The Blog

What is “hopium?”*

Hopium is a portmanteau (blend of words to create a new term) of the words “hope” and “opium” used to describe a fictional drug to help one stay hopeful in times of stress.

But relying on hopium is as dangerous as the drug embedded within its name.

For instance, when investment...

It's really challenging to get done what needs to be done to make a better living while making a bigger difference.

I find this especially challenging as an independent freelancer and solopreneur.

However, I've learned that you can get more done in the same amount of time or with the same amount o...

We live in a world that appears to reward certainty.

“Confidence is belief in yourself. Certainty is belief in your beliefs.”—Kevin Ashton, How to Fly a Horse

You don’t have to look too long, hard, or far to witness powerful people prospering from certainty about things that are not absolutes or e...

What do you want?

I mean, what do you really, really want?

That’s a wicked question (and wicked questions are hard to answer because the answer evolves as you move through randomness and time).

And how you move through randomness (AKA uncertainty) and time matters. It matters a lot.

I catch myse...

I recently joined a community, a movement really, called The Guardian Academy.

TGA is dedicated to helping difference-makers get closer to what they really want in life and working together to make things better.

This video is my capstone project. It's video shared across my platform to help demon...

Humans are enamored with complexity.

We’re creatures who love to add more.

Why?

The undisciplined pursuit of more provides seductive dopamine hits that feel good in the short term.

Although this robs you of the time and energy needed for the long-term pursuit of what you really want.

And comple...

I’ve struggled to maintain my weight within a healthy range all my life.

This morning I stepped on the scale and was eighteen pounds over my “ideal” weight.

What should I do?

Reduce my caloric intake?

Increase my water consumption?

Add more movement to my day?

Order one of the many “miracle” w...

To reason from first principles is to distill a problem to its essential elements by asking powerful questions to uncover fundamental truths.

This approach helps us separate facts from assumptions to build better solutions from the ground up.

For instance, when I was a musician and decided to expl...

Sometimes I act like an *ss. I bet you do too.

Why is that?

Human beings crave certainty.

The problem is that almost everything is uncertain.

Human beings are also storytelling creatures.

We make sense of ourselves, our situations, and each other through narrative.

Our love of certainty and na...

What do you want to get better at? Where in your life would you like to be better?

It helps to begin with why you want to get better and where you want to improve.

Thriving and prosperous difference-makers know that intention and integrity matter. 

Getting better at something that doesn’t align w...

Making progress in your pursuit of making a better living while you make a bigger difference requires making decisions and taking action.

Of course, it helps to make deliberate decisions (ones that are weighed and considered) and to take action with intention and integrity.

It also helps if you ac...

Aspiring and advancing difference-makers set goals and develop strategies for making an impact (and a living).

Many well-meaning change agents often think about what else they can do to amplify the reach and impact of the difference only we can make.

After all, human beings are programmed by biolo...