Ideas are free, execution is priceless.

In our world of infinite choice and constant distraction, it’s never been easier to bail on our plans with people. It seems that basic social contracts like setting a date and actually showing up on time have become a scarce commodity. Technology and psychology theorists blame this trend on a number of sources, some under our control and some not. But why people flake out doesn’t concern me as…

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…

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…

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…

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…