When Plans Fail: The Times You Need a Plan B

Oh man, the plan was so perfect. I spent two weeks crafting it: a killer surprise for my wife on Christmas morning. I’m a sucker for those. I love being able to eliminate any suspicions of an epic Christmas morning gift so I can watch the look on her face when she sees it under […]

You’re Not Afraid to Fail, You’re Afraid to Succeed Poorly

For Christmas gifts this year, I decided to triple up my efforts for my wife and son and build them both some cool – and necessary! – wooden furniture. Now, I’m by no means a woodworking expert. I enjoy the heck out of the activity, but I’m generally pretty bad at it still. The summer […]

Take A Shot: Give Yourself The Chance to Win

“If we do something together after this, it’s not going to be a retainer… it’s going to be another project. Things are just taking too long.” Those are the words I heard through my phone’s speaker while standing in the frozen foods section of Aldi. Those words absolutely crushed everything I had expected – and […]

Lip Service: Getting Honest With Yourself

It happens to me more often than I care to admit. My calendar is packed for the day’s work. I have to get a bunch of writing done. I am going to be building out more sections of my online store. I’m scheduled to knock out some research for my copywriting client. These are activities […]

Simplify: 9 Small Objects That Make a Huge Difference

Cooking is my jam. I enjoy the process of hanging out in the kitchen, building something to eat. Sometimes it takes a few minutes. Sometimes it takes an hour. Either way, I find myself in the kitchen at several points in the day: chopping, sauteing, baking, mixing, and (of course) cleaning. This wouldn’t be as […]

How Thinking Like a Ronin Warrior Can Get You Back On Track

Centuries ago, there was a great honor associated with being a samurai warrior. You’ve already seen it in movies, and are familiar with the samurai in pop culture. But in Japan, samurai was serious business. It came with a code of honor that granted each warrior a certain amount of power and status among Japanese. […]