Live Before You Die

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight and no vision. – Helen Keller When Helen Keller talks about blindness and vision we are well-advised to pay attention. This quote reminds me of something similar: the only thing worse than someone who can’t read is someone who can and doesn’t. So, what’s our…

I was listening to a WNPR (CT Public Radio) radio show (The Colin McEnroe Show) and he was interviewing Byron Katie (of The Work). In their conversation Katie said something to effect of “all suffering comes from thought.” This McEnroe took some issue with. It was, unfortunately, a mis-understanding borne of not defining the term…

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis I love this quote because it doesn’t make leadership something only CEOs or Presidents do. It democratizes leadership. Leadership is in many ways (merely) a lofty term for goal-setting and goal-achievement. Most people understand leadership as being able to persuade and rally others…

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein The idea that our language creates our world (each of our worlds… ) is very compelling for me. I have long said that humans are meaning-seeking and meaning-creating creatures. We must not only understand our world, but make sense of it,…

We’ve all heard about Aladdin’s Lamp . . . you know, you rub the lamp and out comes a Genie who grants you three wishes. I want to tell you about a similar lamp, but it’s Al’s. Yes, you still rub it, and a genie does come out, but 1) he’s dressed a bit more…

Not everything requires (just) “action.” So often the result of considering a problem or goal is asking: “What are you going to do about it?” It’s a useful question, for the most part. But it’s a micro strategy. Long-standing problems or significant goals require something more than micro – they require a combination of mindset,…