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It’s historical fiction, but if you haven’t heard the tale, it goes like this: The year is 1519, Hernan Cortés has just landed in the “New World” and orders his men to “burn the ships” sending a clear message there was no turning back. By setting ablaze the only immediate way out, all choice in… Continue reading Hernán Cortés, Game Theory and Burning the Ships

I stared at this page for 40 minutes before I said what the hell. No one actually cares if I can or cannot turn my having a great weekend into some aphorism or extended metaphor about progress or living the good life. I don’t want to think about “getting after it”. I don’t feel like… Continue reading The Bare Minimum vs. The Internet’s Indifference

My 4-year-old made his first money today off his own work and initiative. He asked if he could have a lemonade stand while my wife had a yard sale. While we helped him mix the lemonade and get his materials (he’s 4), he hustled and engaged all on his own. He made a killing. After… Continue reading The Lemonade Stand, The Swimming Pool, and Rare Validation as a Parent

I had a Cherry Coke Zero this afternoon and it transported me back to another time and place. My dad used to work out at the downtown YMCA in Mobile, Alabama when I was a kid. He’d lift weights or play in a racquetball league, while I ran around the track, played basketball, and went… Continue reading Dad, Cherry Coke & the YMCA

Years ago, when my wife was expecting a diamond engagement ring at any moment, I went hiking with a buddy in the Chilean Patagonia. Over the next week, we hiked the famous “W’ trail through rain, snow, hail, more rain, and more hail. We were cold and wet most of the time. But the wind… Continue reading I Wasn’t Ready To Propose to My Wife Until I Got Caught in a Blizzard on a Mountain in South America

As I buckled-in my oldest today on the way to the swimming pool, he said the words that parents both love and hate. He said “I can do it myself Daddy, I don’t need you anymore.” I suppose we love this because this means our kids are growing up, becoming more independent and more capable… Continue reading Seatbelts and Seasons of Change

A common refrain to remind ourselves to have patience refers to Rome not being constructed in only a single day. I guess clichés are clichés for a reason. They’re easy to say and roll off the tongue. They make us sound wise and cause everyone to nod their heads in agreement. They are also oftentimes… Continue reading Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day, But You Can Bet Your Ass They Were Laying Bricks Every Day

When I first started working with a mentor about a year ago, he asked me what I needed the most. After some thought I told him I needed someone who would tell it to me straight. I told him I’ve got lots of cheerleaders, but champions aren’t made at pep rallies. I told him I… Continue reading Another Day, Another “Pie in the Face” Mentor Meeting

It was the kind of weekend that was physically exhausting but emotionally fulfilling on another level. My wife was home after traveling for 20 out of the last 24 nights. We enjoyed lovely weather and spent the entire weekend playing outside with our kids. We had bonfires, went swimming, grilled out, went to the playground,… Continue reading Gratitude is the Antidote to Fear

Maybe it figures that the 400th straight day of online writing falls just before Father’s Day. After all, it was driving back from my own father’s funeral when I realized I wasn’t doing anything about all those “important” goals I talked about for all those years. Just one day before, I’d been going through his… Continue reading 400 Days of Online Writing Later and Life is Night and Day Better