“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 →

Taste is a matter of taste, so you may not enjoy my food as much as I do, but I’ve grown confident enough in it to invite people more and more, including for business meetings. I’ve asked people to write reviews. If you come to my place for one of my famous vegetable stews, they’ll tell you what to expect. The reviews When Josh first invited me over for stew,[…] Keep reading →

Back when I made my art, I would sometimes find a new venue or commission that would give me the chance to work bigger than before. I’d sign a new gallery, meaning more pieces, or a museum. Or a venue with a budget would commission me. My art was technical, with laser cut steel, 8 foot photographic quality images, power cables, and so on. I could only scale up when[…] Keep reading →

I finally watched Gone With the Wind. People routinely rate it one of the top movies. Watching it, you automatically rate it by the standards of its time. But watch the acting these iconic scenes. The morning after watching the movie, I woke up realizing how ungenuine and inauthentic the acting was. Sure, by the standards of its time, the acting was probably great. But watch this scene, the opening[…] Keep reading →

I’m honored that Medium awarded my column “Top Writer” in three categories. “Great Work, Joshua Spodek. Congratulations! You are now a top writer in Leadership.” “Great Work, Joshua Spodek. Congratulations! You are now a top writer in Inspiration.” “Great Work, Joshua Spodek. Congratulations! You are now a top writer in Self Improvement.” You can do what I did to earn it I wrote my book, Leadership Step by Step, to[…] Keep reading →