Imagine walking the streets of Washington D.C. and finding a high security ID badge on the side of the road. You flip over the badge, and on the back are a set of directions. Intrigued, you quickly take out your phone and find a satellite view of the area. You click along the road following the steps: left turn here, right turn there. Eventually the path takes you way out into Virginia, dead-ending at a mountain. What kind of thing could possibly be located in a mountain that needs a high security badge?

In the 1920s, Air Force cockpits were designed for the "average man." Using many dimensions of pilots at the time, they created the spacing for the seat and everything they needed to reach according to the average of those measurements. Over time, they started to notice that pilots were having trouble flying the planes. And by trouble, I mean people were crashing and dying at an alarming rate…

With my Pinot Noir in hand and a fire under the mantle, I sat contemplating the roller coaster that had been my last few weeks. My favorite chair faces the big front window of my living room, giving me a view of a few trees but mostly open sky. With not much else to distract me, I was tempted to sit and dwell on the difficult moments of my month. As my mind started to trend in that direction, a tiny plane interrupted my train of thought…

A pumpkin costume… that’s what I was wearing when I broke my skull. No, it was not Halloween. Yes, I was the only one in costume. It was 1990-something and I was seven. Or maybe I was eight. Hard to remember. Literally. I’m not sure what led my little mind to put on the costume that day and climb up on the desk. Maybe I was trying to entertain my little brother? Maybe I was acting out because my older siblings wouldn’t let me play Scram Ball? Whatever it was I slipped that pumpkin over my head, climbed up on a desk, and after a slip and four-foot fall I was in the hospital for a week…

Today is my 100th Sunday starter email. 100 weeks I stuck with my commitment to writing something new. 100 Sunday mornings I successfully sent out an email. When I saw the number it made me think about how much work I had done over the last two years to get to day 100. It took sacrifice. It took passion. It took commitment. But looking back, I think the hardest part was not getting to Day 100, it was getting to Day 1.  

Today, I had a really great day; a perfect day. Yet tonight, I am sitting here with a weighted blanket on hoping that this feeling of panic will pass. I should have been in bed hours ago but I am still awake, unable to sleep; unable to shake this feeling that is making my heart race and my body uneasy. I’ve learned over the years that this is a pattern that emerges after something big…

This shit ain’t going to help you… the stranger said that to me as I perused the business section, looking for something specific I needed to read for work. I happen to be in front of the business for dummies books when he walked by, laughing and judging me, saying, “The best way to learn about business is to be in business. This shit ain’t going to help you.” I smiled and gave an awkward chuckle, grateful that he continued on his way and I didn’t have to start a conversation that would have surely led to him condescendingly explaining “business” to me…

Last month I took this picture while at my favorite Jersey coffee shop, Halo Roasters. I chuckled when I took it because I have been coming to this spot several times a week for years and that was the first time I noticed the door under the counter. I have sat in this same seat countless times looking in that direction; I’ve stood at that counter on many occasions waiting for my coffee or an extra side of hot sauce from the back; I’ve been inches from it, across the room, and everything in between and yet it took me until now for it to catch my attention. I even asked someone if it was new and they confirmed it had been there since the day they opened in July 2020. 

Dear 2023 Resolution Quitters, First of all, congratulations. You tried! This month you had an idea, an idea of the person you wanted to be, and you gave it a shot. Well done! Secondly, there are no rules; there is no CEO of Resolutions that is overseeing the goals of 2023; no manager that has fired you for not making it to the end. Meaning, you do not have to wait until next year to try again….

So, how’s it going? We are one week into the New Year - have you stuck with your resolutions? Have you set any at all? Remember what we learned last week: resolutions are not about finishing, they are about starting, about embarking on a new path with your best guess of how you’re going to make it to the end. Just don’t forget that it’s a guess which means you might get it wrong. The thing that keeps people going is giving yourself permission to try again. Toward the end of 2020, my health was trending in the wrong direction…

In the far back of our minds lives a place where dreams go to die. Little comments: it would be so expensive. Harmless thoughts: I don’t have time for that right now. Engrained concepts: I’m not built to do that. Systemic constraints: the world won’t let me do that. These are the words that start to build our box, and one by one all the things we were created to do…

A few months ago, I read an article about a woman who lost her engagement ring at the beach. She was devastated and made a Hail Mary post on social media asking for anyone to return it if they found it. You want to know what happened? A stranger with a medal detector returned it. What's amazing is that he didn't just stumble upon the ring when he was out…

December is an interesting time of year. The elevator pitch for the holidays is filled with words like joy, love, forgiveness, and magic. It's supposed to be this spectacular time when we all remember to be just a little bit kinder and just a little bit more loving. Seems great, right? Well why is it that we will be all smiles and laughter at a Holiday event, only to…

This week I started working on a professional development article about soft skills. While we're on the subject I have to say, I detest that term; by calling these skills soft we are implying that they are less important, but I believe the opposite to be true. Soft skills and key characteristic traits - empathy, humility, problem solving, collaboration, etc. - are not soft but rather essential skills needed for living and working with other humans. It is these that we should be looking for in the people we hire and which we should be trying to develop throughout our personal and professional lives.  

Monday, I start a new job. Currently I am up at my family's house in Hannawa Falls, staring at the smooth cold waters of Raquette River. The fire is blazing and there is still a little snow on the ground from Saturday night's dusting. It has been a weird week being here before I start; this is the same house I was in back in June, the week after the company where I worked downsized and I lost my job…

This is the moment. Right here. I've got a great table near the bar. It's nice and big so I can spread out with my laptop, reference books, and my flight of NEIPAs. I'm almost done with my drinks and I've made great progress on my writing tasks. This is the moment where I can stay, or I can choose to go to the other bar in town. I thought about going there originally, but ended up…

It is refreshing to hear an experience through the eyes of children. Back in September, I had that opportunity when I was on a flight to Orlando. Sitting next to me was a woman with her 10 month old daughter. Her other two daughters, ages 4 and 7, were with their father in the row in front of us. I admit that my first response to being near a family was a bit grumpy - well at least I have my noise canceling headphones, I thought. Before I put them on, I glanced at the mother…

When I was in college, I remember getting stopped on the streets of Northampton, Massachusetts by a person trying to get people to sign their petition. I don't remember which side of the issue they were on, or which side my friend was on who warned me about signing, but she pointed out that Planned Parenthood is where they do abortions…

It is currently three days post-marathon and my legs still hurt. After 26 miles of wind and rain, with just 0.2 miles to go, I almost cried when I saw the finish line; not because I was so proud of myself for finishing, but because I was just so happy I could stop running. That last 0.2 mile stretch was brutal. My right knee hurt terribly but I forced myself to pick up my pace. Most of the pictures taken of me near the finish line my…

The morning this post goes out, I will be running the Atlantic City Marathon. When I cross the finish line it will be the third Full Marathon I have done. You, like many others, may ask the question, why?!?! Don't worry, I often ask myself the same one - Why on earth do I keep doing this to myself?  Running a marathon takes…