I can’t tell if people are homeless or eccentric.

Today I watched a woman on the train dig through a canvass
bag of assorted trash, lime rinds, old newspapers and scraps of paper covered in
chicken scratch.

The critic in me wrote her off as crazy. The writer in me
imagined her life story. The empath in me felt guilty for judging. The child in
me kept watching to see what happened next.

When she stood up to exit, I quickly pretended like I wasn’t
staring.

She walked towards me and asked if I always wore my nametag
on the subway.

I smiled and said yes.

She laughed, winked in the way sweet old ladies do, and stepped
off the train.

Some people collect coins.

I collect sentences.

Every day, I write down words, phrases, sentences and other language fragments plucked from books, articles, songs, art pieces, podcasts, eavesdroppings, random conversations and other sources of inspiration.

You could say I’m a bit of a sentence junkie.

Anyway, I feel compelled to share them. In no particular order, with no particular attribution, for no particular reason, here’s what I’ve inhaled lately:

1. There’s no right or wrong because it’s all mine.

2. This is where we sound the holiest.

3. She’s already become a footnote.

4. Infinite monkeys with typewriters

5. Irreplaceable decades of invested history.

6. Jealousy with a halo.

7. Missing the biological boat.

8. The naked terror of regret.

9. Nothing to prove and everything to imagine.

10. Somehow I could lose myself in the hurt.

Collect anything cool lately?

Some people collect coins.

I collect sentences.

Every day, I write down words, phrases, sentences and other language fragments plucked from books, articles, songs, art pieces, podcasts, eavesdroppings, random conversations and other sources of inspiration.

You could say I’m a bit of a sentence junkie.

Anyway, I feel compelled to share them. In no particular order, with no particular attribution, for no particular reason, here’s what I’ve inhaled lately:

1. All the bottles I threw into the ocean are coming back.

2. A little dancing smile of satisfaction.

3. Looks like a cement truck threw up from the sky.

4. Shouting into a smokey elevator.

5. Never cling to your gift too tightly.

6. A coward with a kiss, a brave man with a sword.

7. Prophecy is a lonely business.

8. Some people cling to this candy land for their whole lives.

9. Gripped with a certain stillness.

10. It’s my backbone project.

Collect anything cool lately?

Digital used to be the thing.

Now it flows through all things.

And yes, we’re more connected than ever before. But we’ve lost something along the way. Something meaningful. Something money can’t buy.

We’ve lost a portion of our humanity.

And unless we start expecting less from technology and more from each other, we’re going to plunge further down the digital rabbit hole into a painfully pixelated future.

Face it. It’s time to reboot the human condition.

As a wise man once said, “On a computer, everyone’s a punk. But in a room, everyone’s a mouse.”

I’d like to build a board game that helps offices and teams get off their devices and start talking to each other in person, face to face, with their mouths.

First, you can’t start playing until you surrender your devices. Your smartphone, tablet or laptop is your admission to the meeting. 

Next, pull out the Analog Activity Sheet. This is a list of things we used to do without electonic assistance.

Wonder about big ideas, leave handwritten notes to people, have emergency back up plans, make eye contact, solve problems together, entertain each other, write long letters to loved ones, remember phone numbers and share collectibles. 

Each item has different tasks attached to it. And the goal of the game is get on as many ridiculous and creative tangets as possible within a 30-60 minute time period.

Tech free. Just like a real picnic.

I’ve always known who I was, but I’ve never known where I belonged.

And because that’s such a fundamental human craving, because
the longing for belonging is a such huge part of what it means to be alive,
when you don’t feel like you belong, you always feel like a piece of your life
is missing.

It sucks.

Like an asterisk, there’s always this subtle undercurrent of
notenoughness that gnaws at your heart and clogs your full capacity for living.

Until we find home.

Not where we live, but where we’re understood.

And right away, our soul opens up.

Because when we finally discover the person or the people or
the community that gets us, that yesses us, that embraces the weirdness we have
to offer, and that actually makes us feel normal for once in our goddamn life, we
can finally stop wondering if there are any other people in the world like us.

There is no exhale more satisfying.

Lack of communication is the root cause of most relationship problems. 

When we don’t talk to each other, we don’t just give up our understanding, we give up our connection. And without a strategy for expressing our mutual needs wants, feelings and frustrations, couples who get lazy with each other won’t be couples for very long. 

And because communication is our basic human need, our basic human instinct is to build systems to satisfy that need.

But digital isn’t the answer, it’s the accomplice.

What if we created a mobile utility that helped couples increase intimacy through genuine conversation?

We could call it, “Couple Talk.”

You browse a database of creative questions, conversation starters and thought provoking ideas. Then, use them as prompts for meaningful discussions with your partner. Topics will address important, controversial and sensitive issues that most couples are afraid to confront. You will reach each new levels understanding with your significant other. 

You could even submit your own questions, keep a playlist of your favorites and document your answers to revisit in the future as you grow.

It’s a deep connection with the help of a digital nudge. 

Man’s search for meaning isn’t just a book.

It’s the number one cause of unhappiness in the world. 

Making meaning is what allows us to feel alive. It’s a form of living our deepest principles and highest values. And if we aren’t intentional about where, how, why and with whom we make meaning in the world, life is going to be an empty journey. 

After all, money doesn’t buy happiness. Meaning does.

But,  happiness isn’t easy for everyone.

So, inspired by Eric Maisel’s books, I’ve been thinking: What if we created a utility that helped people make meaning instead of monitoring moods?

Each morning, you could map our your daily repertoire of meaning making activities. You check them off as you complete them. At the end of the week, you can evaluate your personal level of happiness. And then you can share it with people you love who are also on their own meaning making mission.

It’s a micro blueprint for success, an existential day planner and an ongoing and cumulative record of the meaningful activities you accomplish.

We’re faced with an unemployment paradox.

Being jobless is a barrier to finding a job. It’s the hiring paradox in which the status of being out of work creates fear in the worker that they will be seen as lazy and unmotivated by potential employers. It’s a vicious circle of rejection that leads to dissapointment and feelings of unworthiness.

The longer you’re out of work, the harder it is to get work because companies don’t trust you as responsible. And employers are don’t want to be biased in their hiring practices, but they’re just protecting their bottom line from losing money on the wrong staff.

Legislation against this practice hasn’t held water, so something has to be done organically, from the ground up.

But since it’s easier to find a job when you have one, what if there was a way for job seekers to become employees of companies they wanted to work for, before they got hired?

What if there was a online platform that helped unemployed people identify and solve problems for prospective employers, leverage that work as the ticket to earnning those employers’ attention, and land the job by uniquely and strategically positioning themselves as valuable problem solvers?

We could call the program Hire Yourself.