This month’s post was inspired by a blog from one of my favorite mentors in the consulting world, Alan Weiss. This short excerpt sets the stage and my thoughts follow: An asteroid three times the size of the Empire State Building shot by the Earth last week, “only” three million miles away and traveling … Read more
A New Distinction This year was insane. On more than one occasion I literally lost track of myself, needing to ask: Where am I? What day of the week is it? Where am I supposed to be? What am I doing? Or more accurately, WTF am I doing right now, and why? (excuse my language … Read more
Why do we make Happiness feel so damn elusive and unavailable? Why is it always about the pursuit of Happiness? Can we, for just a moment, notice that it is sitting RIGHT NEXT TO US and all we have to do is turn to it, say “Hi!” and enjoy its company for a moment? Breathe … Read more
My focus on six-word wisdoms last month generated much positive reaction, quite possibly because our attention spans have shrunk to under nine seconds – less time than it’s taken you to read this sentence aloud! Here are a few more, for fun: Ask, “In what ways might I?” You’ve been trained your entire life to … Read more
Relaxation, Mindfulness, and Meditation Many of us suffer from FOMS (Fear Of Missing Something) so we approach life as series of manic, highly active episodes thinly sandwiched between inadequate layers of sleep. We continually pump our systems full of adrenalin and cortisol (and when those fail, more caffeine), and when those chemicals build to toxic … Read more
I love to play with tight language, which is why Haiku has always been my favorite poetic form (17 syllables and rigid rules, yet infinite possibilities). I also love the brutal simplicity of six-word essays, a format over which I obsessed in high school (see https://www.sixwordmemoirs.com for more) Since January I have attended 28 … Read more
Today I made my 96th blood donation and got my 12 gallon pin. Woohoo! The American Red Cross is running a promotion in partnership with the Game of Thrones, so I also got this cool T-shirt that says “I bled for the throne.” But no dragons were involved. It only takes an hour of … Read more
(this post was inspired by an article published in The Atlantic,“What Do Early KonMari Adopters’ Homes Look Like Now?” , posted on Medium.com on March 1. The book referenced is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo) Thank you for your optimistic report on the lasting impact of applying the KonMari method. It … Read more
My top book pick of last year: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi In my life I’ve read thousands of books. I am typically reading two books in hardcopy, another on my Kindle, and one via Audible in my car. I am generally a one-and-done reader, though I do have handful of books I’ve … Read more
Story: I’m sitting in a coffee shop, writing. Background music creates a white noise, masking multiple streams of conversation I only half-notice from within my envelope of concentration. Whenever a new customer walks in, the bright-eyed, caffeinated barista asks, “How are you this morning?” Most respond with a simple “fine,” or “okay.” Some brave a … Read more