What’s ahead?  Q: What’s the difference between those who can’t read and those who don’t read? A: Those who can’t, can learn.  For those who don’t read, is it about carelessness, lack of hunger for knowledge, poor habits and discipline?   For those who won’t, is it willful refusal to grow; a stubborn, proud ego getting…

Move to the edge There is constant pressure to conform.  Even those with radical points of view inevitably institutionalize their position and move to the center. But originality happens on the edge of reality.  Discovery is disconnected from the conventional.   Opportunity rarely shows up by playing in the middle. The best comes from pushing the…

Don’t let facts get in the way of your narrative You can shoehorn facts to fit your story.  You can omit what is inconvenient and cleverly twist the truth.  You can engineer whatever you want into your narrative. The problem is that scripting your story makes you confront ignorance, awareness and honesty.  The ignorance of…

Experiment Life gets easier when you reframe choices as experiments, when you release the pressure to be perfect and resist the temptation to overthink failure.  Give yourself permission to experiment.

Refuse to live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. (paraphrased from Teddy Roosevelt) Every day we choose.  Will we engage in the struggle to create meaning and value?  Will we reject ignoble ease, and pursue the more difficult path?  Will we make a difference? Words, so plentiful and cheap, won’t suffice.…

Participation trophies don’t count Nope.  It’s not only a lie, it’s a dangerous message. Everything you get, everything that’s meaningful in life, is earned.  You have to do more than just show up. Loss is part of the cycle to get to winning.  There is no shame in losing. You don’t have to win at…