I can’t tell you how good it feels to have your own book in your hands. I’ve been meaning to write that for a while — since I got my first printed book from Book Patch. A short book costs less than ten dollars to print. From then on you’ll always have a book you wrote. You can hold it, thumb the pages, show it to friends, get more copies[…] Keep reading →

Do you ever find yourself in an argument, debate, or just disagreement with someone who won’t budge? They can be frustrating. You wish they would at least recognize others might have different points of view but they don’t. I’ve adopted a belief that has served me well in such situations: Brittle beliefs are easy to change. This belief serves me in a few ways. First, it leads me to identify[…] Keep reading →

I don’t know why I should feel like keeping this recent practice of mine secret, since I should be proud of it. It’s no different from how I bring a bag with me when I go shopping so I don’t need a new bag, which pollutes. I wondered why stores make such an effort of giving you bags — the checkout people seem like they have to pamper you and[…] Keep reading →

When you drive a gas-powered car you use its engine. It has a lot of power and can get the car to go hundreds of miles. But when you get into a car, you can’t just start using that engine. Internal combustion engines aren’t good at starting on their own. So gas-powered cars have electric starter motors. Electric starter motors are designed just to start the gas engine, which you[…] Keep reading →

Nearly everyone I know wishes their boss or manager led better or at least differently. They act like they are powerless to motivate or influence their boss. Motivating and influencing your boss is one of the main things I work on with clients. It’s also one of the most empowering things they experience. Yes, dealing with a hard-to-deal-with manager can be encouraging, not discouraging. I’ll give a top-level overview of[…] Keep reading →

If you don’t know the value of a mentor, you’re missing out on a major way to improve your career and life. You can find elsewhere the benefits they bring, but I’ll mention some I’ve gotten. You can learn from their mistakes They create connections for you They teach you They help you through difficult times Sometimes they do business with you, like investing in your companies You can name-drop[…] Keep reading →

With a PhD in physics, a few patents, and several start-ups to my name, I have some experience with developing and building technology to solve problems. I consider knowing the limits of what technology can solve as important as how to use technology. Social problems, I find, aren’t amenable to technological solutions. The big one I see is global warming. I see people suggest technologies to deflect sunlight, beam energy[…] Keep reading →

Do you see your colleagues more as people or do you work and relate with them more based on their place on the organization chart? Over and over clients come to me with similar perspectives and challenges. Often they see their managers as people to please, whom they want to learn about but never do because they don’t feel it their place to get to know him or her… as[…] Keep reading →

Fable The mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel; And the former called the latter “Little Prig.” Bun replied, “You are doubtless very big; But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together, To make up a year And a sphere. And I think it no disgrace To occupy my place. If I’m not as large as you, You are not so small as I, And not[…] Keep reading →