It’s hard to define success. It means something different to each of us: for some, it might be money; for others, power; for still others, fame or status. It might mean love, or well-adjusted children, or a day-to-day joy that life’s trials can’t overcome. If you’re religious, it might mean salvation, or bringing others to […]
I recently heard a quote from the Talmud that resonated with me: You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. I am not a religious scholar. I could not tell you the difference between the Torah and the Talmud, although I’m sure I’ve heard it described. […]
I’m worse about this than most. This one is mostly a reminder to myself. Most of us are hard-wired to blow off victory. That’s a pretty drastic statement, I know. But how often have you waved off a compliment with something like it was nothing? How often have you lost sight of everything you’ve accomplished […]
I discovered a long time ago that two people can dedicate their lives to solving a problem and come to radically different solutions–both of them right. The interesting part comes after: do they hold on to the solutions they worked so hard to create, refusing to budge from what they know is right, or do […]
If you live in the U.S. today, or in most of the developed world to a lesser extent, you live in a culture obsessed with health. Obsessed with thinking about health, that is. Those who actually do something about it are still in the minority. Why is that? I don’t think it’s any more complex […]
I got the news today: A Square Foot of Calfskin has made it to Round 2 of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. It’s no longer one of ten thousand–now it’s one of two thousand, among the four hundred books left in the YA category. The next round of judging ends on the 14th of […]
Since I can’t write about courage without occasionally mentioning something I’ve done: I’ve entered my novel, A Square Foot of Calfskin, in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. It’s a contest for unpublished or self-published books, and it might just help me get some eyes on my work. Judging for the first round just started, […]
To be completely honest, I’m a lousy swimmer. I’ve never swam a mile. Not half a mile. Not even a quarter. Diana Nyad swam a hundred miles in September, give or take a few miles. She did it across open ocean from Cuba to Florida, through waters infested with sharks and jellyfish. It wasn’t her […]
A few days ago, we talked about looking back. Of course, life can’t be all about what came before; if we’re not looking forward, it’s hard to get anywhere, and harder to know where we’re going. We wouldn’t take a road trip without an idea where we’re going. Why, then, do so many of us […]
It’s a new year. Time to cast off our old selves and become something new. Almost all of us try to do just that this time of year, to cast aside the parts we don’t like and become who we dream we could be. We promise ourselves–we resolve–really to do it this year, to make […]