Have you noticed the trend of one-word book titles hitting the market lately? A couple of popular one-word books that you may be familiar with are “Outliers” and “Blink,” both authored by hip business-social observer Malcolm Gladwell. There’s also “Fr… Read full post »

Imagine that this very day you are approached by one of the most exclusive and sought-after literary agents in the country. Perhaps it is the reclusive Sarah Chalfant of The Wylie Agency, or the discriminating Rachel Vater of Folio Literary Management. 

 She ha… Read full post »

When I was twenty years old I had an intense interest in songwriting. I wanted more than anything in the world to sign a publishing contract and have some of my songs recorded by major artists. I knew it was a brutally competitive industry, but many people had told me that… Read full post »

I have been searching for some spiritual advice on how to deal with annoying employees. The scriptures didn’t offer much help, other than telling me to be infinitely patient and kind.

I kept searching.

Surely Jesus must have had some irritating moments with his employees, those surly disciple… Read full post »

I have a friend who jokes that he’s going to quit his executive position and take a job as a school bus driver.

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

“Because,” he said, “That job would be so much more straightforward: At 6:15 a.m., I get in the bus. I know exactl… Read full post »

I read a book recently where the author repeatedly referred to God as “She.” It was kind of weird at first, but then I got used to it. By the time the book was finished, I actually started to enjoy the idea of God as a woman. A heretical thought… Read full post »

Like most insecure and spiritually frustrated white men in their forties, I keep a journal. Some men hunt. Others play golf. I know one gentleman whose passion is collecting kaleidoscopes. Me, I’ve taken to transcribing the obsessive voices in my head into a handsome series of leather-bound, ha… Read full post »

I am still getting used to the fact that my daughters are now full-fledged teenagers. It has been hard for me to accept the fact that they are growing into young women, even though it apparently has been going on for quite some time now, right before my eyes. I suppose… Read full post »

Here’s a valuable tip for those of you thinking about volunteer work with a middle-school youth program: have very low expectations. Taking a few mental steps down the staircase of Acceptable Standards for Organizational Behavior proved to be very helpful for an executive manager such/… Read full post »

This year my wife and I will be celebrating twenty-four years of marriage. That is certainly a long time for two people to be living together. In certain circles, that is enough time to qualify for freak-show status. We married in our early twenties, at the time, both of us were… Read full post »

Congratulations to all of you who live in Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Raleigh-Durham, Portland, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Sacramento and Denver. These are apparently the top creative class cities in the country.

Richard Florida, the guy who brought us "The Rise of the Creati… Read full post »

There’s something about reminiscing that makes you gloss over, and even forget, all the stress and messiness and emotional chaos that was also going on at the same time. A few weeks ago our family spent the weekend watching some old videos from when the kids were little. Back then… Read full post »

From time to time I will indulge myself in the tacky genre of self-help-leadership-development books. Usually I skim through quickly to see if I can find one or two ideas of substance that might come in handy later on, some quote I can rip off to make myself sound smart and… Read full post »

Continued from the last post...

The trails in the Adirondacks are marked with colorful tin circles, about four inches in diameter, that are nailed to the trees every several dozen yards or so. The paths you are supposed to follow on any particular trail are usually clear-cut, but they can become… Read full post »

Last September I took a vacation with God. It wasn’t anything elaborate or expensive. I simply felt like we needed time alone together - just me and God without the many distractions of work, emails, cell phone calls, and the beloved family.

Let’s call it a Godcation. And wh… Read full post »

Lately my lungs shut down while I'm sleeping. They just decide to stop working, like they've had enough and they're won't put up any longer with the unreasonable demands I've placed on them. They'll show me who's really in charge. I dream these nightmares of drowning, being strangled, choking, and dy/… Read full post »

I promised my sixteen-year-old daughter that I would drive her to a rock concert last summer. It was taking place at one of those open-air venues, where you could buy lawn-tickets and sit on a blanket under the stars on a warm summer evening with a few friends and enjoy the… Read full post »

Okay, all you professional writers out there, I am hoping that you can give a dummy like me some expert advice.

Like all of you, I love writing.  I have only been at it for about a year or so, and have even picked up a few  small writing gigs along the way. It… Read full post »

2008 has been an exceptionally significant year. Not just because of business accomplishments, or world events, or the milestones I shared with my family, although there were certainly standouts in each of those categories. No, this year will go down in my personal history book as the year I started… Read full post »

Like most healthy adults, I feel guilty sometimes. Not just for the bad things I do, but also for the list of things I could do, or should do but I don’t. Most of which I am not even aware of until my wife points them out to me. We’re all… Read full post »

I have an older, wiser friend who introduced me to the idea of Christian meditation. His name is Dr. Morrow, and he has actually mentored me for the last couple of years. He has been especially helpful in navigating the tricky challenges of integrating my spiritual life with my business life.… Read full post »

I know what you’re thinking: Spiritual Enlightenment combined with What’s Hot in 2009? These two things do NOT belong together. You might even suggest that it is impossible - heretical, almost - to mix foundational, unchanging spiritual truths with the fickle moodiness of fashion trends.… Read full post »

Earlier this week I took a train into New York City to attend a "Deal Making Conference." I know, Ha Ha. Deal-making in the middle of a global depression, right? Trust me, there weren’t many deals getting done. All the same, thousands of men and women in their finest designer suits… Read full post »

Like most people, I take great comfort in hearing about the troubles of others. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather read a Holiday letter that contains some savory details about the struggles and failures that another family is facing. That would make me feel a little bit… Read full post »