The Influence The single greatest story in the history of the world, was told through failure. The goal of leadership is influence. To show others a better way. To help our organizations succeed. Who are the most influential people that have ever lived? Martin Luther King, Jr? Martin Luther? Ghandi? Galileo? Mao Zedong? Columbus? Jesus? […]
This is Not Safe Imagine that you had the guts to go bungee jumping. You strap on a long elastic cord to your ankles. You go up to a height of 100 feet or more. You walk to the edge of a bridge and look over. You make a decision to trust the cord. You […]
Acting without Thinking This past week I joined the Coalition for the Homeless of Louisville on a night of counting homeless people. It sounds insensitive, but this is an important work. The goal is to understand who is homeless, how many there are, and where they are. I learned about the effort from some friends. […]
Just before starting medical school, my wife and I found out that we were pregnant. It’s probably obvious, but this was not our plan. We envisioned her working while I studied my way through school. We would consider having kids later, when we felt more stable. Better prepared. Financially sound. I remember telling one of my […]
My favorite coffee mug helps me to believe. It often does more to get me going in the morning than the coffee I drink out of it. Written on the mug is a quote from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. “There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.” I dare say […]
The Word of the Day Last week I was reading a blog discussing the habit of reading. The writer asserted that the most common excuse for not reading more is time. “I would love to read more, I just don’t know how to fit it in.” “I just don’t have enough time in my day.” […]
The Unlived Life You let go of your dreams, not because you are afraid of the dream. The dream itself is beautiful. Instead, you settle for less because of the work needed to attain it. Dreams are not handed to you in a gift wrapped box, at least not ones that are worth pursuing. You […]
You used to dream big. It came naturally. You didn’t have to plan. You didn’t have to get excited about it. It just happened. When you were a kid, you imagined a world without limits. Nothing could stand in your way. If someone asked you what you were going to be some day, you actually […]
My wife and I once took a trip to Flagstaff, AZ. The city is beautiful. Driving from Phoenix, the landscape transforms from dessert to mountains, all in a span of 2 hours. The city sits next to a mountain, and we love to hike. Once we learned about the trails, we decided to explore this incredible […]
You are capable of great ideas that can change the world. You have to develop your ideas so that they can mature into books or gadgets or companies or charities, and this requires work and organization. But you are capable. The best ideas are not ones that pop into our minds all at once. Brilliance […]
