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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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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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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…
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World Without Sidelines
“Another thing we can see in less industrialized parts of the world… is that something like making music, dancing, and singing together, as a participatory community that’s regular and ongoing is something that’s free, available, and part of everyday life. That’s a wealth and joy. It’s really interesting to realize that it’s been with industrialization…
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Perfectionism
“Perfectionism will ruin your writing, blocking inventiveness and playfulness and life force (these are the words we are allowed to use in California). Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground –…
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Delivery & Discovery
Delivery and discovery are both important if you want to make an impact. Delivery is deadlines, to-do lists, responsibilities, carrying out your commitments. Discovery is trying something new, tinkering, following a rabbit trail. It’s “play” for grown ups. In the spectrum between delivery and discovery, where do you spend most of your time? If you’re…
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Be Prolific: What I’ve Learned From 10 Toastmaster Speeches
Last week I achieved Toastmaster’s “Competent Communicator” (CC) award (I know, I’m officially competent, hooray!). I’ve been working towards this since I started the Toastmasters program early this year, so it felt like a big accomplishment. To achieve a “CC”, Toastmasters need to complete 10 speeches, most being between 5-7 minutes long. Each of the…
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Life Lessons From the Creator of Calvin and Hobbes
In today’s fast-paced, spotlight-seeking, social-media-driven world, finding a public figure who avoids the spotlight is remarkable. But when you find a public figure who is completely embracing living a private life and rejects all fame, money and attention, it forces you to take pause. That’s what I recently found in the creator of ‘Calvin &…
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Keep Your Eye on the Ball
In golf, the number one rule of the game is “keep your eye on the ball”. Even though you’re aiming away from water and in the direction of the hole, you’ll never get there unless you forget the pin, look down, and focus on hitting the ball. Looking up too soon will ruin your shot.…
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Hip Hop and the Feedback Loop
My favourite way to joke about hip hop (years ago, when I was just a white boy who didn’t understand), was how often rappers would rap about rap. “Listen to words that I create. Watch my lips arti-cu-late.” (My you can tell that my favourite rapper is the hiphopopotamus). But now I get it. I…