Dave and I go back years, to when we both wrote columns at Inc. I’m surprised I didn’t bring him on before. He helps entrepreneurs, leaders, and aspiring leaders develop social and emotional skills, as well as college students aspiring to internships. We recorded now on the occasion of his new book, Get Over Yourself! How to Lead and Delegate Effectively for More Time, More Freedom, and More Success, on[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker: A friend I considered insightful recommended this book over a decade ago. At last I got a copy from the library. Reading it made me glad to have the PhD in physics. Otherwise, I’d feel stupid. It read to me like a salad of hard words strung together, maybe more like spaghetti. It seems like Freud created a bunch[…] Keep reading →

Many TVs use more than 100 watt-hours in an hour or two when turned off. I used that much last year from grid power, from plugging in at NYU, which I allowed myself while I unplugged my apartment. My use at home was zero, of course. Last year, I published an article in Ars Technica, I disconnected from the electric grid for 8 months—in Manhattan. Eight months off the grid[…] Keep reading →

The MTA Arts & Design department released a book Contemporary Art Underground, about art they install. I felt honored that they invited me to the launch the other evening, especially because they gave name tags to everyone and specified “Artist” for those of us who created art for their program. They didn’t make the designation big and showy, though during the talk, they asked all the artists to raise their[…] Keep reading →

A reader emailed me: I really enjoy your podcast and greatly appreciate your work. It was very exciting to someone else thinking about personal choices the same way I do and effectively influencing others to do the same. I want to commit to a new personal challenge of only buying food without packaging — I’m almost there now but I want to publicly commit and go all the way …[…] Keep reading →

I met Erica in a online meeting of academics who promote avoiding flying. A major perk for many academics is that universities pay for flying to academic conferences, for research, and for other academic reasons, of where there are many. In other words, they often fly for free. (As an aside, since academics learned about our environmental problems first, people flying free and often include many academics.) I found her[…] Keep reading →

The Problem Do any of these situations resonate? Have you said or thought anything like them? Solutions I’m not saying the following are the only solution to each of these problems, but they work and create freedom, joy, and liberation. Anyone can learn the Spodek Method.