Published in Personal Growth·3 hours agoMember-onlyMaybe I Should Just Write Something HonestPeople long for what’s real and true — I’m glad the theater was empty, because after the closing scenes of the movie The Whale I was bawling like a child. The movie had mixed reviews, but the trailer intrigued me enough to catch an afternoon matinee. Also, I was curious how the lead actor, Brendan Fraser, would handle…Life6 min readLife6 min read
Published in Personal Growth·6 days agoMember-onlyWhat Is Your Integrity Worth to You?How about $100+ million? — Imagine your wife is diagnosed with ovarian cancer and then one day the doctor describes how it has spread: “Like somebody dipped a paintbrush in cancer and flicked it around her abdomen.” This is exactly what happened to Matthew Teague, as described in his quietly devastating essay “The Friend: Love…Life5 min readLife5 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Mar 15Member-onlyUndoing the Damage of HasteExhausted by the pace of life? Embrace a creative practice — We don’t get many reliable sanctuaries from the indignities and relentless pace of life. Our homes come close when no one rings the doorbell and we can catch our breath before the next rent check or taxes are due. Relationships offer solace, but they can be capricious and unreliable, as…Life7 min readLife7 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Mar 12Member-onlyThe Places In-BetweenFinding serendipity off the beaten path — I hate flying. There’s just something utterly unnatural about crowding into a pressurized cylinder with wings, blasting into the sky, hurtling over 500 mph at 36,000 feet, and pretending to relax in cramped quarters for hours on end. It may be the safest way to travel, but then, when your…Travel7 min readTravel7 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Mar 5Member-onlyWhere All Your Yesterdays Are Buried DeepThe future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance — It seems I am stranded again. Strangers are prowling around my home, exploring its rooms and decor and circling the backyard pool. They point at things and discuss details. I know this thanks to the security cameras that link to my smartphone. My wife and I recently put our house…Self Improvement10 min readSelf Improvement10 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Feb 19Member-onlyWhy Do We Accept All the Noise in Our Lives?If you yearn for a calm heart, start with your environment — My wife and I are probably going to dump our cable television service. It all started with tax preparation. My CPA sent a tax organizer packet to help me collect 10–99 forms and related records. Tax preparation is a pain, but it’s also enlightening. I was inspecting bank records for…Life5 min readLife5 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Feb 12Member-onlyImportant Advice for Creatives from the Richest Person in the WorldThe 4 qualities that give you an edge — In April 2016 a slender, dignified, impeccably dressed Frenchman took the stage at the Oxford Union Society to be interviewed by an articulate young woman in front of a live audience. What the Frenchman said in that interview holds great wisdom and advice for creatives, or anyone striving to sell…Life6 min readLife6 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Feb 10Member-onlyImprove Your Success With This 3 Word MantraIf you strip away the fluff, you make room for what matters — Do you truly want to improve your creative work, or are you content being an inconsistent dabbler? For the record, I’ve been an inconsistent dabbler. I think most of us, despite our good intentions, periodically fall into this morass of creative mediocrity. The reason why is that it’s easier to…Life Lessons6 min readLife Lessons6 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Feb 5Member-onlyFind The One Thing That Makes You Alive, and Chase ItHow a dying author published an amazing book — I used to take my grandmother Mary to the park on summer days when I was home from University. She loved to sit in the sunlight on a warm bench by the expansive lawn, twiddle her thumbs contentedly, and watch the kids laugh and play on the swings and slides…Life5 min readLife5 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Jan 31Member-onlyHow to Fall in Love With the World By Talking to StrangersWhy people you don’t know are more honest — The most startling thing I learned as a rookie cop was how much people lie. It doesn’t matter what their sex, race, sexual orientation, nationality, or socio-economic status is. People lie. With a straight face. Right to your face. While looking into your eyes. Even when they’re caught red-handed. I’ve…Life8 min readLife8 min read
