My role models show up for everything that they sign up for. They haven’t missed a day of work in the last decade, as far as I can tell. They show up. They attend every family gathering, and every social commitment that they commit to. This is remarkable to me. When my alarm goes off […]
Monsters Under The Bed
A few years ago, there was an animated movie called “Monsters Inc.” It was about a group of monsters who scared small children in order to collect the energy from their screams. The idea of “monsters under the bed” is part of our culture. After the lights go out at night, what is under the […]
Building Bridges
I had a business trip scheduled several years ago in Sao Paolo, Brazil. I was supposed to meet with a group of web designers who were going to help me build a website. My boss connected me with this group of people- I had not worked with them before. I sent them a proposed agenda […]
Our Own Best Interests
Why do we do things that are bad for us? If Darwin was correct, we evolved in a “survival of the fittest” manner, and now represent the best and the brightest that DNA has to offer. So if we are the best and the brightest, why do we hurt ourselves with our own behavior? What […]
The Cathedral of Chartres
I heard this story recently, and decided to share it with you. —– Several hundred years ago, a traveler was walking through the French countryside. He came to the site of the Cathedral of Chartres, which was being built. He entered the building site, and he saw a sculptor working. He asked the sculptor what […]
Down To The River
I know a fellow who spent a year of his life living on the streets of Philadelphia. Let’s call him “K”. K is now an executive, and a widely respected member of his profession. Sometimes when he tells his story to other people, he reaches in his mouth and takes out half of his teeth, […]
I Heard The News Today
Thirty years ago today (January 28, 1986), the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just after liftoff. Everyone on board was killed. I was attending pharmacy school at the time. I remember walking into Griffith Hall, and everyone was standing around a TV screen. I asked what was going on, and someone told me that the shuttle […]
Help On The Way
We had a blizzard this weekend. We had 30 inches of snow between Friday night and Sunday morning. It was a top-5 snow event for us. My family and I started snow removal on Sunday morning. I was outside by 7am. I purchased an electric snowblower last year, so I thought I would be ok. […]
My Powerball Jackpot
The Powerball jackpot for tomorrow night is now estimated to be at least 1.5 billion dollars. I’ve spent a little bit of time thinking about what I would do with my winnings. First a little bit of lottery math. The jackpot number is a pre-tax number, if you take it in annual installments. I don’t […]
The Bill of Responsibilities
In the Otemachi train station in central Tokyo, several subway lines converge. Trains pull up to the platform with hundreds of passengers who are rushing to work. There is one escalator that takes passengers up a 5-story rise to street level. When I first saw this escalator, I assumed that there would be a mad […]
