Creative on Purpose Blog

For good reason, many are questioning authority these days. For far too long, authority has been unfairly and unjustly distributed.

We should, and we must, cease this historical pattern and work together to extend privilege and opportunity to everyone, starting with those from whom it has been...

The world is full of people who malign, disparage, frustrate and ignore you. How do you handle that?

I’ve put up with a fair number of *ssholes in my time. Whiners, posers, liars, and assorted other bad actors are a daily diet in all of our life’s endeavors.

I used to really...

Equanimity is one of my favorite words.

First of all, it's fun to say. Seriously. Say it aloud several times. It's a word that ping-pongs around your mouth like a pinball. It starts with hitting the back of your mouth, careens to the roof, and bounces off your closed lips back to the top...

"Fortune favors the bold" (from the Latin proverb, "audentes Fortuna iuvat") may sound like trite or even dangerous advice. Yet, it's a motto employed by military units, family crests, and even universities across the world. It resonates strongly enough with me that I adopted boldness as one...

Fate and destiny are terms frequently confused and conflated. Agency is an idea often ignored and misunderstood. A better understanding of each and how they work together may determine whether your journey as a creative difference-maker is frustrating or flourishing.

Fate is simply what is...

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." - Heraclitus

Whether we're talking about shifting sands, shifting gears, a seismic shift, or shifting deckchairs on the Titanic, one thing's for sure, shift happens.

What's your relationship...

Volition is one of my favorite words (although coddiwomple is still in the top spot).

Volition is the exercise of will. Pursuing a difference worth making with integrity and intention. Volition and will reflect your character, who you really are.

Volition requires a readiness to make decisions ...

Values and virtues are terms frequently confused or conflated. Yet, the distinction between the two is worth teasing apart.

Values are your core beliefs and guiding principles. They're aspirational goals that provide you with a moral compass for navigating choices and decisions.

Virtues are your...

Today often looks and feels a lot like yesterday. It’s easy to assume that tomorrow will look and feel much the same. This is the seductive delusion perpetuated by the status quo. Every day is more-or-less another one of those.

And then something happens. Things go sideways. The world gets...

Life in the ancient world was full of adversity. If you lived to adulthood, you likely endured war, famine, plague, natural disaster, or some combination of these.

And yet…

In antiquity, there was a flowering of philosophical approaches to the art of living well and even flourishing while...

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

Discussing this question with friends led me to contemplate the virtues of both stillness and motion.

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

One perspective is that uncertainty about what to do next is an invitation to adopt a...

It's no secret, setting intentions alone does not manifest change. Sending your intentions out into the universe is a one way conversation.

Good things may come to those who wait, but those things taste like Guinness or ketchup.

Intentions matter, of course. Set them with care and...