I lost my place for a few seconds, but otherwise, I think, improving. While I hope to improve my skills at making people laugh, my long-term goal is to develop more social and emotional skills of leadership, as I teach and coach my students and clients. I live and practice what I teach and coach. I’m doing this to Face and overcome anxiety Empathize with people Find and express universal[…] Keep reading →

I didn’t always love performing. Before writing a sketch and performing in the sketch comedy class play in business school, called Follies, I avoided the stage. That performance experience became one of the most amazing, transformative experiences of my life. It opened me up to emotional awareness and expression beyond any expectations. I knew I would perform more, despite the anxiety the mere thought of it created. Taking Meisner technique[…] Keep reading →

I’ve quoted Martha Graham many times. At last I got the video of her saying the words. She describes how a performer achieves freedom through conforming and discipline better than anyone, in my opinion. I believe what she says holds for any active, emotional, expressive, social, performance-based field, including leadership and entrepreneurship. The dancer is realistic. His craft teaches him to be. Either the foot is pointed or it is[…] Keep reading →

30 Years of Love in the Time of Cholera Love in the Time of Cholera appeared in English thirty years ago this month. Two years later — owing to a crush on a pretty British girl I took classes with in Paris, or more precisely her roommate, who volunteered at the English Language Library for the Blind — I read the book onto tape there. I suppose many blind English-speaking Parisians have heard my recounting.[…] Keep reading →

“It was inevitable. The scent of bitter almonds always reminded Dr. Juvenal Urbino of the fate of unrequited love.” Have you paid attention to the opening lines of Love in the Time of Cholera, the novel by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez? I hadn’t for decades and missed richness, complexity, and depth, paralleling a richness, complexity, and depth I missed in nature, my relationships with others, and my relationship with[…] Keep reading →

Longtime friends and close readers of my bio know that before focusing on leadership, entrepreneurship, and the environment, I created art, including Big public pieces in Manhattan on display for years Solo gallery shows nationwide Museum pieces Teaching courses at top schools for art and design Awards Coverage in major media Working with celebrities VIP treatment at New York’s top clubs and more. Here’s my art resume. That list tempts[…] Keep reading →

My response to the question “How do I improve my storytelling?” on a forum got upvoted a lot: Practice, practice, practice. The best advice in the world only works in the context of practice. Practicing makes advice meaningful. Practice and then practice more. Then practice more. Get feedback. Seek advice. Iterate. But practice. Name anyone who mastered a performance art who didn’t practice more than most. Even if you can,[…] Keep reading →