Keep your shirt on. I’m not talking about the controversial military policy that most reasonable people want repealed. I’m talking about the seemingly innocuous and avoidable question … “How old are you?” The other day at a party someone asked me the question and I replied that it’s against my religion to discuss age, and…
Three ball in the side pocket.” She leans over and stares intently along the imaginary line extending from her cue towards the white ball and on towards a tiny spot on the intermediary ball that she must hit with precision accuracy. Slowly, and deliberately, the cue slides back and forth along the bridge made by…
One great thing about writing is that it forces you to be more thoughtful and reflective. As a writer, you must observe and reflect in order to craft a story, make a point, and ideally cause people to see something new, or something old as if it were new. This works even for those who…
Remember the zeal with which you would ask your parents or whomever was driving, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Only to have them yell back something like “Be quiet, dammit! We just left home five minutes ago!” We couldn’t wait to get to where we were going because we were so excited…
A test for Ambition Do you absolutely hate your job? Do you hate getting up in the mornings? Do you go through the motions at work? Do you wish you could do something else, but have no idea what? Have you carried your job dissatisfaction for so long, you don’t even think about it anymore,…
Why is it that some people seem able to produce money with the same ease as ordering fries, and you can’t? The rich get richer and you struggle to stay in place. Do you feel stopped in the domain of money? Do you feel that you can’t get the money you need to be secure…
Everybody loves money. So what’s up with the biblical admonition that money is the root of all evil? Turns out, the actual quote is “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” (Timothy 6:10) Is it because of this biblical admonition, or is it because of some inherent dark side…
In the quest to improve performance we’ve gone through several useful philosophies about what to manage, specifically we’ve been told to practice managing: time people projects energy These are all valuable management philosophies but they do not acknowledge the most fundamental practice: the practice of managing commitments. What are commitments? Commitments take several forms e.g….
Continue Reading »Everybody loves simplification so here are two simple principles you can use in the practice of your life; two principles you must own to get more from life—and by “own” I mean not just understand and explain, but know and act from (without thinking) like an extension of your own mind and body. These principles…
Continue Reading »Seems like an odd question to ask. The answer is, well … do your best; give it everything you’ve got. What does that mean, everything you’ve got? I hear people say they gave it 100%, and others say that they gave 200%. Hmmm. Makes me wonder if they have any idea what percentages mean. All…
Continue Reading »Have you ever listened to the pharmaceutical adverts on TV? As the soothing voice says “Absolv, when taken immediately after upsetting your partner can bring on feelings of contriteness that a puppy would envy. Clinical studies have shown that 77% of users of Absolv are forgiven for extreme transgressions including not sharing with housework, coming…
Continue Reading »Many moons ago a senior director at my old company sat with me talking about my career and said, “Peter your problem is you have no ambition.” That felt like a slap across the face because at the time there was no one working harder than I was and prior to coming to the head…
Continue Reading »As we drove along the winding road to Maracas beach in Trinidad, my friend Ilene said to me, “You know, I’ve come to realize that there’s only one thing you really need to get when you have a boss.” “Really?” I replied; my sense of intrigue and wonder stimulated because Ilene is one of the…
Continue Reading »If you find yourself blaming someone for some unwelcome outcome or a broken relationship, you might want to consider that nothing is ever 100% anybody’s fault. Accepting this requires an ability to expand your perspective on any situation. For example, in criminal justice it may be relatively easy to prove who robbed the convenience store…
Continue Reading »Do you think you should acknowledge people for just doing their jobs; for just doing what they’re supposed to? Many people would say no, of course not. They’re doing the absolute minimum required and it’s only service or results over and above the norm that should be acknowledged or rewarded. If you think this way…
Continue Reading »The essence of practice is the consciousness or intention you bring to the practice – something that you willingly choose to participate in every day. Long held practices take on a life of their own and if there is no clear purpose to the practice we call them habits. For some gossiping is a habit,…
Continue Reading »If you take a telescope and look upwards and outwards, you’ll soon gain a healthy perspective on how small, how insignificant we and our planet are in the grand scale of our galaxy and the universe. You’ll be similarly amazed if you take a microscope and look inwards; there’s an entire universe of cells, atomic…
Continue Reading »You heard me! It’s big, it’s round, it’s talked about, it’s yours. So learn to love it. Would like to say this is a quote from “Embracing Your Big Fat Ass: An Owner’s Manual,” but I haven’t read it … yet. I probably won’t but it is possible. While big fat asses may not be…
Continue Reading »What is your concept of the truth, and why is it germane to the practice of your life? Well think about it. If you live your life according to things that you believe are true, and they’re only partially true or flat out wrong, what do you think the impact would be on your life?…
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