Category: Work

  • Staying Up All Night and Getting Lucky

    Are you trying to get lucky? No, not that kind of lucky, I mean, are you trying to get a lucky break? Trying to get on the fast track to success, become an overnight sensation? In The Dip (a short book that’s worth reading twice), Seth Godin shows that there’s no shortcut to success. In…

  • Introducing Toastimer

    Introducing Toastimer

    William Morris once said, “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Useful and beautiful. It’s this aspiration that drives great web design (and great speeches too). The best web tools are…

  • Love the Process

    I have a friend who loves fishing. Even after years of pulling fish out of the water – long after most of us would have gotten bored with the sport – he still gets excited about every fish. He loves getting out on the water every day, whether the fishing is good or bad. He…

  • I Don’t Know

    I grew up watching The Red Green Show. If you’re Canadian you’re probably familiar with it. If not, consider it one of Canada’s best kept (or better kept?) secrets. It was a “man’s man” show, showing us how to fix any car trouble with duct tape and remove any barrier with explosives. A proud part…

  • Searching For Sugar Man

    Last night I watched Searching For Sugar Man, the Oscar-winning documentary that tells the inspiring, surprising story of Rodriguez. Rodriguez was a Detroit musician who recorded several albums in the 1970s. Though there were high hopes for this talented songwriter (compared to Bob Dylan), his albums absolutely flopped. Well, in the USA they flopped. While…

  • Try Again

    “You can’t get back on the horse if you haven’t fallen off it.” – Phil Dunphy, Modern Family Overcoming your fear once, doing something difficult and daring the first time, is one thing. More difficult is giving that speech a second time, going back to the drawing board for a logo design, running a second…

  • Bunting for Singles

    I played baseball ever summer as a teenager. I was an average player, but a left-handed thrower, so I automatically got to pitch and play first base. I never really enjoyed going up to bat because of the pressure to do something great to help my team. One season I remember being particularly frustrated because…