How to encourage courage is a field of research that surely has potential for enormous impact on the world, and on individual lives. I just ran across some interesting findings on the Leading With Lift blog on “Where is the Courage in Organizations.” As a nearly-lifelong freelancer who comes from a family of DIY-ers, I’ve […] Read More

Monday afternoon and night, I was very tired. So I ate a lot. Not exactly logical or a solution to the problem, but overeating felt like the right thing to do. I’ve long known that a gutsy move would be to learn how to figure out which bell is ringing and answer that one: i.e., […] Read More

Want to see a thrilling eruption of talent, to watch someone boldly and delightedly living and enjoying her big dream? Go hear Susan Boyle sing. It’s a moment of glory on Britain’s Got Talent. It even warmed the heart of Simon Cowell. Very moving and inspiring. It’ll make you want to cheerfully belt out your […] Read More

Easter was at my house yesterday. Relatives drove three hours each way to eat lunch with us. Since I’m famously not a cook, expectations were low on their side and anticipatory tension notable on mine. I served heated up take-out from a Whole Foods grocery, and Husband Bob, who is more of a cook than […] Read More

The pig spa that I wrote about here a couple of weeks ago has been rivaled in real life. A travel story in my local paper had turned out to be an April Fool’s trick on us readers. I believed it—and then posted here about the bold deception. The story described an inn where the […] Read More

A fellow I know just got a blast of highly personal, heavily negative national publicity. It’s the kind of scrutiny of a person that borders on inhuman, every aspect of his life touched on. It must take big-time courage to show up at work, at lunch, at the gym, or wherever, after that kind of […] Read More

Skiing on a glacier in Austria some years ago on slopes (catwalks) far beyond my ability, I realized that I had been humming the same tune over and over all day. When I finally noticed I was doing it, I immediately recognized it: “Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?” It was true that I’d […] Read More

A guy I know is in the midst of his first personal encounter with injustice. He’s a superbly accomplished and bright student and he didn’t get into the schools he wanted. College admissions problems have happened to quite a number of excellent students this year. It’s not fair. He’s right about that. And he’s angry. […] Read More

Have I mentioned? On the morning of April 18, I’ll be giving the keynote for the Triangle Area Freelancers conference on “Seven Secrets of Freelancing I Wish I’d Known from the Start.” If you’re in central North Carolina, I hope you’ll come. I also wish there had been a TAF years ago when I was […] Read More

The ever-cheeky Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion set a new standard for home-spun boldness Saturday. If you missed it, do go listen to his song “Fatherhood“, a bebopping rendition of the heroic journey of a sperm. It’s in Segment 3, just after “Bailout Boogie.” (I’d offer a sample of those daring lines, but ever […] Read More