10 Books That Changed My Life
I’m going to tell you about 10 books that changed my life, which is tricky for me, right now. Most of the books that changed my life are not currently in my possession. My library is in storage in the United States, the last 1000 books I could not bear to part with when we moved to New Zealand, so the interesting part of this exercise is — I have to see what really sticks. In selecting my top 10, I want to scan my eyes lovingly over my bookshelves, [...]
Natural Healing Remedies
As it turns out, working 60 hours a week for 9 months is not good for the body. I developed some startling symptoms recently, right about the same time I resigned from my day job, and decided to go back to running my business full time. To cure my symptoms, I used the natural healing remedies that have worked best for me: Qi GongNutritionBaths and SweatPositive ThinkingLaughter TherapyGratitude PracticesThe Naturopathic Principles The Healing Art of Qi Gong Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese moving meditation, and it has been used [...]
One year in New Zealand
I've been extraordinarily busy over the past year. Today is the one-year anniversary of putting in our 30-day notice on the house we were renting in Portland. Within the past year, the Huntress Clan has: Packed all of our worldly possessions into a storage unit Moved temporarily into my father-in-law's house Planted the Fairy Godmother, a dogwood tree that has the placentas of all three of my children in its roots Separated for 2 months while I came to New Zealand to search for a job Attained a full-time job [...]
10 Daily Tools For Positive Thinking
By nature, I am not a positive thinker. I have to work at it. Positive thinking will not do anything by itself, but as Zig Ziglar said, “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” The success or failure of many things you do in life depends on how well you do those things - and if a few simple tricks can put you in a positive frame of mind, it can increase your effectiveness, as well as amplify your enjoyment of life. “We do not [...]
My favourite quote of all time is a misattribution.
When I was a young scholar, my life changed when I read this quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I thought that Aristotle said this. For years, I ended my newsletters with this marvellous line, attributing it to the Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. For a time, I even titled my newsletter ‘Habits of Excellence.’ I’ve been championing this quote because I admire both the content, and the poetic cadence, of the words. It was this very cadence should have [...]
My First Trip to New Zealand
It all started with LookSee Wellington. This program offered all-expense-paid trips for 100 people working in the Tech industry to come and visit Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. 48,000 people applied. Only 0.2% of those who applied were invited, and I was not one of them. Still, applying for a trip to New Zealand got us thinking about that place. And right now, the country I am in is a mess. We had some family members interested in leaving the US, and since the Huntress Clan has expatriated before, we [...]
Ten Things I Really Miss About Living In Costa Rica
It’s been more than a year since I left tropical paradise, and wrote about the Ten Things I Will Not Miss About Living In Costa Rica. As absence makes the heart grow fonder, now I’m homesick for that wonderful place. Here are the ten things that I miss the most. 1. Wearing Tank Tops All The Time It’s sunny and bright in Costa Rica before 2pm nearly every day of the year. If it happens to be the rainy season, you might get a downpour for a couple of hours [...]
The Breath of the Neutral Mask
Who are we before we become the character? That is the question that the Neutral Mask seeks to answer. "There are three masks: the one we think we are, the one we really are, and the one we have in common." - Jacques Lecoq It has been years since I have studied the deep and subtle foundations of the theatrical art, and returning to its arcane depths has given me a creative revitalization that I desperately needed. Last week I went to a Neutral Mask workshop, taught by Sarah Liane [...]
10 Lessons From 10 Years of Marriage
My wife and I formalized our fairy tale romance and married each other ten years ago, on a Tuesday morning. There was no one else present; we rented a penthouse suite in downtown Portland, dressed in our sacred garb, and at the appointed hour, friends and family around the globe lit the candles we had sent to them, and wished us well as we said our vows to each other in solitude. From that day to this, over the past ten years, I have enjoyed a deep and meaningful connection with [...]
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We can win the Game of Life differently
People feel life is meaningless when they don’t have goals, rules, and feedback. (These are the 3 attributes of games, according to Dr Jason Fox, that I describe in-depth in my short ebook Gamify Your Work.) Playing the game of life, and doing work that supports your lifestyle, is only made meaningful if we have goals to achieve, rules for how to play, and feedback on how we are doing. But how we play the game of life - and the criteria [...]
Tall Poppies can see farther, before they are cut down.
I want to share with you a theory I have about tall poppies. What happens to tall poppies? Tall poppies get … cut down. Tall Poppy Syndrome is a cultural belief in New Zealand, where I now live. There’s a lot of resistance when people see others daring to raise themselves up above the crowd. The proverb about tall poppies was first given to us by Herodotus, the Ancient Greek historian. He told the story of the emperor Tarquinius, who [...]
Choose Your Character in the Game of Life
The singer Beyoncé Knowles has an alter-ego she calls Sasha Fierce. When she was young in her career, and nervous about a big show, she would internally decide it was not Beyoncé going onstage, it was Sasha Fierce. This character was brave, and strong, and confident. Assuming this persona allowed her to handle difficult challenges, because she was playing a game as a character, rather than herself. Creating a persona can help you handle something difficult or challenging. When I was [...]
Breakthrough Results with a Business Coach
One of my coaching clients surpassed her revenue goal last month. She started August believing that her $30k goal was impossible, and wanted to avoid thinking about it. But every week, we reviewed that goal, and renewed her commitment to (attempting to) achieve it. A few times, she said, "There's no way I can do that." She didn't want to keep repeating her commitment to achieve $30,000 in revenue in one month, but I reminded her that her commitment was [...]
Internet advice goes stale. Don’t trust it.
Internet advice goes stale, but that doesn't mean it goes away. You could be following advice that worked great 5 years ago, but it's no longer working. This is something I find frequently in my work as a marketer. Because I'm in the trenches, testing tactics, I can see what's failing during a hype cycle. I was in a private community recently, sharing my dissatisfaction with webinars. During the pandemic, webinars were great, and I based my business on them. [...]
What makes teamwork really work? #TeamHabits
This week, my friend Charlie Gilkey is launching a new book, Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results. I was a big fan of his first book, Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done. (See my video review here.) Charlie has once again proven his ability to navigate the complex world of productivity, but this time he's focusing on teamwork and collaboration, offering insights that are both profound and practical. Team Habits is not just another book about teamwork; [...]
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