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Saunas are helpful for relieving stress, relaxing muscles, circulating blood, flushing toxins, cleansing the skin, boosting the immune system, moisturizing our hair, and if we’re lucky, finding a date for the weekend.  But make no mistake. Going to the sauna is not a workout. Our brain may think it is because we’re at the gym and getting sweaty and feeling invigorated at the end.  But if we’re not moving our body…

As the world record holder of wearing nametags, I’ve conducted a significant amount of field research around the experience of labeling.  And what I’ve discovered is that it’s a doubled edged sword. Depending on the context, labeling can either be helpful or harmful.  Affect labeling, for example, is the process of attaching words to feelings. It helps us manage our emotions, empowers us to classify and understand what’s going…

Toffler predicted that the acceleration of technology would leave people suffering from shattering stress and disorientation aka, future shock.  A central tenant of his philosophy was the concept of information overload, a term he popularized to define the moment when the amount of input to a system exceeded its processing capacity and resulted in a reduction of decision quality.  Understatement of the millennium.  Fast forward to the digital generation,…

In the show business world, you don’t make money until you make somebody else money.  That’s why no organization wants to be the first person to trust you. Because if you’re not a proven well, if you don’t have a history of producing oil, and if you don’t have a reputation of getting people laid or paid, you have no leverage.  I remember hearing a veteran talent manager, reflecting on his…

You have bought into the story that this is progress.  Instead of wisely cutting your losses and getting on with your life, you keep nobly persisting, refusing to take no for an answer, chasing down leads for opportunities that are ridiculously out of your reach, believing that your passion and personal stamina will actually make a difference.  Because just like your mother always said: You’re special and different and…

The problem with a diary is, it’s private.  Which means we can hide. Even if our words are raw and honest and bloody and real, with a diary, the risk and vulnerability and intimacy associated with sharing our truth with the world have all been eliminated from the equation.  It’s just more winking in the dark.  Not to minimize the importance of privacy and the value of keeping a diary. Studies…

I have an entrepreneur friend whose business operates at a snail’s pace.  Each of her projects take several months concept, several more months to incubate, and in many cases, several years to execute.  Which isn’t abnormal for a small business owner, it’s simply the polar opposite of my own creative personality.  Personally, my approach is to aim for volume, not accuracy. To ship things impatiently, imperfectly and prolifically until I fall…

Kohn’s definitivecritiqueof competition gave language to a deep belief I’ve held my entire life, but could never clearly articulate.  He argues that we have a competitive code in our chromosomes. The frantic scramble for position, prestige, profit and power is hardwired into us. Our biological roots tell us that life is fundamentally a competition, and we must construe our world in win or lose terms.  As such, we’ve crafted…

The worst thing you can do is tell yourself that your pain is not important.  That your struggle is not valid.  Come, now. Have some respect for your own suffering. Give weight to what happened to you. And if at all possible, find safe places to share it. Find ways to use your pain in a way that benefits other people.  Because the other destructive lie we tell ourselves is…

Failure to execute is rarely due to a lack of internal knowledge, but a lack of external pressure.  Most people know exactly what they need to do. They just need another human being to create a greater sense of expectation around doing it.  And so, next time you notice a friend, coworker or employee struggling to finish their project, try this.  Instead of rushing in as the lord of…