We Are All Crew-Members

May you live all the days of your life. – Jonathan Swift I sometimes say that the past is good as a textbook, and the future a place to dream into, but the only place anything actually happens is right now. Now is when you live. Imagine the smallest unit of time/experience. That’s “now.” That…

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I think so many people get caught up the enormity of the challenges they face: the challenges in their personal…

Are you disaster-tolerant? (Do you have reserves?) This question is well-posed in Seth Godin’s blog post (here it is in its entirety): Not all disasters can be avoided. Not all disasters are fatal. If you accept these two truths, your approach to risk will change. If you build a disaster-tolerant nation or project or lifestyle,…

Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear. – Cheri Huber Huh? Has Matt gone mad!? Nope, just wanted to get your attention. Now that, I hope, I have it, I’ll make my point. When we choose the safe and known over what we fear (and “fear” includes: merely being uncomfortable, a little anxious, a…

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis…

Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief, than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved. – Marcus Antonius The quote requires a careful reading. You must be willing to consider that there are things that you think about that cause you anger and grief and things…