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What if we used dog barks to shame neighbors?  What if car security boots were advertising opportunities?  What if the church leveraged biotech to make wine?  What if actors had holograms to practice auditions?  What if wearable tech eliminated guesswork from dating? In this episode of Steal Scott’s Ideas, Jeff, Sean and Lisa gather in St. Louis for some execution in public. **Sponsored by The Failing Asphalt Music Festival Execution Lesson…

There’s no upside to not believing in yourself.  You do what you have to do to find the strength to endure. Even if that means plugging back into the matrix and enjoying your delusional existence until things turn a corner, hey, if that story infuses you with the necessary muscle to go onward where you might otherwise have quit, it’s worth it.  Whatever it takes to create an ambiance…

Spezzano’s brilliant rendition on romantic love makes the critical point that without expectations, anything can be a gift.  But if we have a picture of how the world should be, our expectation tends to make us feel oppressed. Because we’re relying on something outside of ourselves to make up for what’s missing in our lives.  The more we expect, the less we are able to receive and be satisfied. And the irony,…

One of the great intellectual adventures in life is finding the thing behind the thing.  When we notice something, we don’t just look at it, we look through it to a world beyond it. We ponder the many layers and nuances and facets and refractions contained within that thing.  Seinfeld called this working it over like a train hobo with a chicken bone.  Buddha called this the parable of truth: Truth…

Palmer, the writer, educator and activist, delivered an inspiring graduation address about the pillars of living with wholeheartedness. His theory was: Violence happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering.  It’s a profoundly kind and compassionate way of viewing such a dark issue.  It reminds me of our high school bully. Growing up, he made my life miserable, both physically and emotionally. It took me decades to even begin to…

There’s nothing more embarrassing than the last phase you went through.  Like that two year period in your early twenties when you wore nothing but thrift store tshirts and sandals with socks. But that’s how the human heart works. We love to judge ourselves about our past. There’s that protective part of our personality that thinks: Oh my god, if people only knew who I used to be, they…

Anything that enables blissful sense of expansive oneness with others, ideas and experiences, is a worthwhile use of our time.  Those little everyday moments add up. We build a bank with them. Particularly during times of distress, disappointment and depression, when our ability to make deposits into that emotional account can make all the difference in the world.  Lewis wrote about this phenomenon in his book about the surprise of joy:…

In the recovery movement, addiction counselors use a term called countering. It’s the substitution of healthy activities and responses for problem behaviors. And, it’s also about replacing troubling thoughts with positive ones.  The good news is, we don’t have to battle with addiction to use that tool. Countering is a practical and powerful strategy for finding the next right action in any circumstance.  As long as it helps rewire our…

Just decide.  Before your procrastinatory urges kick in. Before your brain has a chance to protest. And before you decide to delay until you spend a few more hours researching.  Just decide.  As my yoga teacher friend says: The right path is the one you take, the right decision is the one that you make.  Have faith in the process. Do whatever you have to do to break through…

Hollywood romcoms portray the impossibility of perfect relationships.  And our exposure to these movies actually affects how we view romance and behavior in our own relationships.  There’s a fascinating study in a media culture journal that found that frequent exposure to romance and courtship in this idealized form could lead viewers to adopt equally idealized notions about relationships in the real world. This false expectation can create a gap in overall…