Tika MacTavish Huntress, you were my best friend. I loved you through all of my grown up life. For twelve years, you were our companion, our pet, our friend, and our protector. Today, on All Hallow's Eve, I look back on the time we spent together in this life, and I am so happy [...]
Yes, it’s tropical paradise. And it’s annoying. A few years ago, I sold everything and moved to Costa Rica with my family. All in all, it’s the best decision I ever made. As much as I like the weather here, I’m over it. Sometimes I see jaded American expats who have been here for fifteen [...]
You strike up a conversation with a guy at a coffee shop. It’s a good chat. You’ve made an acquaintance. Congratulations! At this point in the new relationship, how comfortable are you with asking him to borrow his car? How about inviting yourself over to his house for dinner that evening? Awkward silence, right? If you’re [...]
You’ve arrived five minutes early to your appointment. You think there’s a good chance this could lead somewhere… …until twenty minutes later, when you call to find out that, yes, they’ve forgotten all about you. No-shows waste your time (and your reputation). Protect your time. Prevent appointment no-shows from happening by sending 2 emails with [...]
I spend most of my time as a positive thinker. This is by choice, not by temperament. My nature is to be moody and grouch about what is going wrong in my life. “Happiness is a choice that requires effort.” - Aeschylus I don’t have a naturally sunny disposition. When I think positive, it is [...]
How do you feel about destroying what must be destroyed in your life? A question posed by Danielle LaPorte. Before I jump into my answer to this question, I want to take a moment to savor the brilliance of the way she asked it. Danielle has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, people who love [...]
Productive people make things happen. Procrastinators make good excuses. “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul Meyer Deadline. The very name sounds menacing and morbid. Many procrastinators can only finish their work under mortal threat. Knowing they will be completely [...]
This is a story about a pedophile I never knew, a landlord I once called a friend, and a family of gypsies escaping into the night. “This is what gypsies do,” my wife said to me as we were packing our sparse possessions into a small caravan of modern-day gypsy wagons. “They pack in the [...]
I have access to all of the collected information of mankind, and it sits in my hands, in this wizard's tome. Anything I wish to know, any language I wish to speak, any formula discovered by any scientist since the dawn of time, I have it all. This is the age of man where we [...]
For project management, brainstorming, and collaboration, my favorite tool of all time is Trello. Trello is a virtual bulletin board, where you create drag-and-drop lists populated with cards. Every card can have labels, assigned members, checklists, comments, file attachments, and more. Every list lets you drag and drop the cards, allowing you to arrange your [...]