How we perpetuate a myth that keeps so many of us poor, overwhelmed, depressed, and alone. A few years ago, I was a member of a leadership development group in the not-so-prosperous post-industrial Midwestern town where I live. Every other Friday, the group — made up of mid-level management people at local firms — would get together at a different… Read More »The Tragic Stigma of Help
credit: Cassandra Hamer A simple, ancient practice that you can do anywhere, anytime, and get back the control you need to make better decisions. We humans are living in a hopeless time-warp. Our minds have a serious aversion to existing in the present moment. We may be sitting at dinner with our family, but our… Read More »Anapanasati: The Subtle Art of Being Here, Now
A 3-part Blueprint for Making the Most of an Hour of Reflection As the legend goes, George Shultz — who was Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan — would take an hour each week to lock himself in the office with only a pad of paper and pen. No interruptions, no tasks at hand to work on, just… Read More »The Shultz Hour: How 60 Minutes Per Week Can Yield Tremendous Returns
Image Credit: Samuel Wong The original 12 step program was tailor-made for those suffering from addiction. But the general lessons behind them are relevant for nearly everyone. Years ago, I was close with a handful of people in the recovery community — people attempting to put their lives back together after they were impacted by drug and alcohol… Read More »The 12 Steps for the Rest of Us: General Principles for Becoming a Better You
An Online Guide to Running Your Life With a (Fairly) Simple, Yet Powerful, Web-based Spreadsheet I’ve been a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done for years now. It changed the way I approach not only work, but life. Breaking things down into projects, next actions, or reference — and separating things into what I’m committed to… Read More »How to Run GTD in Google Sheets
credit: stevepb We lock our doors to protect our homes and possessions, but what about the two things that are even more valuable — our time and attention? There are certain things we do to guard against theft of things we value. We lock our doors when we leave our homes. We may set up an alarm… Read More »Taking Back Your Time and Attention
credit: Giuseppe Milo Especially when it’s supposedly about consent Though I have political viewpoints, I tend to restrain myself from writing about them online. And one may think that entering into the discussion about the #metoo movement is political — but it’s not. There is nothing political about sexual transgressions. It is a moral issue — where morality requires that you… Read More »It’s Not Really About Consent
credit: Ashley Batz How striving for comfort might just be the best thing you can do to advance yourself, conventional wisdom be damned. You’ve likely heard someone tell you before that the only way to improve is to get outside of your comfort zone. But interestingly enough, while people sure are eager to tell you where you… Read More »Why Your Comfort Zone Might Be the Secret to Developing Powerful Habits
On the Perfection of Imperfection, Graceful Humility, and the Understated Benefits of Acceptance When I was growing up, I would regularly go to my friend Paul’s house. His bedroom was down in the basement, but in order to get there, you had to walk through a little hallway with an old trunk sitting there — which doubled… Read More »Wabi-Sabi: Beyond Minimalism, and into a Unique Mode of Mindful Simplicity
credit: Davidson Luna My yearly alternative to goals and resolutions for the new year — 2018 version. Last year, rather than making a list of resolutions and goals, I gave myself 3 principles to put into practice for the year. Those principles were simplicity, patience, and compassion. I did my best each day to keep them in mind. I… Read More »3 Principles for 2018
