This month we celebrate the leadership of two past presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. They were effective leaders because each maintained a high standard of personal ethics. At times, looking at the ethical standards of our recent past leaders, it makes one wonder whether future leaders of our country in all endeavors, not just politics, will embrace the high moral and ethical standards of those presidents.

An interesting article about raising young leaders of tomorrow spoke to the issue of constant and easy rewards hindering instead of stimulating the development of a student’s leadership abilities. According to the study mentioned in the article, a child’s intrinsic motivation is fundamental to developing leadership skills. Encouragement and a passion for learning instilled by parents and educators helps students find and develop the leader within them.

Many educators today are proponents of service learning models that engage students to become problem-solving critical thinkers. Many organizations are invested in developing leadership skills beyond classroom walls like Worldstrides, the largest educational travel organization in the U.S. Another tool, mentoring, can be an invaluable means to encourage higher goal setting and achievement levels in our future leaders.

As Laura L. Carstensen, Ph.D. of Stanford has said in her book A Long Bright Future, a new script needs to be written that should “diffuse work across the life span.” She challenges the boomer generation’s leaders and educators to “set the cultural stage for entitlements, contributions, and family roles.”

Leadership isn’t a static endeavor. Now more than ever, leaders must embrace change because so much of today’s world is uncharted territory. These young and future leaders are being called Generation Flux, because they thrive in this fluid and fast-paced environment.  Bold vision and bold moves that articulate this new script, along with principled values, are required.

It doesn’t hurt to turn to history and to study great leaders’ lives like Lincoln and Washington for inspiration.

Heart health is much on our mind this month. But, love is in the air too and the heart has long been thought to be the organ of human emotion. Thus, “I love you from the bottom of my heart” signifies intense and endless love, while “you are heartless” implies the inability to love.

There are many kinds of love – unconditional, familial, platonic, sexual, and unrequited– but for our purposes here, we’re concerned with the romantic kind. We believe that part of living large includes expanding your romantic horizons. No one needs to give in to romantic regret.

Need help to escape the humdrum and to spark romance? Take an intimate break from the daily grind with a sweet interlude at one of our favorite escapes. We’ve also got suggestions for our top romantic spots to fan those amorous flames.

To recharge tired baby boomer batteries, consider heading to hot spots of vitality to ignite sluggish emotions. Getaways can be about getting in touch with your senses in places with volcanoes, high mountains, hot springs and deep gorges. Machu Pichu, the Himalayas, Grand Canyon, Mount Shasta and countries like Australia and India are dynamic places with spiritual energy you can tap into to name a few.

Why should the Greek god, Eros, or his Roman counterpart, Cupid, be relegated to a single day of celebration. Love isn’t a seasonal occupation. Certainly, the world could use a little more of it. As Emily Dickinson said, “Till I loved I never lived.”

Now that never gets old.

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Can you celebrate Valentine’s Day sustainably? Heck yes! Last year, we gave you a little history lesson about this one-day celebration and suggestions about adding some good to your woo! Think of Valentine gifts that give back and make your honey smile.

Save paper, ink and postage by sending a Valentine’s Day card from your mobile phone from Sincerely, the maker of mobile apps that lets you send your photos as print postcards.

Naturally, our favorite place to shop is Bette’s Boutique. Create a Valentine’s Day basket with any of the goodies there. Don’t forget that expression of rapture and taste – chocolate. Ancient Mayans thought it the nectar of the gods, while other cultures revered it as a symbol of wealth and power. We all know it’s aphrodisiacal! Chocolate is always the quickest way to our heart and our sweet teeth love Lake Champlain’s organic truffles. They’re certified Kosher, as well. Other Fair Trade chocolatiers are Sweet Earth, Dagoba and Green & Blacks Organic.

Splurge on a few bottles of Roederer Cristal 2004 champagne. Roederer has dedicated 12 hectares (1 hectare = 2.5 acres) of their fields to biodynamically grown grapes and another 12 hectares to organic methods. Add our favorite sustainably farmed caviar and you’ve got a love gift hit on your hands!

For those intimate moments in the bedroom give her (or you) something from Blue Canoe’s organic lingerie.  Blue Canoe follows the natural path and was one of the very first natural organic clothing lines to be made in America. Another website we like is Eberjey’s Eco Collection which is beyond dreamy!

Why not think Fair Trade flowers when gifting the one you love on this day and throughout the year. Flowers always delight and who says girls can’t give their guys flowers to express love too.

So put your money where your heart beats. Give love away to fill yourself up with it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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It has always been a challenge to teach children to value money. It is possible our school systems have never really done a good job at this, leaving it all to parents. Kids don’t learn about budgeting their money in school. The closest they may come to understanding savings is in discussions about compound interest.

You remember when you learned as a teen that if you socked away $100 a year for 60 years at 6% interest you would end up with over $53,000+. On the other hand, if you started that same savings plan at 40, you would only end up with $5,400+ by 65…what a difference. You may have thought, I will save more and at a faster rate when I am older. You may have been right, but you still lost the power of that compound interest.

So, talk with kids and grandkids about this. Help them understand the difference between what they need and what they want. Encourage them to set some money aside for things they need, help them plan for a purchase that means something to them.

When our kids were small, we insisted that all money they were gifted be used three ways: 1/3 for what they need (or want at that age), 1/3 to savings, 1/3 for someone else – could be to a charity or saved for a loved one’s birthday. We also grappled with “allowances” as we thought (think) chores should be done as a share in the family efforts and not something one gets paid for. Since the parents don’t get paid to keep the house and pets in order it seems unrealistic to establish that expectation for them. We have created extra jobs for earning cash.

None of  us know if we have done this “money education” well. Here are some additional resources: Schwab Money Wise,ThnkQuest, Money Sense (which includes games), and ING’s Planet Orange (an animated, geared towards kids education site). We would love to hear your thoughts on what has worked for you and your children or grandchildren.