Ideas are free, execution is priceless.

Have you ever had an art attack? Not a heart attack, but an art attack? This is a real thing. Stendhal syndrome is what sometimes happens when people are exposed to art of great beauty. Audiences experience psychosomatic responses such as rapid heartbeat, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations. Kind of like those iconic black and white photos from the sixties. Beatles fans would watch their heroes arrive at the…

Changing jobs can feel like attending your own funeral. Whether you quit, are forced to resign, get terminated, or go through corporate layoffs, the sensation is quite morbid. Particularly if there’s a time lag between the announcement and your departure. During those last few days or few weeks, fellow employees greet you with a look of fear. They see the devastation in your eyes and speak in hushed tones…

Everyone is the same everywhere. We’re all on the same side of the fence, for better and for worse. Wherever we go, we end up with the same beauty and craziness of humanity, no matter who we meet. People are people. They generally act the same. Now, if this sounds like a gross overgeneralization to you, let me invite you to not be so ethnocentric. Because it’s a philosophy…

Conventional business wisdom tells us that our sweet spot is found at the intersection of three key elements. Passion, talent, and opportunity. All we have to do is answer three simple questions. What are you deeply in love with? What are you genetically encoded for? And what makes economic sense in the marketplace? Or, to paraphrase the famous theologian, the place where our deep gladness and the world’s deep…

Years ago on my last day of work at a startup, my boss sent me one final memo. Scott, you’re the only employee who ever consistently emailed the company leaders with a thank you about your bonuses. We really appreciate it. I was both touched and shocked. How could that be possible? You’re telling me that when forty employees get a bonus check for a thousand dollars apiece, simply for…