Where Does the Fire Go?
Where Does the Fire Go? A cold night. A cozy room. A fire lit in the fireplace. You fall asleep by the fire. When you wake, the fire has gone out? But where did it go? You set the table for dinner. The candles are lit. Conversation ensues. The candles finally go out. But where […]
The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself
Franklin D Roosevelt launched his presidency (the first term) with a spare 20-minute, 1,883-word address. The most famous bit was a riff on Henry David Thoreau’s observation . . . “Nothing is so much to be feared as fear.” Roosevelt was elected in the teeth of what is now called “The Great Depression.” His opening […]
Take Personal Responsibility
A decision is made when resources are allocated. If it’s just you involved, it’s “your” time, money, and effort. If many are involved in the decision, it’s “our” time, money, and effort. If it’s “your” decision, own your process and the outcomes that show up. If it doesn’t come out as you hoped, learn from […]
It’s Easier to Be Critical Than Creative
Criticizing, correcting, editing, rejecting—these are easy compared to the hard work of creating, originating, and inventing. In every human endeavor I can think of, there is a time and place for both. What’s also true is they don’t go together. It seems intuitively obvious that the correct order of operations is to create first and […]
The Paradox of Choice
Two researchers named Iyengar and Lepper conducted an experiment in a grocery store. They set up tasting stations in two locations and on different days. At one station, customers could sample from a selection of 24 different jams. At the other, just six. So, what happened? The 24 Jam Station consistently attracted the most interest. […]
Showing Up is Half the Battle
It seems silly to say this, but showing up is the first key to out-performance. Sometimes, this means at all. Get there. Sometimes, it’s about timing. Get there first. Sometimes, it’s about consistency. Show up more often. Sometimes, it’s about intensity. Bring more to the game. What’s true is you can’t win if you’re not […]
The Second Arrow
There is a Buddhist teaching called the two arrows. Our lives are full of “stuff happens.” Some of it we like, some of it pains us, and some we hardly notice. It’s the rhythm of life. The first arrow is the pain or discomfort we experience from something we don’t want or like. It’s enough […]
Who Will Help?
You can’t do this alone, and more to the point, you don’t need to. If you don’t have these kinds of people in your life, get busy and get some . . . Angels believe in you and want to help just because it’s you. Their energy and encouragement are priceless. Pioneers are people willing to go […]
The Next Time You’re Shot with an Arrow
A famous Buddhist parable (sutta) relates a conversation with a man called Malukya. It begins with Malukya demanding answers from the Buddha to what were then referred to as the “fourteen unanswerable questions” —e.g., is there life after death, what is the nature of the cosmos, etc. These are the same questions we’re still asking […]
Process Matters
The most interesting decisions are the ones for which the results don’t show up until much later. It’s not like choosing something to watch on Netflix. That’s easy because the feedback loop is really tight. You’ll know in a few minutes if watching Lincoln Lawyer, Season 3 was a “good decision.” Changing jobs, moving across […]