The Blog

Does the idea of living your legacy resonate with you, but you're not sure what that could look like?

Or perhaps you're already doing meaningful work but feel a little lost or stuck?

The Situation

Making a difference is fraught. That's one reason why it's so fulfilling.

We build identity and for...

There are, of course, other ways to learn rather than by doing.

For instance, you can read a book, take a class, or watch an instructional video.

And, yet...

The danger in learning something by passively reading, listening, or watching is that it's easy to confuse knowing of or about the thing wi...

What possibility would you step into today if you didn't know it was impossible?

Is anything really impossible?

Human locomotion and flight were impossible until they weren't. So were the lightbulb and the internet. So were thousands of other ideas and inventions.

Think of the complexity of walki...

The old farmhouse where we raised our boys (and more than a few eyebrows) had an ancient gas range in the kitchen. I loved turning the stovetop burner on. The spark, the mini-explosion of blue flame, and the spreading circle around the burner provided a thrill of excitement that I feel viscerally as...

Are teaching and coaching just two different names for how you can serve others in endeavors that make a difference?

I know that I often confuse or conflate these postures. However, maybe teasing apart the differences matters?

Here are some differences I see between teachers and coaches.

• Teac...

Five years ago, I decided to make a change. Twenty-five years into a thriving career as a musician and guitar teacher, I decided I was going to do something else entirely.

Granted, at the time, I had no idea what that was going to be. But I did have a plan—thrash my way to clarity by writing and br...

Time is a construct. It's a convenience created by humans to sequence and organize events and tasks. Time is nothing but a story.

We may think this story is working for us. I wonder if time isn't more often working on us?

For every other living thing on earth, now is all there is. The present mome...

I recently celebrated my birthday and repeated two rituals I've practiced all my adult life.

The first was to extend a wave and a smirk at my old catechism teacher, Sister Mary Agnes. On the day before my confirmation ceremony, she took me aside, wagged a finger in my face, and scolded, "Scott Perr...

There are only so many hours in a day, and you only have so much bandwidth and energy. It's probably best that you protect and even horde these assets, right?

I'm not so sure.

I mean, yes, you should spend your time, attention, and effort judiciously. And yet, understand there is an approach to ex...

Difference-makers like you and I make change happen.

That's the gig.

Making a difference requires embracing uncertainty and accepting "this might not work."

What's more, most people we are making a difference with and for are not predisposed to engage in the necessary work of seeing and doing thi...

“If you’re going to work for a jerk, you might as well work for yourself….”

This is the story I told myself when I made the bold leap from working for someone else to working for myself almost thirty years ago. Are you a freelancer? How did you enter the adventure of working for yourself?

Freelanc...

Let's be clear. Feedback is important.

If you're going to get better at making a bigger difference, you must seek and reflect on the insights and questions shared by learned and trusted friends and fellow travelers.

But not all feedback is created equal, and all too often, the volunteered comments...