I started this blog back in mid-August, 2012. I had been thinking about blogging for a while, and then these three books pushed me over the edge (I highly recommend all three; these images are attached to affiliate links): My idea was to write about writing, publishing, and creativity, and my commitment […]
Let me start with three reasons working on a book with a lousy concept is a bad idea: Beautiful, compelling writing is terribly important to publishers, but if your beautiful writing is in the service of a concept that no one will buy, publishers will have a hard time getting excited. A far-reaching platform is […]
In 1939 Herman Baker was twenty-eight years old. He had a young family and a steady job working for his uncle, Louis Kregel. Everyone would have expected him to continue in that job, providing for his family and moving up the company ranks. It was, after all, the Great Depression. Herman was lucky to have […]
About a year ago I read a book that had a massive impact on the way I do life. It’s called The Accidental Creative (AL) by Todd Henry, and if you’re a friend who sees me regularly, you’re sick of hearing me talk about it. Among the practices Todd commends in the book is that of weekly, […]
Recently my wife and I watched a movie called “I’m Fine, Thanks.” It’s a documentary about several people who reach a breaking point in life and respond by doing something unconventional. Several of the featured people achieve financial success but realize they’re miserable. One couple decides to pay cash for a 300-square-foot house and focus […]
It was my son’s first day of kindergarten, and to be honest my wife and I were a wreck. He’s our first child, and while I think we knew deep down he was ready, was he really? Could he do this? Could we? I picked him up, held him. Trying to steady my voice I […]
My dad has a friend named Irv. Irv’s lifelong passion is working on cars, and I’m not talking about classic roadsters or sexy sports cars. The beater everyone else has given up on is more Irv’s speed. He relishes showing the world he can get another 30,000 miles out of that old Buick. I don’t […]
Take two breaths. I’m going to show you where one of them comes from. It all starts (and ends) with phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are single-cell organisms that float throughout our planet’s oceans. Billions of them. And they have a nemesis: viruses. Here’s what happens. Viruses try to batter their way through the outer shells of the […]
Steven Pressfield, author of the powerful kick-in-your-pants The War of Art, believes in two powerful voices in the world: A negative, dark voice that will stop at nothing to keep you from doing the things you believe are most worth doing. Pressfield calls this the Resistance. This voice is absolutely real. It is deadly. And […]
