A few years ago we were nearly robbed. I say nearly because we stopped them at the perimeter. My wife heard a banging, looked out the second-story window, and saw two young men standing in our front garden about to crawl through a hole in the fence. She yelled some expletives and… Read more...
Happiness
Why is HAPPINESS so hard to obtain when it’s the thing we all want in life?
There’s no shortage of it and we have the gift of free will to track it down and put it in our pocket, yet most of us don’t get the experience of emptying it out onto our nightstand at th… Read more...
Better at Rejection
I’ve gotten better at rejection.
I realized this last night when I poured my cocktail down the sink. I’d spent a while making it but it didn’t taste right and, over the course of stirring and sipping, I guess I realized I didn’t want to be hungover the next… Read more...
The Cliff Laugh
I laugh loud and am amused easily, which makes me the ideal member of any audience. It’s a full-body laugh that makes me hit my head on the back of the chair, even slide off onto the ground. Kids either love my laugh or are afraid of it, as it foghorns its way into the roo… Read more...
Good Leadership
My client mentioned she is good at having difficult conversations, and that this is something that makes her a good leader. A lot of people I work with say this.
It’s not so hard to be part of a difficult conversation if you’re the person in power – the boss, the… Read more...
When the Machine Breaks Down
Ever notice that the audience laughs louder or claps harder when the machine breaks down?
Take Saturday Night Live, for instance. The best parts are when the comedians can’t stop laughing at their own jokes. You can hear the studio audience cracking up the whole time. Or, a… Read more...
Bare Minimum
When I’m sick I have what I call “Bare Minimum Days.” This means I set out to do just the bare minimum to get through the day: eat, sleep, poop, email, and 1 or 2 phone calls – the bare minimum amount of work possible to keep my life from running off the … Read more...
Stones Become Fishes
I have this cycle I go through whenever I have an appointment with a client.
About an hour ahead of the appointment, I start to get anxious. Well, not exactly anxious. If I am to be honest, I would say it’s more like resentment that I have this appointment at all. It’s… Read more...
Old Friends
Oh, what great fortune to have old friends!
Old friends who make you laugh with a word, who tell you like it is, who call you on your shit, who wave to you from your memories…
Old friends have watched you drop your breadcrumbs; they know where you’ve been and how far yo… Read more...
The Arena
Powerful people are unfaithful commentators. The story they tell is bound together by the desire to retain their pedestal. Who would give up a VIP box seat to sit in the bleachers? No one wants to do that and so power begets power – sometimes intentional, sometimes not.
So, … Read more...