Michigan Today, an alumni publication at my alma mater, recently posted videos showing a Michigan researcher talking about happiness. Christopher Peterson, a professor of psychology, talks about what makes life worth living, and about happiness, creativity and resilience. He said something in the first video that simmers down the findings of his life’s work to one sentence: Sometimes when I…
I heart New York. John and I made a very intentional move to New York City more than four years ago and it’s amazing here. I look out my office window at the Empire State Building every day and sometimes still can’t believe this is my life. People from all around the world travel to vacation in our city. They…
Have you ever been at home all day when there’s nothing in the fridge? You open the door. You poke your head in. You hum a little tune and look around. You sigh. You grab a handful of pine nuts. You go back to your desk. About an hour later, you’re hungry. So you go back to the fridge and…
When I was a kid, fall meant the start of the new season of TV, so if you watched the night soaps like Dallas or Dynasty, you needed a refresher of what happened on the cliff hanger so you could be ready. I haven’t left you with any cliff hangers this summer, but in that spirit, here’s a round up…
Another season of Mad Men, another round of Sunday night obsession with what America’s favorite misogynist is up to. I wrote a while back about what a loathsome creep I think the lead character of this cult show is, but Linda Stasi at the New York Post did a far better job: So, what’s his appeal? Simple. Don Draper represents,…
This is the second installment of a new occasional series on writers — how and why they write, what inspires them and how they overcome challenges like writer’s block and rejection. Today we get a baker’s dozen of questions and answers with Jim Ottaviani, who writes graphic novels about complex scientific concepts like the space race and the development of…
Earlier this week, I wrote about how love at work can help leaders succeed. It’s Friday in August so I’ll give you a nice, easy post to help that message sink in — a sampling of love-themed songs from YouTube. Nat King Cole gets us started by spelling L-O-V-E [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JErVP6xLZwg] A snippet of the sweet Beatles-themed musical Across the Universe,…
As a precursor to this post, can we first agree that Harvard Business Review is not some crunchy granola publication that wants you to be more self actualized by hugging and meditating? No, Harvard Business Review is the well-respected publication that speaks to the pressing issues of business leaders who want to be more successful. That’s important because I think…
If you’re looking for some good beach reading in the dog days of August, look no further, my friend. Three posts in the works you won’t want to miss: A profile of multi-instrumentalist Clint Maedgen, front man for New Orleans Bingo Show and sax player for Preservation Hall Jazz Band A Q&A with Jim Ottaviani, the second installment in a…
South by Southwest Interactive has a great way of selecting speakers and panels for its schedule — it includes expert review, staff consideration and the will of the people. SXSWi Panel Picker crowdsources the decision of who should speak. Voting started this week and I’d love your support in getting on the roster. Here’s my pitch: Explore how you might…
If you’re wondering if a vision board or a spell painting can influence the direction of your life — and you weren’t convinced by reading The Secret — then here’s another blogger’s tale of feeling good energy coming from a vision board. And by the way, if you need a spell painting to help visualize your life goals, John’s available…
Today I’m kicking off a new occasional series on writers — how and why they write, what inspires them and how they overcome challenges like writer’s block and rejection. Since I wrote a guest post for Lara earlier this week, it seems only appropriate that she would lead off the new project. On deck are Jim Tobin, who won the…
In my fantasy world, someone from the New York Times read my blog post about the challenges some couples face trying to share a bed and thought, “That’s brilliant! We should write about that!” It could have happened.* My friend Lisa Gauchey pointed out a recent Times story headlined Married, but Sleeping Alone. The marital bed, once the symbol of…
My dear friend Lara Zielin is an incredible role model for creatives — she works all day, then comes home and cranks out her own personal writing AND maintains two blogs. Lara has sold two young adult novels and is working on a third. She’s learned a lot about writing and the publishing industry and is sharing that wisdom on…
My blog post earlier this week on saving for retirement prompted passionate discussion when I posted the link on Facebook, so here’s a follow up to keep the conversation going. On this blog about retirement (see below), the author not only discusses the sources of funding you might have for retirement but also talks about what your expenses are likely…
I can’t stop thinking about a recent Washington Post article on saving for retirement. Two thoughts in particular stopped me cold — first, the situation most workers are in today: In the wake of the recession, the Employment Benefit and Research Institute found that, among other things, fewer workers are saving for retirement, a quarter of those surveyed have nearly…
The first time I visited Sara Grace’s blog and read her profile, I was hooked. Here’s the opening from her profile on My Thousand Mile Year: I’m Sara Grace. I seek pleasure and spent a lot of years firmly convinced that it was best found at a dinner table, in recline, or in bed. I nourished my indulgent and excessive sides…
I liked this blog post because it’s an example of someone who set a life goal — doing her first triathlon — and is using her blog for motivation and accountability. She’s reaching out to her community for support, too, including being able to sponsor her hands and feet. This was a big, big week. Not only did I hit…
