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Stanford’s researchers used advanced linguistic tools to analyze nearly a million reviews of about six thousand restaurants and found a few interesting trends.  First, expensive food and sexual language often went together.  Next, cheaper food and drug language often went together.  But the trend that caught my attention was, poor customer service was described in very personal language.  Upset customers used words and word stems that included antagonize and heartbreakingly. And according to…

There is almost no work in life as hard as waiting.  No matter how much action you take to move the story forward, the windows of opportunity can seem dismayingly small and infrequent.  It sucks. The process can make you feel frustrated, depleted, hopeless and powerless.  But that’s okay. Those are the normal feelings anyone would feel in that situation.  The muscle we must learn to build, then, is…

We always assume things are going to be easier in the future.  And so, we hold out hope for the ideal situation and the right time and the perfect opportunity. Waiting until that magic day when things are simpler and slower and safer, at which point we can finally make our move.  This is a way of telling ourselves a disempowering story. Pretending that the craziness of the moment…

One of my favorite rules from the improv comedy world is, treat everybody like they’re a genius.  This idea goes far beyond saying yes and. Because at the most fundamental, treating everybody like a genius forces you to trust the communication process and believe that the other person has something valuable to say.  It activates the wheels of your own curiosity, making you a more engaged and respectful listener,…

If we’re lucky enough to reach a state of complete relaxation in which we feel unburdened by life’s troubles, it’s probably not because we somehow mastered mindfulness or meditated enough or practiced yoga for ninety days straight.  It’s likely because we acknowledged, accepted, erected and protected our own boundaries. Period. That’s where true relaxation comes from. Living a life with limits.  Back in my workaholic days, when my life…

There’s a brilliant translation of eastern divination texts that explores the relationship between over thinking and execution.  Cohen writes that initiative is the result of moving forward when we don’t know all the answers, leaping into the unknown that has a message of promise within it, and then turning it into something great by the very act of beginning.  Meaning, instead of hiding beneath the skin of our thinking, we simply…

There are some people who are talented in ways that we never even dared to dream.  Their special gifts rise from pools we cannot fathom and help this world achieve the impossible.  And it’s a beautiful thing. If only we could touch the hem of their garment, maybe some of their magic will rub off.  But on the other end of the genius spectrum, there are other people whose…

I was doing some research on corporate culture when I came came across an archive of old employee feedback forms.  One alumni team member offered future applicants the following warning.  Consider this job your basic training for the cruel, darkest side of the industry. It’s creatively crushing. Don’t expect your good ideas to go very far. In fact, expect a lot of bad ideas to pass for the everyday…

The benefit of hitting bottom is, it causes us to hold a new type of conversation with ourselves.  It forces us to recognize the festering of our own emotions. The disgust with whom we’ve become is what makes us say, okay we’re ready. This isn’t funny anymore. It’s time for a wholesale cleanup.  Rushdie, when reflecting on his recent bout of depression, joked that one of the great benefits…

Think about the last ingenious idea you had.  Inside the theater of your mind, it sounded interesting, useful and even profitable. But then, once you shared it with your team, people looked at you like your dog does. Tilted heads, vacant eyes and drooling jowls. Even as you heard the idea came out of your mouth, you couldn’t help but realize just how absurd it really was.  Why does this happen?…