I got called out for saying I could “empower” someone at work. “You can create the conditions to enable someone’s potential, but you can’t give them your power,” I was reminded. I wasn’t trying to diminish the state they were starting from, but the critique made me think hard about the perceptions from outside my … Continue reading Be Clinically Specific AND Directionally Poetic
Do It Logically, But Don’t Forget to Feel It Psychologically
We had been grinding away on work, checking the boxes, crossing the t’s, and trying not to burn out. One of my partners asked me, “How are you feeling? Not about the work, about how this is going? Zoom out with me for a second.” It’s a simple question and it can change an approach. … Continue reading Do It Logically, But Don’t Forget to Feel It Psychologically
Read The Room (MLK Edition)
Martin Luther King wasn’t supposed to say, “I have a dream” in his speech that day. The draft of his talk had been typed up and distributed to the press in advance. Nowhere in it were the iconic words. But that day, in front of those attendees, he was speaking as he’d done a million … Continue reading Read The Room (MLK Edition)
Sunday Music: Be My Baby
The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson said the song, “Be My Baby,” was “The greatest record ever produced.” He added, “I felt like I wanted to try to do something as good as that song and I never did. I’ve stopped trying.” Now that’s high praise. We lost Ronnie Spector this week. She was still a … Continue reading Sunday Music: Be My Baby
Podcast Of The Week: The Legend Of Paul’s Boutique
Paul’s Boutique, if you don’t know, is the Beastie Boys’ second album and arguably the Sgt. Pepper’s of hip-hop. It’s what happens when you push all the envelopes, all the buttons on the studio gear, (and maybe put down the bottle and pick up the bong, allegedly). The stories on its making are as epic … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: The Legend Of Paul’s Boutique
Breaking A Born Loser Mindset (Via “The Hustler”)
You can be a winner and still feel like a loser. Just ask Fast Eddie. The problem is staying a loser. Here’s how he worked his way out of the mindset via two great quotes from The Hustler. The first comes from Bert, the man who briefly becomes his mentor. Bert tells Eddie he didn’t … Continue reading Breaking A Born Loser Mindset (Via “The Hustler”)
Change Paths (How Doug E. Fresh Invented Beatboxing)
The path you’re going down doesn’t have to be the path you finish on. Doug E. Fresh invented beatboxing. If it weren’t for his music teacher, it might never have happened. In grade school, he wanted to learn to play the drums. He joined the school band but the teacher brushed off his request and … Continue reading Change Paths (How Doug E. Fresh Invented Beatboxing)
How Experts Can Better Serve DIY-ers
An all too common expert complaint: What they’re doing is insane. We’re the experts, we can help, but they’re doing this in the most roundabout, idiotic, insane way! Why don’t they just hire us? Here’s the disconnect. The do-it-yourself (DIY) people know what they want to do. The experts know what the DIY’s ought to … Continue reading How Experts Can Better Serve DIY-ers
How To Take A Stand (A Sidney Poitier Pep-Talk)
Here’s how you take a stand when the stakes demand it. The 1967 movie, In the Heat of the Night, is a story about a black detective from Philly who gets unexpectedly thrust into a murder investigation in a southern (and still racist) Mississippi community. In the original book and the screenplay, there’s a scene … Continue reading How To Take A Stand (A Sidney Poitier Pep-Talk)
The Limits Of My Language Mean The Limits Of My World (Brené Brown’s “Atlas”)
Brené Brown’s latest book, “Atlas of the Heart,” is a deconstruction of the language we (can/should/could) use to understand our emotions and experiences. Here’s the “limits of my language” quote, what it means, and how “Atlas” applies to ourselves and others, personally and professionally. Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “The limits of my language mean the limits … Continue reading The Limits Of My Language Mean The Limits Of My World (Brené Brown’s “Atlas”)