It’s a simple question with a hard answer. — It’s the hardest question I’ve every heard @charliegilkey ask anyone: “What if it was easy?” I think the purpose of the question is to get ourselves out of our own way when we’re trying to accomplish something. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to think I’m being efficient and focused when…

The original idea for this essay was to write about the time I was arguing with a Marine friend of mine about women serving in combat roles. We’d both served in the USMC infantry, and knew that most of the usual objections (physical size, temperament) were bullshit. …

Not “easy”, not even “smart” — but definitely not boring. — There’s one secret to becoming a Top Writer in the Life Lessons category. Make lots of mistakes. I’m fifty-three years old, and I’ve done a lot of things. Not always successfully, not even intelligently, at times, but a lot of things — jobs, relationships, travel, creative outlets. That variety is…

Six months of an experiment has revealed a few things, including my own stubbornness. — I said, way back at the beginning of this experiment in November of 2021, that I was not after fame, or riches, or Top Writer status or followers or subscribers or any of those usual accoutrements of the aspiring Medium writer. I simply wanted one thing: to create the version…

Especially for men, this “heroic sacrifice” is actually a dick move. — Scene Opens: Our Hero sits, victorious, in the hospital waiting room, waiting for news of his lover. He’s worried, because (as happens in these superhero spy stories) she’d been brainwashed by the Bad Guy. …

The classic exercise is a great tool for mastering subjective time. — I’m kind of embarrassed at how long it took for me to learned about this game. It was at a networking breakfast, of all places, and we were doing a different exercise: talking about “weird family traditions.” …

A comedy of errors, hubris, and pain. — We were doing tactical night maneuvers, and it was a dark and thunderous night. Not because of rain — as usual in Camp Pendleton in Southern California, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But we weren’t the only unit spending the night training; off to the left, we could…

And what to do about it. — I have seven minutes per page., I thought. Today was an early day, since I needed to be at a networking event by 7:45am, and my partner needed to be dropped off at work before that. …

Want flow? Want meaningful work? Better stop with the pomodoros, already. — My pomodoro timer is a Death Star. It’s something I inherited from my girlfriend’s older son when he moved out of the house. A little plastic toy, with the minutes marked along the equatorial trench (you know, just like back in Beggar’s Canyon, but fewer womprats). …