It started innocently enough: I was researching the release year of a favorite film, “The Harder They Fall” starring Humphrey Bogart. When I put the title into ChatGPT…
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After losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Men’s Finals at Wimbledon on Sunday, Novak Djocovik was interviewed at Centre (hey, that’s how they spell it) Court. Near the end of the interview, Djocovik acknowledged his young sons in the audience…
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Even before it became a buzzword, most people recognized that storytelling is at the heart of effective communication. We understand that stories are the most powerful means …
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On two occasions over the past six months, I threw myself out of bed while sleeping. The result in both cases was the same: me abruptly falling to the floor…
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Join me on a minute-long journey back to March 2000. We had survived Y2K and had not yet heard of Al Qaeda. The stock market was booming and CNBC seemed to be on TV anywhere we went.
Then the dot com bubble burst…
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It’s playoffs time for the NBA and NHL. The “win or go home” nature of the playoffs means teams play with an intensity that makes these games more exciting to watch than…
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I saw a one-woman show this week with a couple of friends. The writing was poignant and funny, and the performer was excellent. Yet when my friends and I compared notes afterwards, we all felt something was missing…
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Tonight marks the start of Passover, the Jewish holiday commemorating the ancient Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt and their journey from slavery to freedom…
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“The presentation was a grand slam. The biggest value you left for me was validation that the script and approach was good...it set me up for success.”
This quote is from a thank you note…
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Thank you for visiting my site.
Quite a few people have asked why they are no longer receiving my Mind Mints blog posts. I appreciate the interest!
What can I say…
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My last Mind Mint, “You choose the story,” elicited a lot of positive reactions. It seems like anytime I remind people that they have the power to shape the way they think about and tell their story, it strikes a chord.
It’s gratifying to help people embrace a great and true personal narrative. But even when you find that story…
Version A: I made the mistake of running yesterday in 90-degree heat. I kept having to stop and walk to catch my breath. I quit after a half hour.
Version B: I pushed myself to run yesterday even though it was 90-degrees outside. Though I had to take frequent breaks, I put in a solid 30 minutes.
These two (very short) stories are based on the same experience…
Thirty-seven years ago, in 1983, a friend and I went to see a band he’d heard about. Near the end of their set, the band - Bonnie Hayes and the Wild Combo - lashed out at the relatively small crowd. Apparently we weren’t meeting their expectations of how an audience should respond, so they let us know that we sucked.
Turns out a lot of performers…
You know how when you first move to a new place, you work really hard on unpacking, setting up, and decorating, then life gets busy and you never bother unpacking those last few boxes? I think something similar has happened with our work-from-home setups.
Folks scrambled in the pandemic's early days…
We are witnessing the rise of a mass movement that has grown out of unspeakable pain. Today's mass protests reflect the cumulative effect of centuries of inequality that created an environment in which a white police officer could casually suffocate a black man on camera.
And yet, for the first time…
I made at least a dozen trips to San Francisco in the past few years, most recently in January. Though this coast-to-coast travel was taxing, each trip came with a treat: a minute-long walk on a moving sidewalk that connects the check-in and gate areas in United Airlines’ Terminal 3 at SFO.
Not just any moving sidewalk…
One of life’s simple, reliable pleasures is getting lost in a great movie...one that makes us lose track of time, takes us on an emotional ride, and leaves us feeling great at the end, even if we can see the ending coming from a mile away (I’m looking at you, rom-coms).
While real life doesn’t unfold…
Last week I came across a photo on twitter showing three health care workers – their faces almost totally obscured by masks – with pictures of themselves attached to their gowns so that patients could better connect with them as people.
You may have seen…
As we all struggle to create a new (and hopefully short-lived) “normal,” organizations will be rethinking every aspect of their operations, including how they bring people together when physical proximity is not an option.
The key word in the sentence above is “rethinking.” One shortcoming of the large events I work on…
Donald Trump’s presidency is the worst thing to happen to the US in my lifetime. Our imperfect democracy may not be a democracy at all if he wins a second term.
The horror of the 2016 election results motivated me…