Blog
I launched my blog in 2009 when I was wrestling with a midlife crisis. Since then, the digital world has changed so much. I was new to both Facebook and Twitter when I started blogging, and I was still rocking the BlackBerry for email. Instagram hadn’t launched yet. Podcasting and short videos are what the cool kids do these days, blogging is considered old fashioned. But I still find it the best way to share my thoughts and to profile people who inspire me.
I hope you’ll find something here that inspires you, or at least sparks a conversation. Some of my favorite posts are pinned to the top, scroll down a bit more to find the most recent, or check out the categories in the sidebar.
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…
Without statistics to back me up, I’d hazard a guess that millions of Americans with full-time jobs fantasize about becoming self employed. Maybe the dream looks like being a wildly successful author, maybe it’s opening a restaurant or starting an independent legal practice. Whatever that daydream is, many people never pursue it because it can feel like a giant leap…
Nobody has to convince me of the power of relationships in our lives. For example, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a job by applying for a help wanted ad — it’s always been through a personal connection. And when I reflect back on my mom’s death, some of the strongest emotional memories come from the many ways our friends…
John and I went to see Toy Story 3 this weekend, which has prompted several long conversations about the transition from childhood to adulthood. The premise of the movie is that Andy is heading off to college and has gotten too old for his toys. It tells the story from the toys’ perspective, of course, but it’s hard not to…
I don’t know if I agree that it’s rare for New Yorkers to share special experiences, but I am totally on board with the idea that the shared oppression of triple-digit heat is bonding. It’s like we’re all in the foxhole together. A hot, sweaty, sticky foxhole. If you’re sweating like crazy, what’s something good to come from it? Is…
Say what you will about pop phenom Lady Gaga, the woman can write a catchy tune. More than a week ago, I heard one of her songs at a neighborhood sushi restaurant and I’m still finding myself singing Bad Romance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I] An excellent (if very long) article in the Washington Post recently was headlined: The Marriage Myth: Why do so…
A former colleague of mine at University of Michigan, Tony Collings, brought an amazing reporting resume to Ann Arbor– he was a CNN correspondent for 16 years, following time as a Wall Street Journal reporter in New York, an AP reporter in Moscow, London and Bonn, and the Newsweek bureau chief in Bonn and London. I learned how to do…