During the years of Italian liberation and unification in the mid-1800s, there may have been no bigger legend than Giuseppe Garibaldi. In the summer of 1849, heavily outnumbered, he was leading a gallant effort to save Rome from pressing French troops besieging the city. While there was no chance of holding on to the city, he refused to surrender and accept defeat.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. ~ Nelson Mandela

“Forever is composed of nows.” - Emily Dickinson

Ernest Hemingway’s famous novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls, is built around a few days in the life of an American volunteer, Robert Jordan, fighting in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. He was tasked with a dangerous mission he knew he likely wouldn’t survive. Jordan was the consummate soldier, never worrying too much about his own safety. However, as he lay dying and the fait accompli of his work comes into focus, he ponders a bigger theme:

Another year of blogging comes to an end. I owe a big thanks to the guest bloggers who shared their wisdom and perspective with our readers throughout 2015.

Here are the most popular #WhatsTheRisk blogs of 2015:

You would be hard pressed to miss the sound of ringing bells this time of year. Church bells, sleigh bells, and of course Salvation Army bells all proclaim the joy and happiness of the Season. It makes me wonder – do we all hear the same bell?

We're in the risk management and workforce business, including helping clients with their employee benefit plans. You can probably imagine that over the past 5 years, since President Obama's signature piece of legislation – the Affordable Care Act – became a reality, I often get asked my thoughts or even to speak to groups on Obamacare.

This summer I was able to see U2 perform live at the United Center in Chicago. At first I was a little disappointed to know that the iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour would be indoors since I was really in the mood for an outdoor summer stadium show.

There has been a shift between my oldest son and me. I’m not sure exactly when it happened but it most definitely has.

It used to be that I could, with ease, control the pace and tempo of our pick-up basketball games, carefully choreographing the final winning shot. And that winner and the final score was largely determined by me. Sometimes it was him, sometimes me. Sometimes it was close and other times a blowout. But it went according to my plan.

My oldest son and I were hiking recently in Sedona, Arizona. We were on portions of the Baldwin and Templeton Trails, adjacent to Oak Creek, eventually ascending to the amazing Cathedral Rock formation.

After working our way up and over the Mars-like terrain, we made it to the top. You can’t miss a simple engraved wooden sign bolted to a post that says: END OF TRAIL.

On a visit to Key West, I was able to spend a little time at Ernest Hemingway’s home in Key West. Hemingway resided in the house for most of the 1930s, as well as when he visited in the 1940s and 1950s. I was particularly struck by his writer’s studio on the second floor of a carriage house on the grounds.