Talent & Skill

(2 min read)

Talent is what you’re born with.

Skill is something you develop on your own.

And when you combine Talent with Skill, meaning when you take what you’re already good at naturally and make it better through hard work, practice, and perseverance, well then you… Read more...

Vacation Kyle & Retired Bill

(90 sec read)

My friend Kyle takes on a whole new persona when he goes on vacation. His wife has a nickname for it. She calls him “Vacation Kyle”. He’s carefree, takes risks, splurges, does things for the good of the group no matter what. He dances. He plays. He… Read more...

Money & Meaning

(1 min read)

Sitting in a hot tub with two kids, I asked them what they want to be. (I’m allowed to do that because it’s my job.)

One wanted to be a rockstar and restaurant owner at the same time. The other, the older of the two, wanted to make money by doing as little… Read more...

The Tragic Thing of Age

(90 sec read)

It’s sad, indeed.

As you sit on your sunny mountaintop, back and knees sore, you look down at the traffic in the valley. From up here, you can see everything, even the things the drivers can’t see, like those dark clouds on the horizon and the winds picki… Read more...

The Loop

(1 min read)

Does this happen to anyone else?

When I’m watching a movie on my phone that I shot myself, I tend to laugh in the same spots and in the same way as I did while filming the original video. The end result is an echo of myself, past and present.

I like that this hap… Read more...

Old People Are Less Employable

It’s widely known that employers want young people. Age discrimination is real. Young people have stamina, will work long hours, don’t have preconceived ideas that get in the way. They’re more flexible in their thinking, more willing to adopt the company’s… Read more...

Presents From the Past

Funny, how we get a second try at things in life.

I used to play soccer. It was a huge part of my life growing up. Great friendships, lots of championships, all before I was in high school.

Then puberty hit, for everyone else, not for me, and the game changed. It became less about … Read more...

Crossroads

One time in my youth while on mushrooms in the woods of Iowa, in the middle of a cross-country trip out West, I came to a crossroads.

Literally.

I had strayed from the group, mostly because I was afraid to sit in the tall grass where the snakes were.

I stood at the fork in the road… Read more...

Good Job

(1 min read)

I’m lucky. I get to say things like “I’m glad”, “Good for you,” “You deserve it,” and “I’m so excited for you” every day as part of my job.

I do this by email, by phone, by social media… All day.

An… Read more...

An Important Letter

Dear _______________,

I want you to know that I’m happy about the person I’ve become.

I’m not perfect, I’m not always smiling, but I have a fire inside that never seems to go out, a fire you put there, or rather, spent years tending to, adding layers upon la… Read more...