I recently met a local Portland politician for lunch whom I’ve respected for a long time. I went into the meeting planning on asking him about his political career and to get some tips on a few communication questions I had. Basically, I was planning on talking about him for an hour.
Then something incredible happened [...]
The greatest advice I ever received was from three dear friends in the winter of 2007.
I was caught in a whirlwind of fear trying to start an organization from the couch of my apartment. My only business skills were the C minus I stumbled through in a college economics class.
My friends sat me down and said this [...]
I have a lot of conversations with people worried about what they do. Worried they aren’t making an impact. Worried their life isn’t panning out the way they expected.
But I know for a fact that the person you are becoming is far more important than the work you are doing.
This isn’t just my spirituality talking either. I believe good character creates sustainable success [...]
On May 20, 2012, 18 year-old Takunda Mavima was driving home from a party when he lost control and crashed his car into an off-ramp near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Riding in the car were 17 year-old, Tim See, and 15 year-old, Krysta Howell. Both were killed in the accident. Takunda Mavima lived.
Mavima pleaded guilty to all charges and was [...]
Every so often, I’ll get an email from someone that goes like this:
“Wow, I’ve seen you’ve been doing X, Y, and Z. Awesome. Have you ever heard of blank organization or blank writer? They basically do the same thing you do and are really successful. Maybe you can learn from them?”
When I’m at my best, I can learn something from them. But more often than not, every time I read that email, I just feel horrible about myself [...]
Every journey has rocky paths, dark valleys of uncertainty, and stretches of disillusionment.
In our most desperate times of unbelief, how then should we live?
I recently stumbled upon a reflection on the legend of Saint Christopher that I’ve found comforting…
There is a funny cartoon of a group of people mingling at a party. Above each of their heads is a thought bubble that reads, “I wonder what they are thinking of me?”
This silly cartoon sheds light on the fact that, for the most part, people aren’t thinking about you. They are thinking about themselves.
This is frustrating, but it should also be liberating.
We all know humans can be quite…
I’m just like you. Constantly searching, forever scanning, continually hunting for purpose in life.
But here’s a tip:
Stop believing the secret is to just “follow your passions.” People will tell you that and you’ll believe them. But it’s not entirely true.
Because if you really want to know…
Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. As many of her patients approached their final days, she would ask if they had regrets or things they would do differently.
Ware was so surprised by the phenomenal clarity of vision people…
I recently attended my 10-year high school reunion and couldn’t believe just how much I’d forgotten over the last decade. I consider myself a very intentional person but I was blown away how many names, people, and events had completely slipped my mind.
One event that baffled me to no end was when I found out I had wronged someone I cared about in the fall of my junior year. Apparently, I didn’t stand up for them when I should have, it hurt this person’s feelings because she considered me a…
