I hope that you enjoyed the July 4th holiday with friends and family (and with grilling and parades)! As usual, people spent a lot of time celebrating our "freedom". Even though it's one of the things I love most about this country, I think there's something we need to talk about just as much: The responsibility that must accompany freedom. I have a relatively uncommon professional perspective on those two topics because I've had a relatively nontraditional career. I figured out once that I've only been a salaried "employee" for 11 months of my adult life. From my start in business selling Cutco Cutlery as an independent … [Read more...]
Planting Seeds
Sometimes I have to go searching for metaphors to use in my writing. Sometimes they are right in front of my face. For example, this summer I have a small window herb garden. Nothing fancy; just some basil, mint, chives, and a few others. I wouldn't say that I have much of a green thumb (I'm becoming an expert at ruining thyme), but it been quite the learning experience and has led to some tasty meals. The care and cultivation of plants is a powerful place to practice life. It requires patience, mindfulness, and consistency. It's hard to balance just the right amount of water and sun, pruning and fertilizer. There are successes and … [Read more...]
Done is the New Perfect
What does it take for you to get a project out the door? At what point are you ready to let it out into the world? I think we often hold onto projects for too long. It's a form of fear. We think that what we're making isn't good enough and that if we just give it a little more attention then it will be really good. The Goldilocks Amount of Time: Just Right So it's a balancing act. You don't want to put garbage into the world. And you don't want to hold on forever. You have to find the middle ground. I had a powerful experience with this when I wrote my second book. The first one, of course, took me a long time and I labored … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mash-Up – Creating Doesn’t Have to be Fancy
Last week I finished post-production on the audiobook version of Networking in the 21st Century. I recorded and edited it on my own with a laptop, a microphone, and a corner of the living room turned into a mini sound booth. It will be released in a few weeks, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. It doesn't have all of the polish of a recording done in an expensive studio, but it comes pretty close. The process took me back to recording DIY demos with my old band. We'd take whomever's basement we could find that had absent (or relaxed) neighbors, throw in some mics and a 4-track recorder, and go to town. If only we had the … [Read more...]
25% Irish on St. Patrick’s Day
A few years ago, my girlfriend (now wife) woke me up on March 17th and wished me the top o' the mornin' by saying, "Happy St. Patrick's Day, you sexy 25% Irishman." She was right about the sexy part, but I'm actually a little bit more than 25% Irish. In true American style, I'm an ethnic mutt, with part of my father's family here since before the American Revolution. But my mom's mom was from the Glynns of County Mayo, which is where the 25% comes from. Part of my dad's side might have a little Scotch-Irish in it, and we have an unknown lineage from my mom's dad's side that probably had a little more as well. So I think that I'm … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mash-Up – Live Long and Prosper
Music has always been a huge influence on my life, but science fiction has always been right next to it. My childhood was shaped by big screen adventures such as Star Wars and Star Trek. I was sad when I heard of Leonard Nimoy's passing last week. (I might have shed a few tears.) It also made me think about why stories of the future - near and far - have always had such an impact on me. I think that there is a power in science fiction that can't be found in other genres; it gives your mind practice in asking a most important question: "What if?" That question, translated into the mundane world, is the beginning of all personal and … [Read more...]
The Monday Morning Mash-Up – Trainwrecks, Pockets, and the New Year
Happy New Year! Now that we have a few days of space between us and 2014, let me ask you: how would you rate it? Are there some areas of opportunity or did you accomplish what you wanted? No matter which it is, though, you get another chance. This year, 2015, is the one that matters. One of the best and worst parts of performing as a musician was that every song had an ending. When you had a song that was hopelessly off course and everything was going horribly wrong (we called those trainwrecks), you knew it would eventually be over. There was always a chance for redemption in the next song. And as a drummer, sometimes I would find … [Read more...]