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According to a recent report from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, our country has three 327 million mobile phone subscribers, but only 315 million people. Proof positive that our insatiable desire for human connection will always outweigh our unstoppable desire for technological consumption. Smartphones are awesome, but the fix we get when we use them to reach out and touch someone is the addiction. It’s physiological. As mammals, acts…

We are what we share. Just look at the last thing we published, posted, profiled, updated, uploaded, streamed, liked, tweeted or clicked. That’s it. That’s us. That’s who we are, whether we like it or not. And because the web never forgets – because the web is forever – we better be careful what we put out there. A Georgia teacher got fired for posting videos of binge drinking….

When someone plagiarizes us, we shouldn’t send a subpoena. We should a thank you note. Creative piracy is a compliment. It’s a reminder that we’re worthy copying. And it’s validation that we’re big enough to be a target. It’s also part of the job description. Everybody steals from everybody everywhere. They always have, and they always will. That doesn’t make it okay. But there’s not much we can do…

[ View the infographic! ] “Everyone should wear nametags, all the time, everywhere, forever.” That’s my thesis, philosophy, dangerous idea and theory of the universe. My name is Scott, and I’ve been wearing a nametag for past four thousand days. And after traveling to hundreds of cities, a dozen countries, four continents, meeting tens of thousands of people, constant experimentation and observation, building a enterprise and writing a dozen…

Presence is a powerful motivator. If we want to inspire the people around us to do great work, the smartest thing we can do is dig in our heels and start cranking out great work of our own. That way, we lead by example. We influence through infection. We demonstrate trust in each others’ sovereignty. And we create a space that supports a mutual commitment to individual passion. Eventually,…

The night I ended a four-year relationship, I slept like a rock. I felt guilty. Like I should have been more devastated, more disturbed, busy counting dots on the ceiling, tossing and turning until the sun came up. But when I woke up the next morning, rested and relieved for the first time in weeks, my body sent me a memo: You made the right decision.Cartwheels should tell us…

After I graduated college, published my first book and ran out of money, I made a crucial career decision. Time to move back in with my parents. For two years, eight months and twenty-nine days, to be exact. Not that I was counting. But they were cool about it. They even charged me rent, which I thought was solid parenting move. Every month, I paid them the amount of…

I’ve been playing, composing and performing original music since I was twelve. And yet, despite natural talent, despite evolving confidence, despite explosive creativity and despite flowing support, it wasn’t until last week that I finally found the courage to release my music publicly. That’s twenty years. Twenty years of winking in the dark. Twenty years of being selfish with my art. Twenty years of dodging any form of feedback,…

I had an idea for a treehouse and ended up building a skyscraper. Never saw it coming. Never saw myself as much of an architect. But as I lean over the ledge and let my eyes tumble down the side of the glass, all the pieces fit. This edifice, this thing that I have built with gallons of blood and sweat and whatever bodily fluid was required at the…

Success morphs into failure when it comes too fast, too early and too abundantly. I learned this the hard way when I was twenty-six and my left lung collapsed. It’s called a pneumothorax, which is a fairly common incident among young, tall men in their late twenties. And although the doctor said it was sporadic, I chose to tell myself a different story. A story that would teach me…