Picture a nine year old boy in his family garage—so curious!—toying around with a bit of gasoline and the enticement of fire. I can see your face; you know what happened next in this story, don't you? This kid was John O’Leary, who unwittingly created an explosion that burned 100% of his body. Odds were...

Admit it: you’d rather not be called a rookie. A convicted felon? Better than being called a rookie. A narcissistic psychopath? Still better. A “how to run a successful puppy mill” mentor? You get the point. Why is the rookie label so distasteful? Because in our know-it-all knowledge economy, nestled within our GO-GO-GO-GET-‘ER-DONE society, We...

Humans. We think we’re so damned smart, don’t we? Most of us are idiots—present company ruefully included—but there’s one rather problematic area where we actually are so damned smart: We’re acutely aware that we’re going to die. We know we’re ticking time bombs ... that we’re finite ... that we’re—brace yourself—FRAGILE. And that doesn’t tend...

Last week we spoke about the tangly questions of “when do you think you’ll live to” vs. “when do you think you’ll die by.” We had a blast! Regardless of how the questions are framed, all roads seem to lead to death. We can tinker with the wording, but the truth is out there waiting...

If, hypothetically (i.e.: right here, right now), I asked you, "When do you think you’ll live to?”, what would you say? What if I asked the question slightly differently, like, “When do you think you’ll die by?”—would that have elicited a different answer? How do you think most people answer these two different questions? Please hold...

Because it’s February and the stench of love is lingering in the air, I thought we’d talk a bit about kisses of death (i.e., the ways we are slowly but surely killing ourselves limiting our lifespans &/or wrecking our lives while we’re fortunate to still have lives to wreck). I know, I know...I’m a hopeless...

Pop quiz! Let’s say you have a meeting on your busybusybusy calendar that gets cancelled at the last minute. You are faced with the delicious dilemma of What on Earth to Do with this Found Time. What do you do? A) Answer emails/ messages B) Scroll mindlessly through social media C) Do something that brings...

As a coach whose brain has been filled to the brim with all things positive psychology, my antennae are perked up on high alert when scarcity is used as a motivator instead of pom-pom wielding encouragement about all! sorts! of! exuberant! abundance! Unless you’re a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool pessimist (don’t worry—there’s hope for you yet, even...

You’ve already been made well aware (by me! You’re welcome!) that you’ve got a 4,000-ish runway of Mondays to live this one life you signed up for. If you’re anything like me, you’re hovering around the halfway-to-the-crematorium mark (okay who’s lying: I have less Mondays in front of me than behind me, unless I move...

I know it’s the start of the year, so we’re all gagging on the “fresh start effect”—research shows how powerful it is to use new beginnings to wipe the slate clean and become the person we want to be with the benefit of a fresh start. But I’m kind of into endings, so ... let’s...

Can I throw a wee little wrench into all the resolution planning you’ve been doing? Oh good, thank you. I was worried you’d be a bit defensive about it. Instead of planning all the things you’re going to do this year...all the ways you’re going to be on, can I aggressively, with teeth bared humbly...

Congratulations for not dying in 2023! 61 million people weren’t so lucky and ended up...ending. So you won the Life Lottery last year, and I hope you raised a glass of something at New Year's Eve to celebrate Still Being Alive. But wait—we can do better than that, right? Better than “Still Being Alive”? Better...