The reader I responded to Saturday also wrote the following: in the meanwhile i am writing to a medical doctor who is also a fitness expert so that i can meet her and set up a program that looks at both nutrition and exercise She’s doing what a lot of people do, especially well-educated businesspeople who have developed habits to analyze things before acting. I do so too on many[…] Keep reading →

Do you ever have someone not return your emails for a long time? Over the summer I had a two-person team not return several emails for a few months. The correspondence was low priority, but I didn’t want to lose the project. They said they wanted to continue, and I believed them. Usually persisting politely without losing patience works. This time it didn’t. It’s easy to get angry, feel disrespected,[…] Keep reading →

Who doesn’t find people telling them what to do annoying? Here’s something people who don’t eat meat commonly say: I’ve been saying for a long time that it’s weird some people are anti-vegan and try to argue against it. That’s like saying “I’m pro-cruelty, pro-heart-disease, and anti-environment.” It’s not just people who don’t eat meat. People who eat meat have different reasons but the same amount of judgment and telling[…] Keep reading →

I eat a lot of mixed nuts and peanut butter. As far as I know, they’re all healthy to someone without allergies. I eat a lot of them. I found a site that shows pictures of two hundred calories of various foods. I like and eat a lot of broccoli. Here’s two hundred calories of broccoli: Looks like an amount that would go a long way to filling me up.[…] Keep reading →

Do you believe you’d have more meaning, purpose, and drive if you could just find your passion? Do you look at people more successful than you and presume they succeeded more because they were lucky enough to find their passion and that if only you were so lucky to stumble on something to drive you, you’d also succeed? I propose a different perspective: that we create passions, not discover them.[…] Keep reading →

“I did such a great job, I deserve this.” Who hasn’t said that in front of some cookies or ice cream? “I worked hard. I earned this.” Who hasn’t said that before lazily neglecting something important, calling it indulging themselves? “This employee has never made a mistake. Let’s promote them.” How many managers have rewarded box-checking behavior like that? If you tell yourself, and behave accordingly, that something unhealthy is[…] Keep reading →

Next time someone you hear “It’s not what you know, it’s whom you know,” tell them who said it they still don’t get it. More important than whom you know is your skill and ability to meet people. If you can meet people and make meaningful connections, then you can create for yourself the “whom you know.” It’s not what you know or whom you know. It’s how well you[…] Keep reading →

This summer’s #1 bestselling business book, Triggers, by Marshall Goldsmith, describes how not to worry about things not worth worrying about. I’m going to improve what he wrote. He created an acronym, AIWATT, which he rhymes with “say what,” short for the first six words of this question: Am I willing, at this time, to make the investment required to make a positive difference on this topic? If you are[…] Keep reading →

I just clicked send. My friend John is going to edit the article. When he sends it back I can submit it. I don’t have to think about it because I’ll know to act when I get his email. Have you ever missed a deadline this way? Or lost contact with someone? Or worried about when you’d hear back? Or forgotten about something important? Relying on your memory for following[…] Keep reading →