Remember those friends that clearly got things so much faster than you when you were growing up? My buddy Jeff told me how amazing “Nightswimming” by R.E.M. was. He said listen and listen close. It was the best song on the whole album. I thought it was fine, but, wasn't it just a kind of … Continue reading Sunday Music: Nightswimming
Malcolm Gladwell’s at it again. If you grew up with/raised kids on Disney (and Disney princesses, and the like), you’ll want to pay attention to this one. The Little Mermaid, in the traditional sense, is a queer allegory. In the Disney sense it's an abuse of the understanding of contract law. In a cultural sense … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: The Little Mermaid Was Wrong
YouTube has been trying to get me to watch this video for months, and I finally clicked play. What follows is Conan teaching a group of elementary-age kids how to write blues music. https://youtu.be/J7f26d-AIrM "My sister and my mommy / they just eat edamame" will now be stuck in my head for weeks.
John Cleese grew up fascinated by guided missiles. He was fascinated with them, “…in a way that normally only ugly ducklings or pirates or talking vermin enchant a child.”* As a kid, guided missiles were a fascinating piece of wartime technology. As an adult, he realized they were a perfect metaphor to explain being ok … Continue reading The Little Missile That Could (John Cleese’s Brilliant Near-Term Failure/Long-Term Success Metaphor)
How we talk to ourselves, how we think of our purpose, why we think we do or do not belong - these are the heavy, weighty, and extraordinarily beautiful concepts Soul wrestles with. I don’t care if you don’t have little kids in your life. I don’t care if you’re “too old for cartoons.” I … Continue reading Sunday Music: Cause You’ve Got Soul, And Everybody Knows, And It’s All Right
There may be no better person to explain Bill Campbell the man, and not just the legendary “coach of Silicon Valley,” than his step-daughter Kate “Katie-Kate” Bocci. Coaching Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and middle school girls powder puff football. How he proposed to her mom after finding out he had cancer. The stranger Kate met … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Bill Campbell’s Step-Daughter On What Made Him So Special
Our brains are constantly in search of a story. When things don’t quite make sense, we have to remember just how quickly our wet-ware will go to work crafting a conclusion. It’s important for understanding our own logic, and for remembering what happens when we don’t communicate an idea well to others (especially professionally). Here’s … Continue reading No Pattern? No Problem. Your Brain Will Make One Up (Which May Be A Problem)
The most effective way to get someone to do something is not to threaten their life, but to find a way to make them actually want to do it. It’s especially true if it’s something they'll need to do more than once. This the power of finding enrollment over giving orders. It works professionally, it … Continue reading Giving Orders Is Less Powerful Than Gaining Enrollment
Branford Marsalis, the legendary sax player, composer, and improviser, sat down with Questlove on the Questlove Supreme podcast for what has to be one of my favorite interviews of the year. They cover: the harm stubborn nostalgia can bring, how to approach challenging music (or ideas), the value of critics and how to handle them, … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Branford Marsalis On Life, Learning, And Pushing Boundaries
Full disclosure: I could listen to Tren Griffin and James O’Shaughnessy talk all day. An hour in podcast form is a gift. I’ll be a fly on the wall for them talking any time. At the highest level, if you have an interest in mentoring others, here are two brilliant people with long careers leading … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Experts Come From Out Of Town – A Masterclass In Mentorship From Tren Griffin And James O’Shaughnessy
