Life has only one finishing line, which is when you die (I hope I didn’t break that news to you). Everything else is a part of life — no more an end to one thing before than a beginning to something else. That view seems inarguable. Whatever happens to you, no matter how much you like it or not, if you haven’t died you’ll continue past it. So how can[…] Keep reading →

After yesterday’s post on my principle to avoid surprising teammates in business, today I’ll mention one of my other top principles in business relationships: I want people I work with glad to have worked with me and wanting to work with me again. Though this one speaks for itself, I think it bears repeating and reinforcing why it works. This principle Puts accountability to the people you work with as[…] Keep reading →

I love a surprise birthday party. I love to surprise friends with good news. I once surprised a girlfriend with a Tiffany’s necklace. All great experiences. I love surprises with friends. In business I strive not to surprise anyone I work with (competitors I like to surprise)– not with news I think they don’t want to hear, nor with news I think they do want to hear. When I figure[…] Keep reading →

When the topic of meditation came up the other day I heard the same thing I’ve heard many times before. I’m sure you’ve heard and said similar thing for similar activities: “Oh, I can’t meditate. My mind is too frantic. I wish I could.” Maybe you’ve heard or said it in this form: “Oh, I can’t go to the gym. I’m too out-of-shape. I wish I could.” or: “Oh, I[…] Keep reading →

New York City is having the most mild summer I can remember. We’ve barely hit ninety degrees and that was at least a month ago. Since then we’ve had cool, spring-like weather most of the summer. The other evening walking with friends, I noticed how loud the sounds of window air conditioners were in the small streets of the West Village. The temperature and humidity outside couldn’t have been more[…] Keep reading →

We’ve all heard someone say “That’s not art. I could do it.” Maybe you said it yourself. The comment can lead to interesting discussion on what makes art, but rarely. It can lead you to realizing that the value of art doesn’t depend on how hard it was to create. The usual response is “Well, you didn’t. And they did it first.” I suggest a new response. If the person[…] Keep reading →

[My previous post is my second-to-the-last on my series on daily and weekly beliefs that improve my life and may improve yours, in no particular order. See the introduction to the series and the value of flexibility in beliefs for background. The last one will be an introduction to the whole series, to come soon.] I haven’t written about freedom and the Freedombox project in a while. If you’ve followed[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Who hasn’t had to deal with an annoying coworker? Or boss? Or family member? … someone you couldn’t get away from and had to treat respectfully,[…] Keep reading →

[Today is the forty-second in a series on daily and weekly beliefs that improve my life and may improve yours, in no particular order. See the introduction to the series and the value of flexibility in beliefs for background.] People commonly believe that beautiful women have better lives than everybody else and that they have access to more valuable things. I came across that belief a lot when I used[…] Keep reading →