White Space:  Unscheduled Time If every minute of your day involves a meeting which is back-to-back-to-back, white space is an ally you must find and embrace.  In this environment, you may experience elation or exhaustion, but never greatness or satisfaction. White space is your MOST valuable time . . . . when used properly.  You [...]

I am a vegan - I say it loud and proud. (As all good vegans do)  You know what I ate for dinner last night?  A big juicy sirloin steak. Contradiction?  I don't think so. There are at least 2 million species of animals on Earth, I eat 3 of them.  As such, I am [...]

In a sociological experiment, seminary students were placed in a "Good Samaritan" situation.    The students were sent to a location across campus with a task.  One group was told that they were very late to their assignment.  The other group, same task, no sense of urgency. The task was to lead a panel in [...]

Two carpenters, Bill and Bob, break for lunch on a steamy summer day.  They rest their bones in the shade and break open their lunch pails. Bill's hands, calloused and covered with sweat-caked sawdust, unwrap his sandwich slowly.   He peers underneath a piece of bread to examine its contents. "DAMMIT!," Bill screams.   "Tuna [...]

Life is hard, complicated and unfair.  We agree, right? Wrong. Life is horribly easy.  Breathe, eat, sleep - this is life, literally. We have all won the jackpot of the human existence lottery - breath, food, sleep are more accessible than ever.  So why does life feel so damn "hard"?  We are "victims" to a [...]

The information about our world is provided to us by companies who must profit financially to survive.  If you are not paying for a product, you are the product.  In the information industry, our attention is the product. The competition for our attention has never been fiercer.   Multiple messengers battle for our attention by [...]

"John" harbors hateful and despicably racist beliefs but hides them under a cloak of good deeds and a graceful demeanor. Is he a "racist"? "Bob" spends hours plotting hypothetical terrorist attacks in his parents' basement, but has never harmed a fly? Is he a "terrorist"? "Nancy" donates millions of her gazillion dollars to charitable organizations. [...]

I don't enjoying running.   When I do run, I must listen to music. Must. This weekend my iPhone ran out of juice, 2.5 miles into a 5 mile run.  I considered stopping and hitchhiking home.  (Seriously) Instead, I reluctantly continued the run home.  Momentarily, I embraced the sound of chirping birds, the whisper of the [...]

Here is another poem that I often find therapeutic.  Enjoy. Desiderata Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too [...]

Lifting heavy weights is difficult.  Not lifting heavy weights is easy. The decision to repeatedly choose difficult over easy builds muscle.  When I see your bulging biceps, I know that you choose to lift heavy weights.   What about character?    Is character a muscle?  How many times have we heard that difficult experience builds character.  "Builds" [...]