Are you getting everything you can out of this life?
A self-less, feel-good blog about love, life, and work by career coach and existential adventurer, Cliff Flamer
Is a writer who doesn’t write still a writer?
Is a musician who doesn’t play still a musician?
What about a filmmaker? If they’re not making films, are they still a filmmaker?
In other words, does being an artist run deeper than the deliverables?
Are artists walking… Read more...
When I was young and complaining about having nothing to do, my mom would tell me, “Hush up. Your Great Gramma Lena started bowling in her 80s.”
My youthful brain would think to myself: “What’s that got to do with anything?”
My mom, as if hearing my th… Read more...
AI has made cheating almost irresistible for students: to be able to get a 10-page paper done in 30 seconds is certainly tempting. There are some subjects students just don’t care to learn; they just want to get that grade (B is fine), check the box, and move along. I had c… Read more...
Anxiety is a trapped THOUGHT in a straight jacket banging against the walls of your mind, trying to get out.
It’s relentless, constantly moving, and doesn’t care what time it is.
When the outside world gets quiet, the banging and slamming and SCREAMING get louder.
The mo… Read more...
Don’t search division, hate, and conflict. We have enough of that.
Search joy. Search neighborliness. Search surprise. Search kindness. Search beauty in small things. Search healing. Search brighter days. Search love.
Because what we seek — that is to say, what we like,… Read more...
What if Love was actually Science…
…Our minds subconsciously and frenetically working to line up our own idiosyncracies and aspirations with those of another, resulting in an explosive neuro-chemical overload, caffeinated synapses, an emergency signal to the body to br… Read more...
I made a pamphlet.
It’s a trifold brochure that sits on my monitor stand between the paintbrush my art teacher gave me and the ticket stub to a giant human maze me and my daughter conquered in Montana.
On the cover is a picture of Molly, carefree and on a boat.
Inside are list… Read more...
Nothing can amplify or transform a mood like music.
John Coltrane can lull you into a trance. Taylor and Olivia can help you feel less alone. Nirvana and Alice in Chains can work you through a bout of angst you can’t shake. Michael Franti can turn a tired day in the hammock … Read more...
I have a Post-it on my wall that reads: “Done is better than perfect!” (with an exclamation point, because sometimes I have to yell at myself!).
I got the phrase from a client who saw it written with a sharpie on the wall of her break room. She’s in the tech indu… Read more...
My friend offered to coach my daughter in softball, so we grabbed a bucket of balls, a bat, and some gloves and went to the park.
At first, she struck out a lot. Her swing was off. I tried to give her pointers: “Keep the bat level… Swing all the way through,” but… Read more...