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A friend of mine once wrote a brilliant essay about abandoning dreams. Being an adult is not about abandoning your dreams. Dreams just have shorter shelf life. There isn’t an opportunity to wait five years to be the next you. It’s today. Dreams cost more because they last less long. They mature into market value sooner.  And so, when our dreams fall by the wayside, it’s natural to feel sad and…

The range of obstacles that stand in the way of unlocking our potential are vast.  One of the big ones, if not the biggest, is mindset.  Which is much more than just attitude. Mindset is the intention we hold when we relate to ourselves. It’s the language we use when we talk to ourselves. The posture we take when reflect on ourselves. Complaining, for example, is a mindset. One…

My old ad agency boss despised all things cheesy.  Any time our team sat down for a copy review, he would red line all of the messaging that was too cute, too clever, too corny or rhymed.  Sadly, this pretty much eliminated all of my writing. Couldn’t help myself. That style of creativity is my lifeblood. You don’t wear a nametag every day for twenty years if you’re not…

Sometimes life feels like you’re trying to go downstairs when everybody else is coming up.  It’s as if the whole world is conspiring against your goals. Testing you with its angry, wild and resistive energy. And with every passing second, with every bead of flop sweat that trickles down your back, you feel more and more helpless to meet your own needs.  Like abandoned flotsam on the currents of…

Project is one of my favorite words in the dictionary.  It derives from term proiectum, which literally translates as, something thrown forth.  That’s inspiring to me. Because contrary to popular conditioning, it means that our projects don’t have to be these bloated, risky, overly ambitious, resource draining, revenue generating, achievement oriented endeavors.  A project can simply be any activity that improves our personal value, regardless of outcome. It’s any pursuit…

We’re under way with the second season of my product development and innovation gameshow! Some new things to watch out for this year, including a guest scorekeeper role in various episodes, not to mention the home edition party card game, which will be available for sale this summer. Here are the two most recent episodes for your listening enjoyment! Episode 201: Life Without Good || Jacob, Eli, Dirk What…

Our analysis of our mood very rarely relieves us of it.  In fact, it usually makes things worse. Dwelling on how sad or lonely or uninspired we are, allowing our crappy mood to recruit more negative emotional energy, it’s a step in the wrong direction.  What’s smarter is combining the art of benign neglect with the practice of making meaning. Here’s how it works.  We acknowledge and accept and…

Arendt’s book on the human condition suggests that each of us has the opportunity to form a durable addition to the human artifice. That the same task, performed year in and year out, will eventually transform the wilderness into cultivated land.  This approach of continuity, devotion and patience has always inspired me. Most people find it dreadful and monotonous and claustrophobic.  But personally, the daily practice of commitment to seek what…

A blacklister is someone who tries to put an embargo on your joy.  A hyper skeptical cynic who not only doesn’t like the things you like, but also judges you for liking the things you like. Simply because it’s not in their taste.  Being around these people is exhausting and infuriating and makes my stomach hurt. Because you can always count on their sardonic commentary to ruin a good…

Most tornado deaths are the result of flying debris.  It’s not the twister itself that kills people, it’s all the giant shards of wood, chunks of metal and slabs of concrete that are swirling around at two hundred miles an hour. That’s what we really have to watch out for.  Interestingly enough, our brains work in the same way. The tornado that is the human mind constantly churns out all…