“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

- Epictetus

Stay in Your Own Lane

September 21, 2020

“Listen closely to that inner voice. The answer is almost always right there in your gut, and science backs that up. Western culture has a long history of discounting the importance of intuition in favor of so-called rational thought. Only over the last few decades have researchers begun to discover that reason is far from perfect: everyday human cognition is limited, slow, and distorted by unhelpful biases. Meanwhile, intuition has increasingly revealed itself to be a mind-bogglingly quick, sensitive, and perceptive tool, rapidly picking up on subtleties and patterns in the world that the conscious mind isn’t powerful enough to spot.”— Chase Jarvis, Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life

I have always had a passion for entrepreneurship and a strong sense of ownership. Work hard, take responsibility, care about what you do, make a difference with enthusiasm. Good attributes until they go too far into owning things that are not mine to own.

Focus, Attention and Habits, Oh My

October 6, 2019

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” William James

What we do daily adds up for better or worse. Focusing on the right things makes our life meaningful and brings daily joy. Forming and sticking with new habits are key to our long-term success in going in the direction we choose for ourselves. Keep it simple by starting with one habit at a time so your effort is sustainable and lasting.

“All day long, you are selectively paying attention to something, and much more often than you may suspect, you can take charge of this process to good effect. Indeed, your ability to focus on this and suppress that is the key to controlling your experience and, ultimately, your well-being.”― Winifred Gallagher, Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life

Take the Wheel Back

September 16, 2019

“All day long, you are selectively paying attention to something, and much more often than you may suspect, you can take charge of this process to good effect. Indeed, your ability to focus on this and suppress that is the key to controlling your experience and, ultimately, your well-being.” ― Winifred Gallagher, Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life

Busyness is the malady of our time.

Our days are consumed by chores, tasks, running around, rushing from one thing to the next. Obligations, commitments, “making a living over a life” consume the bulk of our time. There’s an emptiness in transaction-based busy work. If we are fortunate, we get weary enough to demand change and take action to fill the void.

Rather than chasing life, we can let life capture us in the simple things and activities that we consciously choose to do daily. Wrapped in wonder and delight, we must slow down to witness our life while we are in it, to see all that is available to us right now. By defining and returning regularly to the “thesis” of our life, our activities and attention shift to purpose- driven living.