Curation vs. Compassion
We see what we want to see. We see what others want us to see. We think we show what we want to show (but do we really?). Multiply by a zillion if it’s on social media. A “curated” life is a mirage. A facsimile. It’s the green grass on the other side of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Don’t Be Clickbait
A headline is an advertisement for an article. It makes a promise: New, better, cheaper, faster, Going Fast, fascinating, shocking. The lead (or lede) sets the hook. The best leads put across the key insight or big idea. They communicate both an understanding of what interests the reader as well as what’s important to know. […]
Wolfing vs. Tasting
Trader Joe’s sells a very nice 500-gram dark chocolate bar for about $8.00. We break it apart and put the pieces in a jar. It’s super easy to walk by, grab a piece, and wolf it down before I make it to the other side of the room. In the same pantry, we keep single-origin, […]
Plan Like a Pessimist, Work Like An Optimist
We plan, prepare, work, worry, work some more, use our skills, and employ our tactics and strategies, all in service of bringing about a positive outcome. Myriad causes, conditions, and often competitors add to the soup of our intentions. We like to think we have some measure of control over how things will turn out, […]