Are you connected enough?

    It seems the more people we connect with the less there is of us to go around.  I start with the default answer of 'No' when a friend asks me to do something.  I check my calendar.  Then I offer a date 3 weeks in the future. Am I free now?   Yes.   But I have a false notion of obligation.  I feel so little control over my time that I hoard the time I can control.  I then squander the time I hoarded instead of spending it wisely ... by saying yes to my friend. It seems we … [Read more...]

There better be an good reason you don’t read this!

  Sometimes I get stuck in traffic.  You, too, huh? I'll start thinking to myself, "There better be an accident up there!"  When I'm really twisted, I think "Somebody better be hurt!". Sometimes the situations different.  Maybe it's bad service at a restaurant.  I let the manager know.  Then I think, "They better knock something off my bill!"  or "I better get dessert for free!"  Like I need a dessert ... "The DVR better record that show!"  "The light better not turn red!"  "The … [Read more...]

Is it time to wake-up or go to sleep?

  I wandered the kitchen lethargically.   My face was long.  Jen asked what was wrong.  "I'm exhausted." It was dinner time.  I was starving and didn't feel like cooking.  I avoided starting a meal for 10 minutes as I wallowed in my tiredness and "don't wanna-ness." Two hours later, Jen said she was exhausted and ready for bed.  I told her I was wide awake.  She was perplexed, "Two hours ago, you were telling me how tired you were."  I said, "I was tired.  I woke-up when I cooked … [Read more...]

Is it about time?

  I left the house this morning at 6:30am.  2 hours earlier than usual.  I usually help with feeding, changing, playing with the girls.  This morning, I had a 7 am meeting.  I didn't even get to say good morning to the girls.  And Jen had to manage the juggling act of caring and feeding on her own. At 6pm the phone rang.  I answered.   It didn't sound good.  I heard Jen talking.  Screaming babies drowned what she was saying. Neither girl would eat.  Both were crying.  Jen was … [Read more...]

What do you want to leave behind?

Let's stick with the Lego theme.  I've written about building ideas ... ideas are the Lego blocks.  Putting the blocks together is the execution. Many of us get caught in the idea trap.  Accumulating ideas like a hoarder accumulates newspapers, cats and Elvis plates.  The ideas pile up until we're overwhelmed by them.  They're everywhere!  You can barely walk in your brain because there are so many ideas piled up and laying around. Most of my regrets are about what I haven't done. … [Read more...]

Don’t melt away, snowflake

One is the loneliest number that there ever was.  Sometimes I get trapped in my head thinking of the impact I want to have on the world.  I crave a more meaningful and significant life.  Whenever I'm stuck in this place, I am alone.  I don't see myself connected to others. Nobody has ever accomplished anything in this world alone. Any change in the world you admire required someone to work with others (even if indirectly).  They made the invisible idea in their head real to others. A … [Read more...]

Wish You Were Here

I get lost in the act of wishing. I wish I played tennis more.  I wish I were more extroverted.   I wish I played guitar better.  I wish I did a better job of marketing this blog. I wish those jeans I got a couple of years ago weren't so tight. I wish I were more comfortable (and effective) at networking.  I wish that I wrote (and published) more often.  I wish I were taller.  I wish I called my mom more often.  I wish I didn't have a commute. I wish I had published a book  by now. I wish I … [Read more...]

What Do You Have Time To Do? 4 Questions to Ask Yourself

  We don't seem to have the time to do a lot of things.  Things like exercise, cooking healthily, calling our parents, brothers, sisters and friends, reading great books or magazines, driving without distraction (as we text some ridiculously unimportant message). We do seem to have time to do a lot of other things, though.  Things like Facebook, Twitter, reality TV, e-mail, long showers, visiting newyorkjets.com, miamihurricanes.com, tmz.com or working long hours with no specific … [Read more...]

Reach out and touch someone

  More people are watching porn than ever before. A recent poll showed that 79% of people are consuming porn nowadays. It was in the 30% range in 1983. The studies also show people are having less sex. They are masturbating more. We are a lazy species. We will do the thing that costs us the least. Contact and direct interaction are expensive. They require real-time emotional engagement. They require processing of non-verbal nuance. They require empathy and awareness. This is one … [Read more...]

All I want for Christmas is…

Jen's whispered, "C'mon.  It's time to feed the babies."   All I want for Christmas is for my babies to sleep through the night. I've told so many people that my Christmas present would be the twins sleeping through the night.  These were typical responses: "Keep dreaming...." "My babies are a year old. They still don't sleep through the night." "That's not going to happen." "Good luck with that..." Not encouraging words.  They're actually the complete opposite.  The people … [Read more...]