I reached a watershed moment in May 2010, when my desire to do work that mattered became greater than the fear of the unknown. The job and the house were no longer enough of an incentive to keep me from making a difference in the world. So I got rid of the vestiges of my old life and pulled out of Baltimore determined to change the world.
What I’ve learned in the years since is that when you decide to pursue ...
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Have you ever wondered why the things we want most in life always seem to take longer than we expect? In my experience it’s the Universe’s way of saying, “You’re not ready to handle what you’re asking for!” And if our “wants” involve major life changes, there are lessons to be learned along the way that are more important than the measure of time.
Several years ago I left a comfortable life to start a new one, based on ...
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“There is strong shadow where there is much light.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
We are meant to live our lives in the light of work that feeds our purpose, and with people who encourage us to be more than we would accept if left to our own devices. But in a world where too many of us live in the shadows of banality and busyness, how do we move from dark to light?
For anyone present enough to sense the difference ...
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“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Jim Rohn
Every morning at the gym I ...
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Recently I watched Sarah, an older woman with Parkinson’s, climb onto a stage to read her poetry. “I’ll do my best to read,” she said softly and smiled at the audience. “In spite of the shaking.” Suddenly I realized I was witnessing what it means to be courageously vulnerable.
It sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? I mean, how is it possible to be courageous and vulnerable at the same time? But from what I’ve learned in my own ...
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“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, Martin. It’s definitely shingles.”
I was incredulous. “Are you sure it’s not spider bites?”
“You are aware that I graduated from medical school, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but I don’t understand. I’ve always been really healthy. How could this happen?”
Dr. Blay stared at his stethoscope and then back at me. “Shingles is triggered by stress. Do you have any stress in your life?”
“Well, nine months ago I left my job, sold my house and moved out of Baltimore without ...
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I woke up at four o’clock in the morning with the above line in my head, maybe because I’d gone to bed after watching the Tony Awards and had Broadway lodged in my brain. Or it could’ve been the realization that we spend way too much of our time rotating at the speed of the people around us.
As a kid, I loved merry-go-rounds. My friends and I would hold onto the bars and race around in circles until ...
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If aerodynamics are what results from the motion of air as it interacts with a moving object, then I believe the AeroDynamics of Life are what results from the energy we create and allow into our lives.
When I was a student pilot, my flight instructor taught me about the four aerodynamic forces acting on an aircraft in flight: weight, drag, thrust and lift. And in life, it occurs to me that those same forces act on us as ...
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