Category: Personal Growth

I think it’s a common misconception that the teenage years are necessarily ones of rebellion and turmoil. In fact, I believe it’s possible for parents and their children to develop a warm, intimate relationship based on mutual love and respect. Rifts do not need to exist in families, even during the Continue reading “The Fiction of Teenage Rebellion”

In honor of St. Patty’s Day. Sometimes I’ll ask a candidate during an interview, “Tell me about a time you had a positive outcome to a situation, in which you felt luck was part of it. What did you learn from that experience?”

It’s a bit of a trick question because what I’m looking for in the answer is Continue reading “What’s Luck Got To Do With It?”

If a thing comes to my attention and it seems interesting, I may spend time taking a closer look but it depends on what other priorities are tugging at me. If that same thing comes to my attention a second time by a totally different avenue – maybe a friend mentions it or I hear something about it Continue reading “The Rule of Three”

We humans have a remarkable ability to turn happy circumstances into unhappy ones. Have you ever gone on a weekend getaway, and the room wasn’t what you expected, or the weather turned out terrible, or someone in your group was grumpy? So now you find yourself in a situation where the Continue reading “Noticeably Happier”

Another way to stay committed to continuous improvement: ask for feedback. Ask my employees. Ask my band mates and housemates and friends. I can even ask my kids. (You know I want to be the best Dad I can be, right?)

– What should I do more of?

– What should I stop doing?

– What should I start doing?

Then LISTEN to them. People aren’t accustomed to being asked this Continue reading “Ask For Feedback”

I lose perspective now and again (and again and again) and take stuff far too seriously. But at night before sleep sometimes I remember to think about the stars, which are very, very far away. And I try to imagine the world from that distance. Then sort of zoom in to my speck of Earth and I start to see, “Look there this tiny little guy whose going to be there for the slightest blip of time who’s worrying about this thing.”

The difference between the kid who knows he’s cute and the one who doesn’t. Turns out the one who knows he’s cute, isn’t actually. This is the epitome of authenticity.

Making an impact in the world for the sake of getting attention rarely accomplishes either. Impact comes from first discerning what you love and then spending your precious resources – time and energy – doing it, even without anyone noticing.

Here’s a parable about a donkey. The donkey is standing midway between a pile of hay and a trough of water but it dies of hunger and thirst because it cannot make a decision.

Most decisions can be undone. Just because I try out this path doesn’t mean have to stay on it forever.

Make a decision and keep moving. I can do all the things I want, but not by standing here thinking about it.

Lack of time is really lack of priorities. If I am “busy” it’s because I’ve made choices that put me in that position. So I’ve made a rule: I no longer get to answer the question, “How are you?” with “Busy.” I have no right to complain. Instead, if I start to feel I’m too busy, it’s a flag for me to re-examine my current priorities.

Derek Sivers told the story during a Tim Ferriss podcast about his daily bike ride. Every time he rode the route, he pushed to the max, arriving at the turn-around point red faced and panting and eventually arriving back home completely worn out. The round trip took 43 minutes.

He realized he was burning out on bike riding, losing interest and Continue reading “Two Minutes”