Archive for August 2022

Scott, my golf guru, has said many wise things to me on a golf course. Swing thoughts and strategy and decision making. He has also advised me to “grow the legend” wherever possible. This means that when faced with the choice of a safe, high percentage shot or an exceedingly difficult, low percentage, possibly remarkable…

Charlie says, “This middle finger thing is ridiculous. I can’t raise one of my fingers without offending the world? Seriously? Isn’t life hard enough already?” He makes a good point. You can’t even raise your middle finger on network television without your hand being blurred by the censors. It’s really quite stupid. A relic of…

If you continually add water to an unbreakable container, Charlie tells me that you will eventually get strange matter. I’ve been alive for five decades and have never heard of a strange matter before. He keeps doing this to me: Tells me about something I’ve never heard of before but feel like I should’ve known…

This image says it all. You’re not always motivated, though admittedly it helps. If you’re not consistently motivated, this might help in that department. You’re not always inspired, though admittedly it also helps. And there are a ton of ways to become inspired about the work you do. Read my latest, Someday Is Today, for…

Serious question: Why is this 66-year-old refrigerator, built by General Motors, better than the refrigerators we have today? Also, what the hell is Charlie’s name in the video? Charlie what? Also, and I’m serious: Is the woman in this commercial – now dead and buried – playing both parts? Or are there two actors in…

I lifted the tray off the counter at Panera and handed it to Charlie. Then I turned to reach for my own food when Charlie said, “Dad, this macaroni and cheese looks like soup.” He was right. In addition to it being ten thousand times the price of the macaroni and cheese we make at…

Sometimes simple, direct feedback is ideal. One of the standards on my children’s swimming lesson report card is “Survival Float – 30 seconds.” The feedback from the swim instructor on this particular standard: “Sinks.” Simple. Succinct. Hilarious.

One of my biggest pet peeves is sloppy, stupid signage. This happens when a business adds signage to the signage already provided by their corporate overlords. I suspect that my feelings come from a decade spent managing McDonald’s restaurants. Whenever we needed a sign to indicate that a restroom was closed due to a plumbing…

Incrementalism is the understanding that small changes, repeated over time, will yield enormous results. This graphic is an excellent example of the principle in action. If you could simply transfer 30 minutes in a day, every day, to reading, you’ll have read an enormous number of books at the end of the year. This could…

I played golf last week with a friend and brought a little bit of my former students along for comfort and support. One of my students (whose mother has given me permission to post this photo) gave me a gift on every day of Teacher Appreciation Week. This, of course, is never, ever necessary, but…