I don’t know if I have to explain how shopping for, preparing, and eating food qualifies as fundamental to self-awareness and therefore leadership. A few years ago I would have considered food shopping irrelevant to self-awareness. I’ve changed. I’ll start with an aside on how big an effect just gardening can have with Victory Gardens. During the World Wars, when mainstream food production dropped, governments promoted their citizens planting so-called[…] Keep reading →

After posting about how Churchill and others overcame impediments on their ways to greatness, I saw an article in the New York Times about great historical figures humbly learning things late in life — Marie Curie learned to swim after winning two Nobel Prizes, Leo Tolstoy learning to ride a bike after writing War and Peace, Dwight Eisenhower learning to paint after World War II ended, and a couple other[…] Keep reading →

I’ll describe an effect across many spheres of human life, including, probably, yours. I’ll describe it in the realm of food, but it applies all over. Most people, when they don’t think much about it, like sweets and comfort food — not always that healthy. If you gave them, say, some broccoli rabe, even cooked to perfection — say just lightly fried in olive oil with a touch of lemon[…] Keep reading →

People seem to want to change a lot about them. I see them trying to do the opposite of what they are trying to change. Sometimes it works. More often trying to do the opposite of what they want to stop reinforces doing it more. Food For example, overweight people often think if they eat too much they should try the opposite and try to eat less. But dieting seems[…] Keep reading →

Some people choose to be overweight — Mario Batali, for example, seems to love fattening food, knows how eating it will affect him, and eats it, accepting, even celebrating, the consequences with pleasure. I take my hat off to him. This post isn’t about him. I should also point out I don’t consider being overweight bad. Regular readers know I don’t consider such things good, bad, right, or wrong. I’m[…] Keep reading →

Fruit vendors in Boracay had some crazy tropical fruits I’d never seen before, along with the delicious and numerous mangoes of various varieties. We passed on durians this time, though they were there. On a whim we got one of this odd looking fruit they called “Gayabanos,” which Wikipedia redirects to Soursop. Weird name in English, but it has many names in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. It[…] Keep reading →

Though I try to post mainly on leadership, it’s hard not to post sometimes when you have a vacation of a lifetime. Still, for those interested in Four-Hour-Work-Week or Mr-Money-Mustache living — that is, needing little — you’ll be glad to see that working only one or two days a week can bring you to one of the world’s top-rated beaches — Boracay! Last week a friend and I planned[…] Keep reading →