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
When someone breaks something of ours – a thief cracking our window, a boss changing our schedule, a loved one not showing up — we blame them for disrupting our way of being. We villify them.
And perhaps we are right. Maybe they are the evil in our hero’s quest.
B… Read more...
I finally ran out of staples.
It took 25 years.
In my first job as a temp at the Writer’s Guild of America in Los Angeles, I went into the supply closet after hours and stole a crate of staples. Not a box, a whole crate.
The staples were for my manuscripts.
Writing was my thing… Read more...
Some days, I feel like I’ve cracked the code in making a living, that I’ve created a business where I draw people to me at the most pivotal times in their lives, a facilitator of change, a beacon of hope (and paid for it too!)
Unabashedly me. And the “me” p… Read more...
One thing you can never overdo is love.
“Stop loving me so much!” — said no one ever.
Iterating and reiterating love is always welcome.
Even better than that? Finding a new way to love someone, or a new thing to love about them. Or (oh yes!) a new thing to love abo… Read more...
I’ve noticed this scenario with activist groups:
PROTESTER 1: We did it! We got them to make a change.
PROTESTER 2: Well, we never should have had to fight for this in the first place.
Or this…
PROTESTER 1: We raised $100,000!
PROTESTER 2: Yeah, but what about all the fami… Read more...
We are quick to applaud those that rise to the top of their class, and, no doubt, they deserve our respect, for it takes hard work and discipline to perform at that level.
But there’s a danger.
When you attach your self-worth to comparative achievement, you’re destined … Read more...
I had a dream where I was back in college, with all the knowledge and memories of a middle-aged man but surrounded by people trying to discover themselves.
I saw a friend and walked alongside her, trying not to stare. We didn’t actually spend much time together in college; i… Read more...
I love movies about prison breaks. I’m obsessed with Alcatraz, I’ve watched all the heist shows. I root out loud for the criminal masterminds, as long as they’re trapped somewhere and trying to escape.
I suppose that’s what makes me a good career counselor… Read more...
I was being hard on myself for not finishing a course I’m building.
Then, today after meditating, I remembered myself in high school, in art class, and how long it took me to finish a drawing.
Mr. Cook would usually be the one to say it.
“Cliff, I think you’re just… Read more...
You can learn a lot about humanity when picking out images for your blog.
Plug in the word “kind” and you’ll see a bunch of people with animals.
(Hey! What about people with people?)
Put in “listen” and you get a bunch of people with headphones
(the exac… Read more...