It’s been a while since I posted anything new on my blog. That fact is particularly ironic given that I am, like most everyone in the country, in lockdown with a ton of time on my hands. Strangely, I have found time to wipe down my door knobs and countertops like every 20 minutes. Now … Continue reading America Can Handle the Truth—As Scary As It Is
My brother-in-law turned me on to this great segment with actor Jeff Goldblum talking about what keeps him inspired. Turns out, it's an incredible quote from George Bernard Shaw. Thought I'd share since it's become shamefully uncommon to hear people talk about privileging community over self, and other high-minded ideas like that. Enjoy. https://youtu.be/wiXJXxJ4PQ0
Until I enrolled in the Skidmore Summer Writers Institute for a two-week course on nonfiction writing, I’d never heard of Philip Lopate, the man who would be my instructor. I guess that shows how little serious reading I’d done in “literary nonfiction.” Lopate, it turns out, is the king of nonfiction, having written four collections … Continue reading Putting It All Out There
One of the great benefits of having a daughter in college is getting to see her assigned readings—and then indulging myself in those that capture my interest. It’s like a dividend payment for all those tuition checks we wrote. In the last three years of my daughter’s studies, I’ve been turned on to the works … Continue reading Business and the Moral Life
One of my former employees recently recalled some advice I gave the editors at our marketing communications agency: “You only get one exclamation point in your writing career. Use it wisely.” At the time, I thought I was quoting Tennessee Williams, but I can’t find any such remark from him. My search for the origin … Continue reading Exclamation-Point Leadership
This post is the final installment in a three-part article begun with 15 Things I Learned When I Sold My Business and continued in Part 2. In each, I recap insights I shared in a 2006 presentation to McMurry staff after selling my firm, Redspring Communications. Part 1 focused on building a business and readying it for sale. … Continue reading 15 Things I Learned When I Sold My Business—Part 3
My older brother once remarked that social media is the largest social experiment in history—and that we won’t appreciate its impact for years. He’s a brilliant, scientifically-minded guy who observes life with the detachment of a benevolent deity. In his mid-60s, he enjoys an enviable serenity of mind. He doesn’t feel an urgency to adapt … Continue reading Twitter’s “Private” Rooms
This post is a continuation of my earlier article, 15 Things I Learned When I Sold My Business. In it, I recap insights I shared in a 2006 presentation to McMurry staff after selling my firm, Redspring Communications. Part One focused on building a business and readying it for sale. Here I continue the discussion by looking … Continue reading 15 Things I Learned When I Sold My Business—Part 2
It had been more than six months since we’d seen this couple. My wife had been teaching abroad for a semester and during her absence I didn't go out much. Now that Barbara was back in the States, though, our social calendar was repopulated with evenings out like this one. We met at a favorite … Continue reading Rethinking the Whole Manhood Thing
