9 min readen
It's Personal: When You Can't Talk About What's Really On Your Mind
You are having a conversation with your spouse or partner. This is a personal conversation. Not about the weather or politics. You are talking about something that you’re trying to resolve between the...
-8 min readen
Love & Always-Never
Let’s start at the beginning... Always: (def) “Every time; on every occasion; without exception: Cathy: “Will you always love me?” Michael: “Always.” Always means without exception. Cathy asks the que...
-6 min readen
The Memory of a Slow Dance
When I was in grade school, we had dances in our school auditorium. Girls on one side sitting in those metal folding chairs. Boys on the other side. A record would come on and if it was “boy’s choice”...
-9 min readen
Your Personal Integrity, Relationships, and the Final Frontier...
When people think of integrity they think of being honest and true. This is certainly one definition of integrity. Here is a more basic definition: “The quality or state of being whole or undivided: c...
-5 min readen
Your Soul Has a Signature
Imagine for a moment two spheres, like two clear crystal balls sitting on a table. Each about two feet apart. And it is pitch black. These spheres represent two beings that cannot see or hear or sense...
-7 min readen
I Feel Like I Know You from Somewhere: Have We Met Before?
Have you ever met someone you’ve never met before and yet felt that you have met them before? I think we all have. And having met them, the conversation may go something like this: “I feel like I know...
-4 min readen
I Have a Stalker! What Fun!
I have a stalker. Actually I have more than one. These are online stalkers. And dang, it’s like a real life episode of NCIS or Criminal Minds. And maybe I’m late to the party and everyone has a stalke...
-6 min readen
Now I'm Supposed to Do What?
Now I’m supposed to go to college. Now I’m supposed to get a degree. Now I’m supposed to get a job. Now I’m supposed to get married. Now I’m supposed to have kids. Now I’m supposed to raise a family....
-4 min readen
Your WTF? Moment with Your Spouse
You’re talking with your spouse. You start to argue. As soon as you feel the arg, in argue , you distance yourself from him or her. I’m talking at the precise moment there is a difference of reality,...
2018
26 articles
-11 min readen
New Year’s Resolutions: A New Take on an Old Tradition
When you make a resolution it’s a noun. It’s a thing. A resolution is simply a decision. It is a static thing. Your New Year’s Resolution could be “To lose 10 lbs.” That resolution is static, meaning...
-9 min readen
Your Relationship: Truth or Consequences?
I thought I’d give you an inside look at my latest book, "Marriage, Merriment, and Madness" from what I call a “truth revealed,” viewpoint. First let me explain what this means. When you ask your teen...
-3 min readen
My Latest Book: Marriage, Merriment, and Madness:
After counseling couples for over 40 years, I thought that I should put down in writing what real couples go through behind closed doors. You hear about people “doing counseling” but really, you never...
-14 min readen
Betrayal: Why it Cuts So Deep
Ever wonder how a word comes into existence with a certain amount of impact behind it? You know, like this word: Betrayal. See? When you read it it’s not really a fun word. I mean it’s different when...
-13 min readen
When Misunderstanding Crashes the Party
You met Understanding, yes? Do you recall when you first met? It’s been some time ago. Maybe when you were three months old and you finally understood when your mother said “Good morning little Jack”...
-8 min readen
Revelation: The Ultimate Act of Intimacy
I’m going to get intimate with you. Hold on. Don’t let your pictures run away with you. When you read the word intimate you will get your own mental image pictures of what this means to you. Or how yo...
-10 min readen
The Incomprehensibility of Your Best Friend Dying
I have had events in my life that were so profound, that when I experienced them, the telling of the experience to another was just not enough. Like when my daughter was born and I was actually in the...
-12 min readen
Mind Hell: Chewing on that Conversation
You’re talking with your boss or colleague and have a disagreement. Or you’re talking with your partner or spouse and have a disagreement. You are trying to resolve this disagreement but it seems this...
-15 min readen
Three Words That Make You Crazy
You are wrong. There’s a visceral response when you read those three words, right ? And it happens instantly. You can barely finish reading the word wrong without feeling like that lethal injection is...
-12 min readen
You See Dead People and a Whole Lot More
You remember the line from the 1999 movie Sixth Sense, when the character Cole Sear played by Haley Joel Osment, says, “I see dead people,” yes? It was an iconic line. And it was impressionable in par...
-12 min readen
Beehives and Barriers: Why You Don't Sing Anymore
When I was in the Boy Scouts I learned that if you don’t provoke bees, they will just let you be. I’m not sure I bought that completely , seeming how bees always seemed to me to be just on the verge o...
-5 min readen
Ten Minutes and Seven Sticks of Dynamite
I was in St. Petersburg Russia on a humanitarian project I devote time to. I was invited there to do deliver a seminar. I spent the weekend delivering my lecture to a number of friends, colleagues, an...
-9 min readen
The Biggest Myth Ever: “I Can’t Draw.”
When you have the urge to create, within that urge is every moment of counter-create that you’ve come up against over your entire existence. Counter-create? Yes. And it looks like this. You’re five ye...
-9 min readen
The Distance Virus: Don't Let That Virus Spread in Your Relationship
I was working with a couple to repair their marriage and along that road they both became aware of something they’d never given thought to. It was the ability to confront or grant beingness to their p...
-8 min readen
Being Vulnerable: It Takes Guts
Have you ever been in a marriage or relationship where you had an upset the magnitude of which made you feel like this: “It felt like I had my heart torn apart.” “It felt like an arrow shot right thro...
-8 min readen
Listening: The Holy Grail
You want someone to listen to you. That’s actually only partially true. You can recall right now over the span of your life, hundreds of people that have listened to you. Your wife. Your husband. Your...
-5 min readen
Looking vs. Thinking: You May Be Overthinking Things...
Have you ever stopped and looked at a thought? Not think a thought. Not think about a thought. But look at a thought? One day not too long ago I was looking at a situation in my life and I realized I...
-7 min readen
When You Think It But You Don’t Say It
You have something you want to tell your colleague, friend, or spouse. During your day you think about telling them this thing. You know, it’s on your mind and you feel that you need to communicate it...
-2 min readen
Telling the Truth in Your Business: Why It’s Difficult to Tell and How to Handle It.
Did you know that truth actually has a location? It has an exact time, place, and form where the event occurred. If you look at your marriage vows for example, the moment you said them, you will recal...
-2 min readen
John White Book Review: You Can't Grow Until You Know the Truth
(Thank you to my good friend and colleague, John White and Celia Patrick for their five star reviews of my book!) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You Can't Grow Until You Know the Truth John White Columnist Inc. Magazine March...
-2 min readen
Hacking The Truth: A Must Read for Any Business Owner...
I have to say that this simple, entertaining and hard hitting book is a must for any executive, parent or business owner. I have four children and have been a small business owner (Optometrist) for th...
-2 min readen
Hacking The Truth: A Guide for Anyone Who Leads
As an executive, sometimes you are faced with people on your team who you swear have some disagreement, or some agenda that is counter-intuitive to what you are doing. You work hard. You put in long h...
-4 min readen
Sometimes You Need to Hack Your Own Business
excerpt from my upcoming book, Hacking the Truth... ...All of what that Mission Impossible team is doing, including Ethan Hunt, is Hacking the Truth. They have a mission. Just like you and your compan...
-2 min readen
Upcoming book release: Hacking The Truth
Hacking the Truth is my soon to be released book to help executives, managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who leads, get down to the truth in situations that are blocking expansion in your business. Th...
-7 min readen
You Need to Listen to Your “Creepy Alarm.”
Have you ever been in a meeting with the goal of getting a project done or a goal set, and as you go around the table asking questions your Spidey Sense pings when you hear Jason’s answer? It sounds s...
-9 min readen
Real Relationships: It Takes Courage to Not Compromise
When people think of courage, they often get a picture of a fireman rushing into a burning building to save lives. Or, hearing of a soldier honored with the Purple Heart for saving his platoon pinned...
2017
11 articles
-4 min readen
Your Kid is Suspended While You’re at Work: Now What?
You’re at work and things are going well. You get a call from your wife who is apparently driving somewhere because you hear the all too familiar sounds of traffic and wind in the background. She does...
-6 min readen
Your Test Results are Back and Your Temper Was off the Richter Scale
Scenario One: Him You are at work and you find yourself yelling at another executive for what must be the third time this week. You know you have a temper. In the work space you try to keep a rein on...
-10 min readen
When Problems in Your Marriage Cannot Just Be Put on the Back Burner at Work
What happens when your marriage is imploding, while your business is experiencing growth pains and needs every waking hour of your attention? Welcome to Eric and Michelle. This is a true story. Their...
-12 min readen
The Feeling of False: From False Eyelashes to False Co-Workers
False is a funny word. Just the word false itself. False eyelashes. False Notes. False Co-Workers. False Friends. Someone says, “This is a True or False test.” And when you hear the word true , it kin...
-8 min readen
Chocolate Cynicism: The Covert Bullet Aimed at Creatives
There’s a flavor that has been growing in this culture that has turned my head. It’s not a familiar flavor like I experienced growing up. In my teens I would frequent the famous ice cream chain called...
-6 min readen
Winning Against the Killer Chorus in Your Mind
When you were a kid, did you ever have that experience when you were swimming in a pool or in a lake on vacation, where you thought to yourself, “ I wonder if I can hold my breath and swim from one en...
-5 min readen
Hide n’ Seek in Your Business
When I was a kid, we played a game called Hide n’ Seek. With all the advances in technology, I’m not sure kids still play it. I hope so. It was simple and fun. When I first became a consultant some 40...
-6 min readen
The Counter-Culture Inside Your Business
There is possibly a counter-culture inside your business that keeps your business from growing. Practically every business I visit has this. It’s the first thing I look for. Why? Because the derivatio...
-3 min readen
Authenticity as an Amphetamine: Get off It
“Be your authentic self,” as I read another article urging individuals and companies to be "authentic." Man, I’m almost sure there is a guy somewhere sitting in a big-ass chair with levers and wheels...
-4 min readen
Transparency is the New Gobbledygook
Yes, Gobbledygook is an actual word. Its origin came from a Congressman in 1944 named Maury Maverick. Maverick told his colleagues to speak plain English and “stay off the gobbledygook language,” whic...
-4 min readen
Facebook Inside Your Business: Big Deal, or No Big Deal?
Where do you hide something so no one can see it? Right in broad daylight where no one would look. Carl is the CEO of a Fortune 1000 Company. He and several other executives answered my survey regardi...