Own your typhoon
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. …
Fund your own revolution
“The American Revolution was not financed with matching grants from the Crown.” – David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art and Fear Quick. Look around your office or workspace. Do you have a clock there? Do you have a visitor chair—a chair where a visitor could sit, should one suddenly appear …
Replace “they” with “we” with “I”
We all believe in equality, as long as it is equality with our superiors. What is the tipping point? I’ve long been fascinated by the fact that our Social Contract works—that people stop at four-way stop signs and allow the person to their right to move first, creating a sweet …
Don’t sell your red books
“Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.” – Carol Pearson Years ago when my husband John had his fantastic odd little bookshop full of antique science books in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., a local Decorator to the Stars of U.S. Government came …
Examine your car for dents
“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.” –Tuli Kupferberg One interesting thing about life is that at a certain point, it all starts repeating. Or perhaps it’s been repeating all along and it just takes a certain distance (age?) to begin seeing the patterns that emerge, again and again. And …
Roll on the floor
"Perspective is worth 80 IQ points." – Alan Kay (American computer scientist and researcher) My daughter Emma and I watched a show on Animal Planet last Saturday that made me laugh. Then it made me think. And then it made me realize I had laughed because I could identify with …
Don’t stop to wave, you’ll drown
“Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they’re waiting for someone to say, “You’re good, you’re pretty, I give you permission.” –Eve Ensler This week, I watched a videotape of Eve Ensler speaking at the 2004 Omega Institute “Women in Power” conference. Ensler is a playwright most famous …
Embrace your clearness committee
“Whenever I climb, I am followed by a dog named Ego.” –Friedrich Nietzche I came across a story this week that intrigued me. I could see myself in it, if truth be told, and perhaps if you squint, you can see some tiny part of yourself in it as well. …
Decide how to decide
“It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets Every summer, I used to disappear from the association management scene to indulge my secret life as an artist. For most of August, you could find …
Finding your (com)passion
”Do not ask what the world needs. Instead, ask what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.” —Thurmond Whitman That quote came to me from someone I don’t know, quite by accident. A few weeks ago, it came across my email …
