Our church has a tradition on Epiphany Sunday, or this year on the Sunday after Christmas, where they provide a bowl full of cards, each one printed with a single word. At the end of the service each of us are encouraged to pick a card. We can choose a word that resonates with us.…
In his chautauqua on being stuck Robert Pirsig identifies the cause of “stuckness” has having too many tasks at hand for your mind to process. His solution to get unstuck is “don’t try to force it, that will only get you more stuck.” But I think that’s only one form of being stuck, some kind…
The idea that I’m working on here is to try and use architectural principles to redesign the structure of your life to create new structures that feel “alive” and propels you forward. The first step is to capture a vision of how you’d life to be in the future. The idea isn’t to set goals…
When you’re trying to re-design your life, you want some kind of idea what you want your life to look and feel like. Here’s a process that I’ve worked through a couple of times and I think could work for anybody. It’s pretty simple, start sketching out in words how you’d like your life to…
If you need any more evidence about what it takes to find happiness, here it is – grit. Simply sticking to your master plan is a better indicator of success…and ultimately happiness…than brains or luck. This not-so-surprising news comes from a Time article about MacArthur genius Angela Duckworth and her book Grit: The Power of…
Every time I open my “Big Box of Stuff” – my instant organiztion system that involves sweeping everything under the rug and declare all problems solved – my head starts spinning with the urgency and cataclysmic busy-ness of everything. I’m fighting the urge to drag everything out and prioritize it. But not so fast –…
What does it take to become a huge success? Apparently it takes a whole lot of work – and not just any kind of work, but the tough work of self-examination. To put a finer point on it, it takes something called Double Loop Learning. Most of us probably think of the path to success…
There’s a little bit of Jay Gatsby in each of us. To live in America is to be surrounded on all sides by a narrative that says you can be anything you want to be. You can reinvent yourself, leave your past behind, move out West, reach for the stars, follow your dreams. But maybe…
I started this year with a goal to better focus my writing and blog every day. I did a pretty good job of it until February 15…and then I stopped. Why? My attention shifted. The things I’m interested in at the moment don’t necessarily fit the theme of this blog…which is loosely defined as “things…
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. That’s how Hunter Thompson put it. My plan for 2010 is to see how many destinations I can reach that are listed in Weird California: Your Travel Guide to California’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets
Something happened earlier this month and I lost my will to live. Just reached a point where everything seems pointless. A lot of this is because of my job. Much of my effort is going into stuff that I am very qualified to handle, I’m arguably the most qualified and knowledgeable person in the organization…
My astute reader will note that I haven’t posted for a while. Fact is, I’m burnt out. An emotional cinder. Extra crispy. Too many irons in the fire. Too many candles burning at both ends. Too much heat, not enough light. So today I decided to hit the reset button. I purged all the items…
I had good intentions. As I wrote earlier, my plan was to follow Mr. Walsh as if I was following a seasoned trail guide and get my life in order. Purging my life of detritus and crap-ola would reveal my life’s true purpose. Two weeks later I still believe that. But it’s harder than…
