The American essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) once said, "You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment." Put simply, Thoreau meant that life is short, and we ought to make the most of every moment. He is also been credited for saying, "Our life is frittered away by detail...simplify, simplify." (In case you haven't read up on Thoreau, he lived in a cabin at Walden Pond for over two years. His purpose? To "live deliberately.") If Thoreau were alive today, he'd be aghast at how so many people in the country -- and the world as a whole -- have fallen pray to consumerism . Rather than finding ways to simplify their lives, people seem to be doing the exact opposite, saturating them with more stuff, more people, more noise. When Thoreau exhorts us to live in the present and launch ourselves on every wave, he isn't saying we should set out on shopping spree...

Do what is right for you . No one else is walking in your shoes. No one knows you -- your fears, your passions, your goals -- better than you do. Never let anyone chart your path for you, for only you know the ultimate road to fulfillment in your life. Never let anyone convince you that whatever you wish to pursue isn't right for you -- only you have the final say in that. Never let anyone dissuade you from attempting to accomplish even the loftiest of goals. If your heart and mind are in the right place, you can achieve anything. Your parents' or friends' experiences won't necessarily be your own. Just because they failed at something doesn't mean you will. Perhaps they lack your will to persevere in the face of long odds. Sometimes people secretly want you to fail; never, ever give them that satisfaction. There's no greater feeling in the world than proving someone who said you couldn't achieve something wrong . Only you have the right to say you ca...

Halloween is only two days away! The fifth and final hotel in my series of haunted hotels is Omni Park House in Downtown Boston. Founded by Harvey D. Parker in 1855, this historic gem is longest continuously operating hotel in the United States. It was here where such 19th century luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow convened in the Saturday Club. Baseball legends met like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams wined and dined at the historic property. What's more, a slew of respected politicians --from Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Deval Patrick -- gathered here for press conferences and meetings. Here are some other fun facts: John F. Kennedy proposed to Jackie Onassis at Parker's Restaurant, where Malcolm X once worked as a busboy  With its close proximity to Boston's Theater District, the Omni Parker House played an important role in the careers of a wide range of performers, inclu...