Carl Ficks

articles

A Rhino & A Saint

The northern white rhinoceros. Extinct. Or nearly so. The Amur leopard too. And so is the art of listening. There’s an Augustinian phrase, “audi alteram partem,” It means “listen to the other side.” In the current environment, how many people are listening to the other side? I graduated from law school in 1988 and have practiced law for […]

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Four. Three. Two.

Do you want to be an influencer? If the answer is yes, remember this: The content of your speech matters more than the number of words that come out of your mouth. And…less is more. Merriam-Webster defines an “influencer” as “a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.”  But what does “influencer” really mean? I

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Piles Of You Know What

We all have piles… Piles of bills…Piles of obligations…Piles of yard work…Piles of stress…Piles of homework…Piles of anxiety…Piles of sh**… well you get the idea… In normal times, it’s hard enough to deal with all those piles.  But right now…it’s even harder.  I had the good fortune of playing high school football for “Coach P,”

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I Hear Voices

He died 5 weeks before race day. But I needed him that morning. I needed his encouragement. I needed his care. In the predawn darkness, I listened to my dad’s voice… to the voice message he’d left me just before I’d run the Boston Marathon the prior year. “Run well.” “Take good care.” Because, you

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