In my job I have the great privilege to learn from incredible people around me. I have previously written about iteration and have learned a simpler model that still encompasses the same idea.
(more…)Improving Thinking
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Dark Side of the Future
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Shabnam Erfani is a futurist at Microsoft who focuses on modern work and productivity. She has an incredible talent to investigate the future and make forecasts while connecting those forecasts to practical actions we can take today to realize the forecasted future.
(more…)Teleport or Do the Work?
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Recently as a family, we each set a goal to do something hard. My son, who at the time of this writing is 6 years old, decided he wanted to do a hard hike. The hike we chose together was a little over one mile (one way) with an elevation gain of over 1,000 feet. That type of elevation gain in such a short distance is difficult for an adult – and my boy was a champ.
About half way up the mountain he said something that caught me by surprise.
(more…)Permission to Feel
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My Dad has always been someone I look up to and aspire to be like. In our home he was always constant. The world may be crashing around us and he would be calm, optimistic, and always emotionally stable and strong.
Naturally, I want to be like him, and I modelled my behavior after him. When I feel an emotion I do not like, I have trained my brain to look for the good. I consider this one of my superpowers and it has served me well in my life.
(more…)Drawing the Perfect Unicorn
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A few days ago I watched my daughter as she attempted to draw a picture of a unicorn. After a few pencil lines she would crumple the paper and start over on a new sheet of paper. I soon learned she wanted the picture of her unicorn to be perfect and if it wasn’t perfect she didn’t want to keep it.
(more…)Finding Your Who
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Jim Collins in Good to Great shares a concept he calls “First Who, Then What” that I have known for years is important but have not acted upon it. I have let years of my professional life go by without capitalizing on this wisdom and I feel I have missed out on the impact I could have had on those around me because of my lack of follow through. This is changing. I am actively trying to build out my “who” and I want to share with you my framework to creating my “who”.
(more…)Finding Your Purpose
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Shortly after college I sat down to do some introspection about what I want to do with my life and read various resources about “finding your purpose”. As I pondered and tried to come up with a purpose statement, I would write, then cross it out and then re-write. Then I got to a place that I thought – oh this must be it.
(more…)Refinement Takes work and Time
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When writing there is not a single author that is able to do a single draft perfectly the first time. First the draft is written and then reviewed, revised, edited, and re-written. This could go on for countless iterations to make every word count. It takes work and time to refine a writing piece to be great.
(more…)Living Uncertain
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The Limbic System in our brain is the part of the brain that is responsible for managing our threat response. The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) is the part of the brain that is most associated with critical thinking and is responsible for executive functioning.
(more…)Fear
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Fear can be debilitating and impact progress and learning.
When you experience fear, you have lost perspective. When you have the appropriate perspective you no longer fear.
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