Blog

Cartoons made my creative life possible.  From an early age, animation provided a source of deep inspiration, joy and meaning for me. Schultz, more than anybody, shifted my inner geography from day one.   The documentary about his creative process captured my imagination like nothing else. Snoopy and friends actually made me want to become a cartoonist myself.  And so, I bought the books and took classes and even started my own…

What scares me about technology is, it’s turning us into a generation of problem avoiders.  Thanks to the magic of search engines, there’s no need to wonder anymore. Thanks to the power of geo positioning, there’s no way to get lost anymore. And thanks to the magic of smartphones, there’s no reason to turn to the stranger next to us and ask for directions anymore.  This can’t be healthy…

One of the great relationship breakthroughs is accepting that it’s okay for other people to be angry and disappointed.  It’s simply a matter of trust.  On their end, we trust that they have the ability to cope with a wide array of feelings. We trust that they’re not going to abandon us just because we said something that upset them. We trust the communication process and believe that the people have…

If companies want to create atmospheres where customers can feel like complete human beings, people need to be welcomed, not merely tolerated.  Because there’s nothing more demoralizing than being treated like an inconvenient interruption. As if the person’s presence was interfering with the receptionist’s ability to do their job.  And yet, it happens every day. Employees treat customers like objects.  They get annoyed with our inability to telepathically mind…

Sometimes you do everything right, and it’s still not enough.  It’s goddamn maddening. Like you can’t win no matter how hard you try. And it makes you want to punch people through the phone.  What’s fascinating, though, is if you push through the frustration, liberation awaits on the other side. Because once you realize that control is an illusion, once you accept that the outcome of most situations isn’t…

Each of us are raised with labels and terminology and a system for interpreting the world.  And that’s a good thing. Labels have a profound utilitarian purpose. They make it faster to classify and understand what’s going on around us. They create mental shortcuts that give us a handle by which to hold people.  Which is certainly a lot easier than the messy discomfort that often arises out of…

Hangtime is a cultural term that refers to how long something stays in the air before hitting the ground, from the point guard dunking the ball, to the pigskin sailing toward the end zone, to a stunt car flying off a ramp.  But from cognitive perspective, hangtime is also an helpful metaphor for conceptualizing resiliency. Because in the face of life’s inevitable jabs and blows, our goal is to…

The creative process is a lifelong exercise in surrender.  As artists, we accept that we do not have magical control over the world. We bow to the universe as a chaotic and mysterious place that isn’t obligated to make us productive and pay for our dreams.  We consent that humanity isn’t mature enough to control the important things. And we embrace the fact that the only thing we have…

There’s a phenomenon in the dating world called ghosting, in which someone that you believe cares about you, disappears from contact without any explanation at all.  It makes you feel disrespected, disposable and disappointed.  The lack of closure is maddening and unsatisfying.  And the most insidious part is, you not only question the validity of the relationship you had, it you question yourself.  This experience, however, isn’t limited to…

Fire this fearful longing Put a little iron in your core Hang your whole weight upon me And scoot fear out the door We got greatness by choice We got gravity by chance A good man tries to be worse And fool god with his plans Another angel on duty A magic lamp awaits your caress This reservoir of truth and beauty And love for all the rest This…