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“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” -Alan Keightley This has never been truer than it is today. Events of the last couple years have rendered this a different world than the one most of us expected to… Continue reading Seeking Freedom in an Unfree World

Plateaus are interesting places to be. They can be frustrating, sure. Oftentimes, this is because these flat periods mask our progress. But consider the nature of plateaus. For one thing, our vision has changed; we know what we don’t know and yet understand how far we’ve come. Perspective along the path is invaluable. It gives… Continue reading Leveling Up Makes for Lonely Plateaus

My wife is on travel again, so I’m flying solo. After a night of waking up with a feverish baby, he was home sick today. Juggling meetings while chasing after a toddler and learning to do a new job is not the ideal work day. On top of that, one of my highest potential reps… Continue reading When the Day Leaves You Defeated, Remember that You are Dust and to Dust You Shall Return

About 5 minutes down the road from picking up my youngest today, I got a call from his teacher saying he was running a fever. My wife is also away on work travel until late in the week. I can handle lots of curveballs while she’s gone. But sick kids during workdays are the hard… Continue reading The Crucible: Sick Kid Workday with the Wife on Work Travel

They say golf is one of those things you don’t have to be good at to enjoy. That may be true, but it’s also true that it’s more fun when you’re playing well. My father-in-law and I got last in our flight in the golf tournament, in no small part thanks to my inability to… Continue reading Astrophysics, Golf, and Why Excuses are Bullshit

Today was the start of a 3-day golf tournament with my father-in-law, who is the craziest person I know. To go ahead and head this off, let it be said that I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. I’m one of the lucky ones that has a great relationship with their in-laws… Continue reading A 3-Day Golf Tournament with My Father-In-Law: Day 1

If your life depended on razor-thin margins, you’d probably be a more gracious person. So would I. We all would be. The History Channel survival show, Alone, pits contestants against the elements to test their survival skills in extreme conditions. Although these folks are survival experts, after some time in the wilderness they are all… Continue reading What Survival Reality Television Taught Me About Celebrating Small Wins

Today was my first day working in an office in more than two years. A couple of the newer sales reps on my team met for the day. Feeling a bit awkward in an empty bullpen of cubicles, we worked from a conference room in the largely abandoned building that used to have more than… Continue reading The First Office Day in 2+ Years and Why People Still Matter Most

On a long layover in Washington, DC last year, I stopped by the Phillips Collection, one of the finest art museums in a city full of fine museums. While the star of the collection is Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party”, they also have 4 large Mark Rothko paintings all in one cold and dimly-lit… Continue reading Staring at a Mark Rothko Painting Made Me Realize Being a Father of Two is Simpler Than Before I Had Kids

My wife got back from a long work trip last night. She missed a couple nights worth of bedtime accidents with the oldest. The baby only slept through the night once while she was gone; no rest for the wicked I guess. She missed a couple scraped knees. She missed the older child getting bit… Continue reading Mommy Returns With My Sanity