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Each day presents us the chance to overthink things.  To misuse the power of our minds to intellectualize simple matters into a mess. And to exaggerate even the smallest tasks, making our lives far more complicated than necessary.  The only problem is, our ego loves this. Over thinking is like an aphrodisiac for the psyche. And so, it warns us that if something is not complex, it can’t possibly…

Here’s something that took me three decades to learn.  Sadness, anger, jealousy and rage aren’t negative feelings, they’re just feelings.  They’re not the opposite of anything.  Yes, they might be complicated and difficult and raw and messy, but they’re not negative. The world of emotions isn’t good or bad, right or wrong, black or white, practical or irrational, win or lose. It’s much greyer than that.  Masters calls this…

Imagine you’re unsatisfied at work.  The pay is good, the work is okay, but ultimately, it’s not where you belong professionally. The fulfillment factor isn’t there anymore. The job has run its course. Soon enough, the time will come to move on to the next work adventure.  And so, one afternoon, just for shits and giggles, you start running thought experiments. Imagining what life and work might look and feel…

My actress friend tells me that the purpose of most industry parties is to see where you are in the food chain.  Yikes. That sound equally as exhausting as acting itself.  And yet, we all fall prey to this behavior. It’s not a performer thing, it’s a person thing. Playing the comparison game is one of the things human beings do best. We spend a lot of our time…

Altman’s calming book on mindfulness reminds us that letting go doesn’t mean we don’t care, it’s just that we are no longer invested in building a brick wall to keep things from changing.  But it’s hard. Any experience of letting go is a death. It’s an opening to our own mortality. An acknowledgement of that which is no longer.  Here are a few examples from my own experience. Think…

One of the things we learn at a tech startup is, there is a measurable difference between an interesting idea, and a true innovation.  The former is when our idea creates incremental improvements to an existing problem. Which is important and helpful, but not necessarily innovative.  The latter is when our idea elevates the whole organization to the next level. When we initiate something that can be fully integrated…

With every promising new opportunity that arises, a set of sneaky beliefs always spout anew.  Assuring you that this interview, this relationship, this project, this is the one you’ve been waiting for. This is thee thing that is going to change everything and set you free and take you to the next level.  But as a veteran screenwriter friend of mine once warned me: Most of the time, you’re…

The best way to reinvent yourself is to not be too successful.  Think about it. People who are thriving every single day, everywhere they go, in everything they do, they have zero motivation to change. There’s no acute pressure to upgrade.  Because why fold a winning hand? Why put at risk the success they’ve already become? And why shift the boundaries of the future when the present is so…

Gaffigan is one of the most successful comedians in the world.  He collaborates extensively with his wife, the quiet powerhouse who writes, edits and produces their comedy programs behind the scenes.  During a recent interview on a showbiz podcast, she shared an insight that every freelancer and artist and entrepreneur in history should hear: Every six months, the opportunity of a lifetime is going to come by, and you’re…

I once read a fascinating medical book about dangers of painkillers.  Pinsky, the author and board certified addiction medicine specialist, introduces the book by reflecting on his first opportunity as a young doctor to administer an opiate to a patient.  I cannot express my satisfaction at having been able to help this man so vividly and quickly. This is what those of us who enter helping professions expect and hope from…