The 2 a.m. Test
Are you a friend or an acquaintance? Let's find out.
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How Many Christmases
My son woke me in the middle of the night to ask how many Christmases I had left. I told him the truth.
It's All About Mind Clarity
"Mind clarity" started as a trading concept. I took the words literally, applied them to my own life, and built everything around them.
Quiet
My father's instruction was simple: be quiet and listen. It took decades to understand what he was actually teaching me.
Sunrise Reflection
I refuse to photograph the sunrise. Every one of them committed to memory — just the run, the light, and the moment.
Power Is the Product
Toxic organizations are not failing businesses. They are functioning vehicles — built, consciously or not, to serve the ego and power needs of the people who run them. Profit is the cover story.
What My Children Saw at Kennedy Space Center
Visiting Kennedy Space Center with my kids over President's Day Weekend — and meeting a real astronaut — was a reminder that excellence is never accidental. It is built deliberately, over decades.
The Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, and What It Means to Be American
Critics called Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance "un-American" because it was in Spanish. They forgot that Spanish has been spoken in what is now the United States since 1513—decades before Jamestown or Plymouth
Breaking the Responsiveness Trap
The expectation of instant responsiveness—to emails, texts, calls—has turned most of us into human automatons. The day I replaced my Apple Watch with a mechanical watch, I started breaking that rule. Gradually, deliberately, I reclaimed the mental bandwidth to do actual work.
A Walk Around the Block
A morning walk with my kids became a lesson in presence. Last year, I wouldn't have had the patience for this. Cutting social media distractions gave me back the attention my children deserve.
Searching for Sanctaphrax
Sanctaphrax is the fictional floating city-state in The Edge Chronicles—a fantasy series where it serves as the seat of knowledge and academia. For me, writing is a constant search for Sanctaphrax.
The Problem Solver's Trap
You know you're a problem solver when your bosses stop going to your peers and make you the de facto person for almost everything. This is a two-edged sword—and why organizational fit matters more than you think.