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There are numerous reasons to get good at ritual, routine and regularity.  One of them is to be help us calmly and confidently cope with life’s abrupt changes.  You know, the ones that come about unfairly and without much warning. Like when we’re suddenly thrown into a new job or city or living situation or work environment.  Here’s a list of tasks that are completely outside of your skill…

After suffering a collapsed lung in my mid twenties, keeping my life as light as possible has become an important goal.  Because I now know how it feels to be literally crushed under the weight of my own stress. After spending a week in the hospital with a breathing tube in my chest, frankly, I’m no longer interested in making each day heavier than it needs to be. I’m…

Anyone who’s ever lived in a big city has extensive experience coping with subway delays.  They’ve suffered from spending long stretches gazing into the tunnel, praying to see the light of an oncoming train.  As if staring down the inky blackness with an angry look on their face would somehow will the subway into existence.  But it never does. No matter how often they check. No matter how late they’re running….

Avatar was a film that taught us to develop a new kind of relationship with nature.  One that’s grounded in sense of gratitude and prosperity and generosity.  Sulley models this connection in the scene where he goes on his first hunt as a rite of passage. He shoots down the great beast, pulls the arrow from the twitching body of a hexapede and dispatches it with his knife. He then speaks…

Life is not set up to meet our meaning needs.  It’s not the universe’s obligation to endow each of our endeavors with a sense of significance and value.  Meaning is an inside job. Only we can form our experiences into communicable meaning for ourselves. This process can be an uphill battle. Especially during seasons of inactivity and transition. Because we want to be proactive, but we also don’t want to burden…

Carlin famously said that you can’t be the fastest gun in town forever.  There comes a time when you’re no longer the golden boy, and you have to go off somewhere and figure yourself out.  What’s interesting is, some people do just that, and come back guns blazing looking for blood. They kill a man before breakfast just to work up an appetite.  But some people move away from the spotlight…

You’re more prepared than you think.  The groundwork has already been laid in the inner space of your mind. It’s all muscle memory now.  And so, let go of all your crutches and props and cheat sheets. They won’t help you. Instead, trust that you’ve already done the work. Trust that you can be moved by whatever is inside of you. Trust that who you are is enough to…

The reward of the journey is not arriving at the destination, it’s transforming yourself to such a state of joy and worthiness and fulfillment, that you don’t feel any different when you get there.  Because you’ve already done the work. You’ve already supported yourself in becoming the person you most needed to be. The destination was just a bonus. The cherry on top.  Job seekers, for example, assume that…

What if grandparents babysat in parking lots?  What if doing house chores was a competitive sport?  What if ping pong had ball boys?  What if we monetized road rage?  What if parents could shop in big box retailers without stress? In this episode of Steal Scott’s Ideas, Andy, Phil and Sherril gather in Tampa for some execution in public. # # # Execution Lesson 102: Air as dense as a poor man’s…

Saturday morning, a man receives a knock at this door.  He answers and sees a jehovah’s witness smiling and holding a bible.  “Hello, sir, do you mind if I come inside to talk for a bit?”  To his surprise, the homeowner says yes and invites him in. A few minutes later, the man comes into the living room with some coffee and a bagel, sits down on the couch…