Blog

My business was my first love. It was the first thing I gave everything to, and the first thing that gave everything to me. The two of us were absolutely faithful to each other. We were inseparable. You couldn’t tell where the company ended and I began. Which was professionally helpful, but psychologically hazardous. Because as with any first love, our flame slowly started to fade. I was changing….

When it comes to writing, I’ve always been as selfish as possible. With the production, I write what I want, when I want and how I want. With the process, I don’t do drafts, I don’t use editors and I’m not interested in constructive feedback. And with the positioning, I never think about my ideal reader, I don’t care what will work in the marketplace and I’m not worried…

Pay ourselves in hope till silver crosses our palms  Take this poverty of vow Squinting at the mirror just to see if it’s safe It’s the stain that won’t wash out Sweet, sweet somethings I  Repeat on this salty night Sweet, sweet somethings I  Repeat on this salty night Hanging all our fortunes not on chance Making friends before we make requests And we will go and eat the…

When you’re genetically wired for hard work, the hardest thing to do is nothing. The opposite of ambition. The antithesis of labor. Idleness. Blech. But just like in yoga––where the posture you hate the most is the posture you need the most––I figured doing nothing was the right move. But not before doing a little research. Sabbatical comes from the word sabbath, meaning day of rest. Figured. But the…

Introspection has interesting economics. It’s our superpower for developing independent critical thinking skills, understanding ourselves better and deciding where we need to grow. But after a while, introspection reaches a point of diminishing returns. And we end up sitting in a corner perfecting ourselves, trapped in our own heads,bouncing our thoughts off a thin wall,playing a never-ending game of inside baseball. Sounds like a good time to stop introspecting and start…

I just watched this video of a toddler discovering his shadow for first time. Awwwwww. I nearly choked by his adorableness. But then, my hamster wheel started turning. With million views, thousands of likes, hundreds of comments and dozens of articles written about this viral video, I knew there had to be a deeper layer of meaning. The cute factor may be hard to resist, but we can’t deny that…

I come from a long line of positivity beacons. Fundamentally affirmative personalities who respond to others with of constant chorus of yeses. Relentless encouragers whose immediate optimism makes the people around them think to themselves, I believe in this, I can do this, I’m ready to try this. That’s why it’s so hard for me to wrap my head around negativity. It doesn’t compute with my biology. When I…

Motivation doesn’t happen to us, it happens in us. If there’s something we need to discipline ourselves to do, it’s not a question of making the time to do it. Everybody knows nobody has time for anything.  The secret is creating a rich context of meaning around the activity so it becomes existentially painful not to do it. Dragging our butts out of bed and into the gym is…

“Your culture will kill you softly with its song, and you won’t even notice.” One of the first lessons I learned from wearing a nametag everyday was, if you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you. And it might not be the one you want. Proving, that identity is a proactive endeavor. We can’t be bystanders in defining who we are. It’s too important…

“If you’re planning, you’re hiding.” Joining a gym is a fascinating experience. Especially when you consider all the universal human issues at work. Discipline, motivation, body image, financial commitment, social pressure, comparing ourselves to others, worrying about getting gawked at. It’s no wonder people stress over the process. But for many, the hardest part is pulling the trigger. Physically going there, becoming a member and hitting the iron for the first time. That…