“Shouldn’t I be better at this?” If you’re like me, this is a question you ask a lot when you try new skills or uncommonly-used skills. You wonder if you’re as far along as you should be, and if a […]
“Forgive yourself.” I used to think that this was advice for the weak. Even now it seems like an easy way out from guilt or failure. But I’m learning something about growth and improvement: getting back on the horse after […]
Birthdays and holidays are just days. Most people probably overrate their importance. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be important days. You can use the symbolism of a birthday or a new year or a holy day to give weight […]
“You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” – Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight What if I become evil? This is a great tragedy: to go through life struggling for the good only to become […]
“Why do we fall, sir? So that, we can learn to pick ourselves up.” – Alfred Pennyworth, Batman Begins Waking up early, eating healthy, exercising, reading, painting – perhaps you’re trying to build one of these habits. Perhaps you’re on the path to […]
“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” – G.K. Chesterton My generation has access to more information than any generation before it. […]
Your birthday is one of those days that Facebook (and social media in general) is most useful to you. Today all kinds of people from all parts of your life come out of the woodwork to wish you well: your elementary school […]
Birthdays aren’t all that impressive to me. Turning 23 (or any age) entitles me to none of your praise or congratulations or good wishes. You know what you should be celebrating? How about clean drinking water and the people who make it […]
“So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” – Psalm 90:12 I’m about to turn 23, and I’m feeling the pinch of time. It really does pick up speed. By 23, I expected I […]
Do you believe you’re free? Ask yourself how hard it would be for someone to enslave you – politically, emotionally, financially, physically, relationally, mentally. Do you have debt? We may no longer have debtor’s prisons, but for all intents and purposes, […]
Why be good? People have spilled a lot of ink on this one. And there are countless bad arguments (“god commands it!” or “society says so!”) as well as more good arguments than you might guess. Some are pretty simple […]
When’s the last time you competed in a sport? Do you still remember the starting gun, the cheering crowds, the nervous energy before an event? Do you remember the buzzer sounds, the camaraderie, the triumph of victory? Most of us […]
Wish your average plane flight, cruise, or hotel stay could be more than just checking in and consuming? I think we all want more of an element of play and adventure in our lives. There’s a great opportunity emerging in […]
I’ve been spending too much time lately worried about my narrative of the past. When things have been hard, it can be especially tempting to want to hold on to a rosy vision of the past. You want to be […]
You think your greatest fear is heights. Or confronting your boss. Or succeeding at work. Or facing down spiders. Or dying in a plane crash. You might be wrong about that. These fears are fearsome, to be sure. We have to […]
I’m a big fan of transparency – and so I often wear my heart on my sleeve, including when it comes to talking about my weaknesses. For people like me, self-revelation can be scary and relieving and empowering. There are […]
You probably don’t know about the 9-hour German invasion of Denmark on April 9th, 1940. But like all historical events, this little “blip” on the radar of history involved real men and women. They were people, too, just like our own grandfathers and great-grandfathers […]
I am generally a clean, organized person. But even I can tell when something is over-organized. You can get the feeling of sterility and regimentation from a too-perfect space. The glass is immaculate, the paper is custom-made, the feng-shui has […]
Today my friends and I hiked through mud and rocks and falling ice to get to the top of Blood Mountain. It was at the same time a lovely hike and a hairy one. We expected to get to the […]
No one likes being screwed over. But the only thing worse than being screwed over is the fear of being screwed over. If you’re overly afraid of being screwed over at work, you won’t take the chance that will get […]
I read a lot of books when I was younger. I read books in restaurants, in the car, at school events, even while deer hunting. Books and I were inseparable. But for all the adventures and risks and decisions and […]
“For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” – Matthew 13:17 What if I told you […]
The world comes with fractures. And it’s hard for people like me to reckon with that. I tend to think that it’s a fluke when I don’t like someone, or when there’s division. I’m typically surprised when I get into a real conflict with […]
Happy new year! Here’s a thought as we head out into 2019: though we know many resolutions (ours and those of others) are doomed to failure, we don’t have to join the cynical failed-self-improvement doom parade about it. Attempting to change your own […]
I wrote a lot this year (nearly 360 blog posts, if I’m not mistaken). I’ve created both mediocre posts and great posts on everything from startups and books to food and music. So in the interest of my own personal review – and […]
The holiday parties of 2018 are coming to a close – which just means that it’s time to start preparing for next year’s holiday parties. Picking good music is half the battle of hosting, so let’s talk about how to create […]
Want to learn more skills in the new year? Good. But before you range far or spend much to get new tools, books, or other equipment for learning, consider what you have right in front of you. If you’re an […]
First, you wake up before the sun. Darkness still covers everything, and everyone is still asleep. You drive quietly down dark roads, past fallow winter fields. You step out into the cold, and open a gate into fields of cool, […]
Last night I went to see the delightful new movie Mary Poppins Returns. As one of the few heathens who have not seen the original Mary Poppins, my opinion is understandably suspect – but I really liked it. In this movie I saw the […]
The Christmas spirit is owned by no one. You can’t summon it up. It “comes and goes as it pleases.” That said, you can do your part to make a home for it. This Christmas, here is my mega-list of […]