Squeezed into the world right before the doors were closing

Loneliness of young people has reached epidemic proportions. Cigna’s widely cited study is affectionately calling the youngest of the individuals surveyed, the loneliest generation. That’s absolutely heartbreaking to me. Heartbreaking. And here’s why. Loneliness is not some mystifying, highly contagious disease that medical professionals have yet to find a cure for. It’s a choice. We may not be conscious that we’re making it, and it may not be an easy one to make, but it’s still a choice. As my...

The irony of workaholism is, often times the greater the achievement, the deeper the emptiness. We make heroic effort, reach the climax, receive attention and approval from others, stimulate the reward system in our brain, and then we crash. And once the drug wears off, the darkness comes crashing in. Mean voices inside our head remind us that we’re actually unworthy and incompetent, and we had better get back to work soon so we can chase another hit. Reminds me...

People don’t need information, they need affirmation. Google can give them information to their heart’s content. But only a living, breathing human being can sit down, listen to that person’s story, look them in the eye, and say something like, oh wow, that really sucks. Or hey, you’re doing great, so keep it up. Or, yeah, that’s amazing, I knew you could do it, way to go. Affirmation really is a fundamental human need, like water, food, clothing and shelter....

The brain does not reach full maturity until our middle twenties or thirties. Adolescence isn't finished just because the word teen no longer appear in our age. It usually take two or three decades of life before we can genuinely build an adult understanding of the world. And so, if not a number, then what are the defining characteristics of adulthood? How do we know that we're actually growing up? Here are some of the signifiers from my own life....

Determining the market value of your talents is difficult. Pinpointing the vehicle of your uniqueness requires the intersection of two types of understanding. Knowing thyself, and knowing thy customer. Here are a few questions that have been helpful in the appraisal of my own value, both as an entrepreneur and an employee. Let’s start with the first category. Knowing thyself. What is everybody always asking you about? What do you know that people would pay money to learn? What have...