The perfect gift is a gratitude fountainhead towards the giver. The receiver understands the resources of thought, time, money, and effort poured into the ideal selection, which causes the heart to leap. The receiver feels deeply known and loved.
During a discussion with Tim Ferriss, author Elizabeth Gilbert explained her concept of giving gifts to her future self. Gifts were found in the…
What tempts you to fear? In our brain, the amygdala controls the "fight or flight" response to the information our senses detect. However, humanity doesn't respond in unison to each sensory input.
A bump in the night wakes us out of a dead sleep, to reach for the nightstand gun. Some joker behind a keyboard spends two minutes to create a meme threatening to take something you hold dear, and…
We embrace the metrics' intended consequences at the birth of the metric. The unintended consequences are vivid at its death.
Every parent has lived the dream of their child going to bed without complaint. The absence of this reality prompts a heavy negotiation and a variation of the "quickly to bed" metric. Each night sleep happens…
External and internal factors influence all research before science can be proven right or wrong. Advocacy increases the chances of continued funding to see a study to a conclusion and disappears when the champion changes jobs.
Inspecting research assumptions and testing protocols provides insight into the rigor to prove a point. A body of research struggled to link smoking to cancer, while…
The revelation of the social order creates a distinct memory. The experience etched in the cornerstone of each life. Either it will be a life with the wind in your face adding resistance with every step, or pressing at your back, adding a lightness to each step.
Skin pigment does not reveal the character of the human wearing it, but rather…
A global pandemic is a perfect opportunity to understand why you call your friends, friends. The forced solitude allows for hands-free filtering to occur.
When you are no longer available to buy the round of drinks, are the same friends calling to check-in and chat?
How have these friends played a role…
Chessmaster and martial arts champion, Josh Waitzkin, found the dogma of any particular martial arts form was a strength, but also revealed its weakness. This memory was triggered as I mindlessly scrolled through Facebook and came upon friends' political post. The post spelled out the tenets of the political bloc in succinct manifesto fashion, with the tone of complete disdain bestowed upon anyone deviating from this worldview. The comments were full of ardent agreement.
I have friends and family all over the political spectrum and work in DC…
Change is always at work. Fungi solidify millions of new connections just beneath the forest floor. Your co-worker's cubicle is vacant after she quit to follow a dream, and a doctor on the other side of the world identifies a new virus in her patient. Constant change is here to stay, and everything is in flux.
Henry Kissinger's question resonated with Oxford Analytica founder David Young decades…
In the book, Reboot, coach Jerry Colonna's question stuck with me, regardless of my attempts to bob and weave like a professional boxer. This question finds its mark irrespective of the trophies lining the mantle or the dollars in the bank if you allow it to find the target.
Internal work is always sacrificed on the alters of fear and the ominous tasklist. The good news is
Prejudice hijacked my trip to the holiday party. Sadly, I was the only one in the car. As a white guy learning to fight racism, I was blindsided. Repulsed by the voice in my head, the lies persisted until I encountered truth.
Two weeks earlier, I met Tohmai at a DC post office, awaiting the doors to open. I was getting a passport, and he was doing a maildrop for business. Tohmai is an engaging entrepreneur growing a successful Washington DC real estate business. The conversation easily flowed, and we exchanged business cards with the plan to connect over a meal.
Two days before the Fourth of July holiday, Tohmai and I met for lunch, where I got to know the DC native. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood and the son of a single mother, he knew he didn't want to end up as another African-American statistic, either behind bars or dead. And his ever-growing client list proves he is achieving his dream of helping people….