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Lebowski says that at some point, we all have to decide whether we will love humanity or hate it. Whether we will husband this world with care or manhandle it with violence. Both options are readily available and intensely attractive, but there is one main difference between the two. Energy. Because it’s so tiring hating the world. Forget about the moral and ethical implications of hate, when we become…

 Carlin, in his posthumous autobiography, writes extensively about his changes as a comedian. About how in the late sixties, he changed everything from his routines to his appearance to his management team to his audience. But he explained that he was the kind of person who needed those changes to happen in a natural, organic and timely fashion. Nature works very, very slowly, the comedian said. Even a volcano,…

Management consultants have been preaching for decades that our goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. Here is my argument against all five of those qualities, and what you might try instead. SPECIFIC This sounds like the ideal firs step for setting goals. But what happens when events beyond your game plan throw a wrench into the mix? Your precious little goals betray you. And specificity…

Here’s a page out of the middle manager’s handbook. They call you into their office and ask you to shut the door and have a seat. And instead of responding dramatically, they calmly, sadly and regretfully tell you that you’ve really let them down. Their hopes were high, but you failed to deliver, so get ready for the kiss of death, that dreaded ominous phrase, they’re disappointed in you….

Koontz writes in his suspense novel about a father who loved his car more than his family: Harlo had nobody to whom he could give the love that he lavished on the car. A can’t return the love you give it, but if you’re lonely enough, maybe the sparkle of the chrome, the luster of the paint and the purr of the engine can be mistaken for affection. Have you ever…

Think about the biggest drama queen you know. Do they spin small anxieties into outsize disasters? Do they cry wolf at the slightest sign of trouble? Do they assume disaster is around every corner? Do they spin everything into a vortex of negative thought? Do they take minor provocations as personal affronts? Do they believe they are the only one to ever experience bad events? Do they have zero…

Few things bring me more joy than videos of unlikely animal pairs romping or snuggling. Goats and rhinos, pigs and cats, deer and foxes, tortoises and terriers, monkeys and tigers, parrots and hippos, few things in the world are more adorable than interspecies friendships. Disney animated movies, eat your heart out. The question is, did the animals work out a common language, or is it just another cute internet…

When somebody makes the comment, you’re all over the map, that’s not an insult, it’s a compliment. Because none of us are fixed artistic entities. The world wants to govern our growth by insisting that we never diversify. People want to pathologize anything that’s diverse and experimental. But the reality is, we’re not supposed to be one thing in this life. Having a clean and linear and tidy career…

Linklater is one of my favorite filmmakers because he is notoriously allergic to plot. In many of his interviews, he explains that plot is this agreed upon structure we all sign up for hang moments on. It’s this contract with the audience. And although people think they want it, it’s really just a fake thing that they create that assumes life is going to give them closure. But the…

Emerson once wrote: As the traveler who has lost his way throws his reins on his horse’s neck and trusts to the instinct of the animal to find his road, so must we do with the divine animal who carries us through this world. But what if he wasn’t referring to about the imaginary bearded lifeguard in the sky? What if he was talking about actually people on the…