Have you ever found yourself in one of those conversations that stops you in your tracks? The kind where someone shares a perspective so different from yours that you’re left wondering how two people can look at the same world and see such completely different things? I had precisely that moment earlier this month during […]
Sometimes the best tools come into our lives exactly when we need them most. Ten years ago, my world changed in an instant. A brain injury scrambled the part of my mind that had always made writing feel as natural as breathing. Since I was five years old, words had been my friends. Throughout my […]
I want to tell you about my friend Janice. She runs a small bakery, and for years, everyone told her she was doing it wrong. “You need to focus on wedding cakes,” said one expert. “Cupcakes are where the money is,” said another. “You should go online and ship nationwide,” said a third. Janice […]
Let’s talk about something we all do. You know, the one where we beat ourselves up for things that weren’t really our fault. You know that sinking feeling when something doesn’t work out as planned? That immediate rush to figure out what you did wrong, how you messed up, and why you should have […]
For a few months, I have been noodling around the concept of why (or why not) we believe or trust another person and why it has become increasingly difficult to do so. I have landed on a concept that may eventually go mainstream. I firmly believe we are currently in the midst of a ‘Trust […]
I’ve been having frequent conversations lately about the word NO. And saying far too often, NO, is a complete sentence. Given that I once struggled with the concept and had to learn the hard way that saying NO is not a deal breaker, I thought I’d share some of the ideas I have learned. Saying […]
This is a little story about courage, trust, and the magic that happens when we drop our masks. Three months ago, I invested a few thousand dollars in someone’s quest. Three weeks ago — perhaps foolishly — I sent the creator some unsolicited feedback on how to make her offering more customer-focused. This week, she […]
Over the last couple of months, I have been having the same conversation with people around the globe. The details, industries, and impacts are all different, yet the fundamental issue is the same. Let’s delve deeper. In our hyper-connected digital world of artificial intelligence, space exploration, and medical marvels, it’s tempting to believe we face […]
Last weekend, I found myself at the customer service desk of our local hardware store, returning what should have been a simple kitchen tool: a mandolin slicer. For the uninitiated, a mandolin is traditionally a straightforward yet notoriously dangerous kitchen gadget designed to help you slice and dice everything from potatoes to your fingertips equally […]
I’ve been noticing a trend gaining more and more traction over at least the last decade. You’ve seen it, too, and we all use different words to describe a similar pattern. Disaggreable. Divisive. Unrelenting. Off-putting. Even alienating. No, I am NOT talking about politics. Instead, how we humans seem to view ourselves and the […]