As we recover from COVID-19 apace, there is a stubborn habit that many have retained and oddly, it is outdoors, where the risk of infection is probably the lowest. I like to walk. Perambulate. Saunter. Hike. Stroll. Jaunt. Hoof it. I also like to be friendly. Downright neighborly. So here is the scene. As I [...]
If you are having trouble sleeping, for Pete's Sake, don't worry about it. Study after study points out that the human beings, no matter how sleep deprived, will eventually sleep. If you have one, two or even three days of poor sleep, rest assured [ha!] that it won't be long before you get a nine [...]
I met a man of the cloth at a party. I was struck by the man's charisma, his charm, his wit and his aura of grace. This man gave me courage and hope: if this is what Catholicism as all about, I am proud to be part of it! His name was Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. [...]
In his book, Willpower Doesn't Work, Benjamin Hardy argues that creating environment, not the will to succeed, is the way to create new and positive habits. Let's say that you want to write every day, which is, not coincidentally, a goal of mine. In the past I tried to force myself to write. I left [...]
My golf game improved after a friend (and single digit handicapper) advised me to relax my grip. "On a scale of one to ten, one being the club slides out of your hand and ten being a white knuckle death grip," he said, "you should be at a three." Not only has my game improved, [...]
Being a man means you do what has to be done, no matter the cost. Your life is the most you can give, your pride is the least.
She can't walk like other people. She has to throw her upper body back, and her gait is rocking, unsteady and tentative. It is awkward. And painful sometimes. Sometimes she is self conscious. But not today. He was a little fussy, but he stopped and stared at the kindly priest, dazzled by the lights and [...]
Unless you do your laundry naked, the wash is never really done. And you will be chilly.
Path Dependence is a fancy way of saying, "We have always done it this way." It is defined by the Business Dictionary as, "Tendency of a past or traditional practice or preference to continue even if better alternatives are available." Examples of Path Dependence include the QWERTY keyboard, Microsoft Word (if you are going to [...]
I am pathologically prompt. Five minutes before meeting time is what I consider on time. I think it is a sign of respect. But it is probably just insecurity.
Feeling overwhelmed? It happens all the time, you are not alone. I suggest you do what is in front of you. Today. Right now. And nothing more. If you feel freaked out, this is not the day for big decisions. Give it time. It will pass. And the big decision will make itself.
Here is what you can control: How you spend your time, one day at a time. Your attitude. The rest is out of your control. So don't spend any time thinking about it.
...that the Universe tries to thwart your efforts. It is not only your personal Lizard Brain that can work against you, the entirety of the Universe seems to want to put you in your place for daring to create something. Want to write every day, smart guy? Ha! Crashed your computer! The Universe knows that [...]
The short answer: Nothing, we tend to blow things out of proportion at night when there is nothing else to think about. Here's an exercise worth trying. If anything is giving you anxiety, that oh-so-special tightness in the chest, especially at night, write it down. Two weeks later read what you wrote. I guarantee you will [...]
One fine day last summer I was listening to Radio Margaritaville on SiriusXM when a song by Paul Thorn called Everybody Looks Good at the Starting Line came on the car radio. It is a fun, bluesy song and I drummed the steering wheel for all I was worth. But as I listened I realized [...]
It is springtime and the Gagliano back yard is the scene of an ornithological Battle of Thermopylae. It is mating season and it is time for the Robin Rumble. And these little guys really go at it. They battle briefly and return to their corners, eyeing each other coldly. Until one guy makes a move. [...]
I was fussing and fuming. Things weren't going my way. I was even having stress dreams. Frustrated, I was ready to declare myself a loser. With a capital L. But then I sat back and thought about it. I don't have control over this thing. There isn't a single concrete action I could take to [...]
There are times in every business when the ol' backlog gets a little, um, thin. Many business people at this juncture do one of two things: (a) panic or (b) slow down. Both responses are perfectly natural. Panic is simply our fight or flight response at work. Our ancestors would panic when they saw a [...]
The Consultant's Consultant, Alan Weiss, often remarks, "If you are one percent better each day, you will be twice as good in 72 days." Besides his obvious facility with compound interest, Dr. Weiss gives us some food for thought. What does 1% better every day look like? Get up five minutes earlier Stay an extra [...]
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less is a new book by Greg McKeown that tackles the Unimportance of Practically Everything. Or, put another way, if you don't prioritize your life, someone else will. I originally bought Essentialism as an audiobook, but after I got a cold and was forced to stay home (and rest, and drink [...]
A friend recently mentioned that she is reading John Maxwell's How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life. She was a little puzzled. What does thinking look like (as opposed to reading, web surfing or sitting like a lump)? Her question brought a quote from Wallace D. Wattles to mind: "Thinking is the hardest [...]
Most of my worst professional mistakes have been the result of one of two bad habits: haste, or wanting to please the client. By pleasing the client I don't mean simply doing good work in a timely manner with a pleasant disposition, I mean the ugly side of this coin, people pleasing. My business can [...]
It is interesting that one definition of human being includes the notion that we are of prone to error. We say, “I’m only human,” meaning, “I am make mistakes, therefore I am human.” But why do we have this fallibility? Why is it baked into our nature? What would be its purpose? Is it because [...]
We’re slightly off. 23.5 degrees off, actually. By some accounts, 4.5 billion years ago a Mars-sized object collided with earth, breaking off the moon and knocking the earth sideways. But were it not for this slight tilt, the equator would be an uninhabitable inferno, and the temperate zones that most people live in would not [...]
“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God how you learn.” - C.S. Lewis. Older practitioners often have a calm, self-assured air. One can only wonder, how did they get there? The answer is simple: by making mistakes, screwing up, losing sleep. And later realizing that making a mistake is not the [...]
Feeling anxious? Do something. Move. First, try working directly on the problem. Make some telephone calls, draft that e-mail, confront that person. Nothing you can do about the problem right now? Write it down in a journal. Nothing formal, just a pencil and a scrap of paper. Or take a walk around the block. Read a [...]
Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. - Buddha For years I had myself convinced that I was a pretty easygoing guy. Live and let live. Hang loose. No worries, Brah.* And I recently realized that I was lying to myself the whole time. No lies are more convincing than the [...]
I was introduced to the concept of spaceflight osteopenia in an episode of the television show, Bones. Spaceflight osteopenia is a condition of bone deterioration caused by prolonged weightlessness. And this made me think a about the human condition. When we struggle, we complain (all right, I complain). I sit on my pity-pot unable to comprehend why [...]
Do you think that your income as a [insert profession here] is limited in some way? If you think so, you are absolutely correct. You will never exceed that number. Except by accident.
