The Blog

What is freedom really?

I find this question difficult to answer.

Many, including me, too often take freedom for granted. It's not just a privilege we enjoy. It's an entitlement promised by Declarations and protected by Constitutions.

And yet, many are not allowed to fully partake of these...

“Tell me with whom you consort, and I will tell you who you are.”—Goethe

Maybe you’ve seen the Jim Rohn quote about being the average of the five people you spend the most time with? How’s your score?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not...

The question isn't if you can make a difference. The question is if and when you will acknowledge and embrace the difference only you can make.

Maybe you're ready to start. Perhaps you've already started. Either way, you're likely complicit in impeding your own progress.

It's not your fault.

...

To be clear, identity matters. Given the current reckoning around the unfair distribution of privilege, it's absolutely understandable and necessary to acknowledge and honor those who identify as members of historically marginalized populations.

Building identity is an essential and powerful...

I felt a slight tug as the passenger-side mirror of the blue Subaru brushed against the fabric of my running shirt.

It didn’t register right away. I remember looking up and seeing a “Love Your Mother” sticker with an illustration of the earth on the car’s bumper and the...

Ineffable is a delightfully delicious word. It comes directly from the Latin and has two distinct and contradictory meanings.

The primary definition of ineffable relates to that which cannot be adequately defined with mere words. This interpretation is often used in reference to the...

I've shared thoughts on what trust is and how to restore it, but where does trust come from?

Human beings are hardwired by biology and evolution to be social creatures. We seek safety and identity through belonging and community. How can you have any of this without trust?

The...

During my career as a blues guitarist, I experienced the privilege of meeting many of my musical heroes. It happened with enough frequency that some of my musician friends call me the Forrest Gump of the blues.

I think they mean that good-naturedly...

Anyway, during a festival...

In the ancient western world, the art of persuasion and influence was taught through rhetoric and was most often employed in political discourse and philosophical debate. Today we still see rhetoric used in marketing and mass media.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, developed three types...

It's said that trust takes years to earn but can be lost in an instant. Frankly, that doesn't ring absolutely true to me. I'm not sure a healthy definition of trust is that fragile.

And yet...

I've been on the receiving and delivering end of broken trust. I've experienced the suffering that can...

Beginning any journey worth embracing is often met, at first, with some amount of trepidation. After all, human beings are pre-programmed to be wary of uncertainty.

And...

We are also hardwired for adventure.

For almost twenty years, I served my community guiding musical...

What is trust?

For me, the dictionary definition falls short. Yes, trust is having confidence in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something. However, this does not speak to the enormous importance and value of this essential asset.

Or is trust a skill?

I think trust is both. It's a...