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Along each of our hero’s journey, whatever power we are searching for, it has been in our possession from the very beginning. That thing was there the whole time. We just needed to embark on this long and sprawling quest in order to confront and own it. Putting on a nametag didn’t make me special, it merely brought to the surface a specialness that was always there. It made…

If one of your ideas doesn’t work out, that doesn’t make it a bad idea. The issue might have been timing, user error, a tech glitch, or some other unforeseen event. But whatever happened, treat this failure as part of the account learning process. Now, if the mistake is yours, own it. As quickly as you can. It’s embarrassing, but you’re not going to get fired, and your clients…

People are quick to complain about oversharing in the workplace. The argument is that over sharers are employees with an overblown sense of worth who believe everything they say should be shared in person, just like they do online. The argument is not wrong. Does the intern really need to tell stories about her drunken exploits from the weekend? Does the whole team really need to know that the…

The hardest time to set boundaries is when you’re feeling lonely. It’s just so temping to give in to people. They ask you for something, anything, and you jump at the chance to help them, because it’s guaranteed to make you feel needed and useful. The quick fix is irresistible. Like putting a salve on a wound. When I was a young, struggling entrepreneur, scrambling for any shred of…

My friend’s venture firm incubates, builds and grows tech startups. He once told me that a huge red flag in the acquisition process is when a company has what’s called a customer concentration risk. Meaning, a significant portion of the organization’s recurring income can be attributed to a single source, and that company runs the risk of losing anticipating revenue at best, and full blown brand extinction at worst….

We’ve always been told that comedy is tragedy plus time. Maybe the equation of the self works in a similar way. What if maturity was just identity plus time? After all, knowing who we are isn’t the hard part. Knowing how to use who we are to navigate the losses, rejections, failures, mistakes and transitions life throws at us, that’s the real work. Opening ourselves to the wisdom that…

When success comes to us fast, early and often, it’s not unusual to think that it will keep coming. When we’re young and naïve and the whole world is still in front of us, of course nothing could possibly block the flow of good in our lives. We’re bulletproof. But one of the lessons we learn as we get older is, attachment often means thinking that the good times…

Client services is an inherently stressful business model. Here’s why. Companies that hire your agency to do marketing or public relations or consulting are essentially paying you for something else. To worry for them. That’s what your monthly fee goes toward. Outsourced anxiety. And such, clients not only want, but expect their agencies to be neurotic. Practically twenty four hours a day. Think of it from their perspective. If…

It’s called the pursuit of happiness because it takes real work. And the mistake we make along the way is believing that happiness is intentional. It’s not. Happiness is incidental. It’s a side effect. It’s not the target, it’s the reward we get for hitting it. Maybe instead of buying into the happiness industrial complex, what would be more productive is an apprenticeship in the art of acceptance. Not…

My psychologist friend says the most dangerous part about being a gambling addict is that you have hope. You always maintain the obsessive belief that you’re just one bet away from turning it all around, solving all your problems and getting back on your feet. That’s right man, after this last big score, it’s smooth sailing from here on out. No more hemorrhaging cash, dragging my family into debt…