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Emerson said that the mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.  That’s the true value of innovation. Not only the ideas we create, but the intellectual growth we undergo along the journey.  And so, even if it’s not in the budget, even if it’ll never pass compliance, even if the brief doesn’t call for it, and even if the client continually tries to…

Fox’s enthralling book on the reinvention of work shares a vision where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony.  A world where the self is not sacrificed for a job, but is sanctified by authentic work. One of the points he makes is about doing things for their own reward. Letting the work take responsibility for itself.  He writes:  It is when we learn to work without a why…

Barger was the original hell’s angel.  He not only founded the legendary motorcycle club in fifties, but he also authored several books about a life on the road, riding high and living free. During one particular interview, he was famously asked how he recruited for his biker gang.  Sonny replied: We don’t recruit, we recognize. When we see somebody that’s us, they become us. That’s the best way to describe…

I spent many years trying to squeeze my business into other people’s plans.  From friends to mentors to competitors to strangers, there wasn’t a revenue model, pricing system or marketing framework that I didn’t attempt to make my own.  But after a decade of wondering why nothing ever seemed to gain significant traction, it finally occurred to me what the problem was.  Anytime we try to execute other people’s…

Disappointment happens when somebody expects one thing, and doesn’t get it.  It happens every day. Life lets us down. There is no avoiding it.  The danger is when too many of our decisions are made based on what other people expect, versus what is actually best for us. Because that only creates greater resentment and unhappiness on both sides.  This tendency dates back to our childhood fear of letting our…

The fact that our bodies don’t cooperate all the time can be frustrating.  That’s my fourteenth sneeze since lunch. This is ridiculous. How can I still have allergies after two weeks?  But we can’t beat ourselves up for being human. Being overly critical about our bodies only halts progress in its tracks and pushes the shame spiral deeper.  And if we treat each day as yet another onslaught of…

Once of my clients loved to say, the grass is only greener on other side because it’s fertilized with bullshit. Think twice before you jump the fence.  It’s an interesting philosophy that I can appreciate from a comedic standpoint.  But then again, making grandiose pronouncements from my throne of cynicism isn’t a particularly useful way to spend my time. And besides, no path is entirely free of suffering. We will…

One of my favorite writers once released a drama series with an innovative distribution model.  Louie did zero promotion and made no prior announcements. The project had no logline, no press junket, no ad campaign, no test audiences, no studio system and no third party distribution.  All that people knew was, one morning, a sudden and terse email showed up in their inboxes with the following message.  Hi there….

Joy isn’t always glitter and belly laughs and jumping up and down with overwhelming delight.  Just because we don’t emanate a spontaneous outward response, doesn’t mean we’re not happy. Often times joy comes from simply being content, feeling safe and discovering the beauty of the world.  It’s exquisitely ordinary. Uncomplicated. Gentle. Inexpensive. Maybe even mundane. Whatever it takes to light up our circuits.  That’s the big misconception about joy….

Humans aren’t the only animals that think, but they are the only animals that drive themselves crazy with their thinking.  It’s a problem of proportion.  In our modern world where information is coming at us from every possible angle, faster than our constitutions can possibly handle, we treat every piece of information as a crisis.  And when we fail to realize the violent consequences that repeated thinking can have…