The I Can’t Fallacy

“I can’t” is a common enough phrase.  It’s supposed to indicate that something isn’t possible and usually comes with an order of “because.” It’s a phrase that has become so overused that it doesn’t have much meaning any more.  When I hear it (apart from when it is used to indicate that logistics are a…

Writing Your Own Story

Most writers will tell you that writing the beginning of the story is the hardest part.  You usually already have the meat of the piece when you start, you are in the middle of the story, all the good stuff is swirling all around you and you want to get at it.  Writing the beginning…

I Know How I Do It

One of the biggest gifts I received from higher education was a deep understanding of how I learn.  Not only did my degrees force facts and knowledge and trivial pursuit answers into my head, but they helped me figure out how to continue the process. They not only gave me the fish they taught me…

Your Tribe Is Out There

We all need community.  We need friends and acquaintances and a social network with a variety of connections in it so no one person is expected to do and be everything for us and we can get all of our needs met, since we’re not islands and not necessarily meant to be self-sufficient.  Add or…

Disengage

I was once told that I shouldn’t go into business for myself because I’m my own worst boss. This was years ago when I was still a manager in corporate land.  I was a bit taken aback by the statement because I was so firmly engaged, my personality entwined, with being a good manager.  How…

To Stand Witness

The Medusa myth has always been a favorite of mine.  I mean, it’s cool right?  As a kid it’s a great story like Godzilla vs. Mothra.  There is a horrible monster doing horrible monstery things that needs to be vanquished.  And there is a hero who looks just like every other guy and he gets…

When Is It True?

How many times do we have to hear something positive about ourselves before we believe it? I mean one person saying something is just their opinion and even that can be influenced by a million and one factors so it can be discounted.  Two people saying it, well that could be random.  So more than…

Charge It

You’ll  know something is healed when you no longer have a charge around it. When the trigger is gone, when you can be in the situation and it doesn’t cause you to implode or need to go through triage maneuvers to stop the bleeding, you will have successfully healed. It’s something that, like love, comes…

A Fractal Life

How many times have you heard someone talk about how everything in their life is perfect except for this one teeny tiny thing.  Of course, it isn’t so teeny or tiny and as they are talking about it you can get a sense that it’s just the tip of a floating ice burg.  If you…

I Know I Need To, But…

Managing by crisis is something that all of us fall into at one point or another.  How our day/week/month is going to go gets determined not by the long term plan or what would be nice, but by the defcon level of the issues that have to be handled within the time available.  If you’ve…