For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the last week of the year is one of the darkest. New Year's Day follows quickly on the heels of the winter solstice. In fact, the sun sets at about 4:25 here in the Chicago area in the week between Christmas and December 31st. It's easy to want to crawl under the covers and just wait for spring. That's especially true in a year like the one we've just had. Most of us didn't realize that 2021 would be a long, drawn-out extension of 2020. At the same time, though, I'm reminded of the traditional Taoist yin/yang symbol. There's a small dot of white in the largest part of the black side - … [Read more...]
Breaking Traditions
As we enter the holiday season, I'm thinking a lot about the traditions that each of us carry into the last few weeks of the year. You might have traditions about how, where, and with who you gather on the actual holidays themselves. Or maybe they are around decorating your house or that group of friends you get together with. For example, my parents and siblings have always gone out to eat on Christmas Eve since I can remember. I still trek back to Milwaukee to do that, even though now I'm bringing my own family with me. New Year's Day brunch with friends has been a personal tradition for over a decade. And I love the Vince Guaraldi … [Read more...]
DIY is Wrong. It’s Really DIWO
I'm coming down from the highs of the launch day for my two latest books, the updated editions of Networking in the 21st Century and Networking in the 21s Century on LinkedIn. It was by far the most successful book launch I've had so far. Thank you to everyone for the support of the books! Whether it was leaving a review when they were released or just putting up with me talking about them constantly in the newsletter, it helped a ton. I'm also recovering a little from the time and energy put in as well. Since I'm also the publisher of my books, I was managing the final production, marketing, and distribution details as well. But … [Read more...]
A Eulogy for Lee “Scratch” Perry
A sign that you have fully transitioned into adulthood is realizing that the artists and celebrities in the obituary are people that you not only recognize, but who had a presence in your life when you were growing up. That was the case when I saw Lee "Scratch" Perry had passed away recently. There's a good chance you don't know who he is, but you would recognize the music he helped create. I didn't learn who he was until I had been playing in a ska band for years. This is slightly ironic because, along with artists like Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, and this guy Bob Marley, he helped create the ska sound in Jamaica in the '60s … [Read more...]
What Season Are You In?
I'm not sure if this is just a Midwestern thing, but in the summer a lot of companies have "summer hours". Usually it means that there's some sort of abbreviated schedule on Fridays. Like everyone leaves the office (remember, this has been around well before working from home) after lunch. My guess is that it stemmed from people around here understanding that the summer weather was a precious commodity. "Let's get the work done in February when it's 14°. Now is the time to go grill out and have a High Life." This year it's taken on an even greater impact as people are trying to get out on vacations that they couldn't while locked … [Read more...]
Lessons from Liam
One of the perks of being a coach is that you often learn as much from your coachees as they do from you. It's ironic, but when you have a ringside seat to someone's growth journey - their ups and downs, struggles and victories - it becomes a mirror that you can hold up to your own path. I've found that's also the case with parenting. Sure, I might be teaching Liam new words, how to brush his teeth, and the best way to build a Lego house. But every day I'm picking up new perspectives and insights into how to approach my own life. And as we celebrated his 2nd birthday this past weekend, I thought it might be worth sharing some of what … [Read more...]
Getting Used to Things Isn’t Always Helpful
When you move into a house that was built in 1939, there's a lot of character. Character can be defined as charming accents that aren't common in new homes. Or it can be described as a long list of things big and small that need to be fixed. And as we settle into our new digs, it's clear that this house has a lot of character. But the former owners of our new house lived with everything that I now have on my list of home repairs. Maybe they meant to get to some of them but didn't have the time or attention. They just lived with them. And we do the same thing in our lives in a more general sense. There are little things in our … [Read more...]
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