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Rand’s character notes in the afterword of her legendary novel are fascinating.  She actually wrote them several years before the publication of the book itself. Not for any outside reader, but for the clarity of her own understanding.  And what’s interesting is, although the notes weren’t included in the final manuscript, they’re still some of the most important words in the book.  Roark, our protagonist, is depicted in both…

I once saw a group of guys at bachelor party walking through a casino.  Each of them was wearing a powder blue shirt with the icon of a bride and groom at the altar, chained to the phrase, game over.  What a perfect microcosm for how our culture views marriage. How it’s the ultimate loss of freedom. Hence, the bachelor party. One last chance to enjoy the sweet nectar of…

Romeo was first smitten by another maiden.  Rosaline, one of the unseen characters in the play, was involved in a short lived romance with our hero, who expressed dismay at her not loving him back.  Juliet, of course, walked into the costume ball and changed everything. The moment our protagonist lays his eyes upon her, good old what’s her name is history. And he expresses one of the most…

I recently heard an interview with renowned chef who compared her career to getting a tattoo.  There was never any plan, she laughed. Every single choice and endeavor focused around what felt pleasurable in the moment, and she trusted that this new tattoo, which was now stuck on her body forever, would create a residual ongoing effect that nobody could ever take away from her.  It’s a deeply courageous…

Seeking help, in whatever necessary form, is the most important part of the entrepreneurial journey.  If we don’t connect our goals with people who can help make them happen, pushing that boulder up the hill is going to take a very, very long time.  But equally as dangerous as not asking for helping from the right people, is accepting help from the wrong ones. Here’s a summary of my experience making that very mistake. …

Negative inspiration is when we see something in the world that we don’t want to be a part of, and it sparks action.  It’s a beautiful moment in the creative process.  Because it enables our divine dissatisfaction with the way the world is. And that’s a very specific and valuable emotion that we can’t access when we’re happy.  The good news is, once we tap into that energy, we…

My personality type is a classic right brain rebel artist.  Here are the greatest hits of my flaws.  Not a planner, struggles with logical thinking, experiences physical anxiety when forced to follow basic instructions and has almost zero attention to detail.  Now that’s one hell of a resume headline.  However, instead of hiding these weakness, or worse yet, spending time and energy and money trying to correct them, I’m…

Over the past twenty years, thousands of people from around the world have reached out to tell me that my nametag experiment has been featured as a case study in their business book, college course, company newsletters, training seminar, student project, trivia archive, teaching resource or documentary film.  My personal favorite was when my seminude picture wound up on one of those media roundups of the worst tattoos of…

Moore once wrote that we can’t force love into existence, we can only create space for it to arrive.  This mantra comes from his book about the alchemy of working, although it’s also brilliant relationship advice.  Because although we can’t be expected to buy in, subscribe to or obsess over the exact same things as our partner, there’s still a standing obligation to believe in their yes. To demonstrate care and…

I started wearing a nametag everyday for one simple reason.   It makes people friendlier. Period.  Eighteen years and a hundred thousand interactions later, it still works. Every day. Complete strangers, new friends, business colleagues, casual acquaintances, customer support agents and homeless people alike, they all act friendlier toward me. Mission accomplished.  The irony, though, is that it’s been a struggle to extend that same sense of compassion and acceptance and…