Embrace the Edge of Incompetence

We’re grown-ups.  We have jobs. Those jobs were earned because we demonstrated competence in a task.  That task is valued by the boss, and so the boss pays us. Seems logical so far, right? But here’s where it goes off the rails.  We learn to derive our value from the continued demonstration of competence.  And … Read more

Four Words to Ban from Your Life

There are four simple words that are ruining your life. Four simple words, seemingly meaningless when uttered as if they didn’t have the power to stop time and kill dreams. They are comfort coma-inducing as they innocently usher you down the path of procrastination justification. Four simple words: “I’ll be happy when…” Screw that. Why wait … Read more

Passion Will Kick Your Ass

Whenever I hear someone decry, “Tell me what you would do even if nobody paid you, and I’ll show you your passion,” I want to hurl. Ugh.  Your passion.  Praise your passion.  Live your passion.  Follow your passion. Stop it. Tell me what you would do even if you knew with 100% certainty that you … Read more

The Key to Personal Reinvention

Grandma Moses didn’t pick up a paintbrush until she was 80 years old. Steve Martin became a dad for the very first time at 67. Madonna has reinvented herself every single decade. Even James Bond was trying to figure out how to be old in Skyfall. And, why is this? Because being the same is … Read more

Do to Dream

“Dream it, and then you can be it!” I’m calling bullshit. You know those sun-soaked, flaxen-haired, boho-chic girls in Instagram memes, the ones who blow dandelion petals into the air as they stare longingly, and yet purposefully, into the distance? This is precisely the kind of advice they give. And it’s terrible. Don’t believe me?  Then … Read more