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Every runner has a story
Earlier this year I ran in the Manitoba Marathon (I ran the half marathon). While I ran, surrounded by thousands of other runners, the sound of a million footsteps striking the asphalt like raindrops, I had a realization: Each of these runners has a story. This shouldn’t have been a ground-breaking realization, but we’re often…
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The Ears of Technology
I remember my surprise and excitement when I first heard about the “voice of Siri” (. The fact that a real person’s voice was behind the technology made Siri feel more human and authentic (and it’s pretty crazy to see the “Siri voice” being projected by a real person). But for all the excitement about…
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Shedding Skin
The snake is the ancient sacred symbol for transformation. In order to grow, it must shed its skin. This process is painful, dangerous, and necessary for growth. The snake’s insides are literally outgrowing its outsides, and it must remove its restrictive, outermost layer. The snake rubs and scratches, feeling that something’s not quite right. During…
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Learn how to die, learn how to live
I heard a preacher once share that he much preferred conducting funerals than weddings. It sounded kind of crazy at the time, but I think I’m beginning to understand. I went to a funeral recently. My great uncle Ben, after a long, full life, passed away. The funeral itself was a rich celebration of a…
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What I’m Reading
What are you reading these days? Last year I focused on doing more long reading, and this year has been no different. I’m convinced that despite the growing ways to consume information and the sheer volume of “content” out there, book-reading is still an important practice. In his brilliant post Why can’t we read anymore,…
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The Silence in its Wake
“The efficacious artwork leaves silence in its wake.” – Sonya Sontag Several years ago I was walking through New Orleans’ crowded Jackson Square. It was just days before Mardi Gras and the French Quarter was filled with overwhelming activity. The square itself was claimed by an array fortune tellers, buskers, and several loud evangelists with…
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Riff on This
Where do the best ideas come from, and what are the conditions where the best ideas thrive? In Group Genius, Keith Sawyer breaks down the myth of the lone genius and shows us how environments of collaboration are more conducive to idea-generation. He points to the worlds of jazz and improvisation as examples of how…
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Noisemakers
Your inbox is already overflowing. You’re drowning in all the videos, feeds, articles demanding your immediate attention, fighting for your limited bandwidth. What the heck do you think you’re doing, adding to the noise? Everyone’s distracted, everyone’s overwhelmed. Why add another sound to the clamour? If you aspire to create some piece of art that…
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The Tedium of Blossoming
As I approach my 31st birthday, one thing is becoming quite clear: I will never hit Fast Company’s “Top 30 Under 30” list. It’s also too late to become a 20-year-old millionaire. We admire the child prodigy, the early bloomer. Every young musician aspires to be the next Hansen (when they were young, well, maybe…
