what if
“How are you?” “How’s it going?” “What’s new?” While I’ve often had full-blown, soul-bearing conversations result from my posing these simple prompts, the typical range of expected replies remains fairly limited: “Good, and you?” “Eh, you know…” “Not much. You?” I suppose these exchanges serve…
even though
I was talking with a friend recently. I’ll call him Ralph here. Ralph’s relationship with his brother has been on the outs of late, and he was trying to understand what had happened and what he might be able to do at this point to improve the relationship. I asked a series of questions. This…
unplug (kindly)
Let me say up front that this post may not be for you. Who is it for then? Well, it’s for people like me: who love people and whose natural tendency is to talk with and listen to others who tend to have high interpersonal output most of the time who sometimes find themselves running on fumes who…
what to say (reprise)
Back in the spring, I introduced you to my writer-friend Diana by way of a unique book review with a personal twist. (By the way, this four-book series, The Rose Shield, would make a perfect, no-fail gift for any choosy Fantasy readers you may know; and Diana's also just released a beautifully…
fear: two
The previous post wound up being a sort of flight of ideas on fear. I had no intention of taking it further than that when I hit “Publish” last week. But the theme of fear has continued to rear its … well … rather common head in the time since then. So it seems worthwhile to take another walk on…
brand you
This past Wednesday, I was invited to be a guest lecturer at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston, where I taught a group of opticians-in-the-making about branding and marketing. I love teaching. And by all indications, I'm good at it. But as a rule, I’m more interested in people…
fake: part two
The week before last, I shared with you a post containing a bit of uncharacteristic rambling about fake things I like as well as a few I don’t personally care for. The central premise was that just because something is fake … doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. Thing is, as I got toward the end of…
umbrella
Singin’ in the Rain just may be my favorite movie of all time. I watch the film at least once a year, and I reference lines or scenes from it often. It still gives me the same feeling it did the very first time I saw it. I laugh just as hard. My eyes still get wide at some of the dance numbers.…
what not to say
I always seem to have some crazy story or other to tell, don’t I? I was asked a thoughtful question recently, as my birthday nears: “What would you like to see more of and less of in the year ahead. After The Zinc Fiasco of 2015/2016 and last month’s visit to Death’s door (aka, The Black Pill…
100% approval rating
I’ve been around the world. From Beijing to Bohol to my own backyard, I’ve had personal dealings with thousands upon thousands of people from all walks of life. What’s more, I don’t just write about the power of choice. I practice it. I put it to the test with people. I’ve experimented with what…