“The path to a passionate life is often way more complex than the simple advice ‘follow your passion’ would suggest.” — Cal Newport As one of my tasks for World Domination Summit, I recently rewatched recordings of every main-stage speaker. Though all of the speakers were great, Cal Newport’s talk has been most on my …
My friend Jen (well, one of my friends Jen — I have three…or more) sent me this video, which you’ve probably already seen. It’s a New Zealand Airline safety briefing with hobbits and elves and orcs. And Gollum. Cute. (And, in one place, with double entendre!) But I’ll tell you what. Nothing beats the safety …
“We cannot solve life’s problems except by solving them.” — M. Scott Peck One reason I enjoy dating Kim is that although superficially we’re unalike, and although we’ve had vastly different life experiences, deep down we have similar values and life philosophies. This means we have some interesting conversations about the way the world works, …
This morning, I drove half an hour from Portland to Canby to run a bunch of errands. I stopped by the family box factory to do some computer programming (paper prices have risen), had lunch with my accountant (who is also a close friend), and had my girlfriend clean my teeth (she’s a dental hygienist). …
Today, while sorting notes for a big project I have planned for 2013 (my biggest project for 2013, actually), I found a scrap of paper on which I’d copied three excerpts of a buddhist poem. (Well, not a poem precisely, but close enough.) Each of these three verses comes from a different place in a …
I’m surprised how often people ask me to list the blogs I read. To me, a blog reading list is as individual as a fingerprint. Everyone has different tastes. Sharing my favorites doesn’t seem useful. But last week, after yet another person asked for my list of “best blogs”, I decided to sit down and …
When I returned from Turkey, I came home to find that the song “Gangnam Style” was everywhere. (600 million views on YouTube!) I’m okay with that. I love it too. Here, though, is an acoustic version of “Gangnam Style” that may be my favorite version yet: I’m a sucker for pop music. Bonus: Here’s a …
Earlier this week, I mentioned Do the Work!, Steven Pressfield’s small book about overcoming procrastination and getting things done. Today, I want to share something I read recently in The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. My parents loved The Road Less Traveled when I was a boy, but I’ve never read it myself. …
With rare exceptions, I’m not a fan the horror genre. It’s a little too real for my tastes. Still, now and then, a little horror can be fun. This year, Jennifer threw a late party for Kim’s 40th birthday. Because we held the event at the end of October, naturally she chose a funerary theme. …
Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art is considered a classic among creative types, including bloggers. This thin book argues that the biggest enemy to productive work is Resistance, which takes the form of self-doubt, procrastination, addiction, distraction, perfectionism, and so on. The War of Art is a call to ignore Resistance and to do the …