Leader: Know Thy Biases
The road sign in my home state of Washington read: “Litter and it will hurt.” I didn’t think twice about it, but our guests from nearby Vancouver, British…
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Slow That Decision Down
“Don't rush me, sonny! You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles,” warned Billy Crystal, costumed up as Miracle Max in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride. In…
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Hobbies for Perfectionists
The Wharton-educated bank executive quits weekend bird-watching excursions after missing a prothonotary warbler (rare orange and yellow-headed songbird) sighting. The tenured physics professor storms out of the kitchen…
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The Science of Play
As a kid who wasn’t allowed to watch television, the focus of my childhood was play. The games are too many to count. There was, for example, a…
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Churchill’s Finest Hobby
Winston Churchill once wrote that “The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance”. He knew this well. Even as…
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The Magic of an Outside Perspective
Personal growth comes from self-awareness, and the practice of journaling is a phenomenal way to start that process with regular reflection—as long as your reflection is accurate. If…
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What Does “Character” Even Mean?
Consider some famous names from the business world in recent years. Bernie Madoff. Ken Lay. Bernie Ebbers. What do they all have in common? One thing is that…
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Guarding Our Integrity
“I knew it was a fake check,” she said. “But if I didn’t come up with the money, we were going to lose our car.” In more than…
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When Nobody’s Looking
Julius Caesar Watts memorably said that “character”—meaning good character—is about “doing what’s right when nobody’s looking.” Watts would know a lot about people looking on. From the Oklahoma…
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Living the Impossible Dream
Your ambitious goal isn’t impossible to accomplish—and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The first step in making any endeavor possible is dismissing the naysayers who insist that…
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Prevent Fear from Keeping You Stuck
Fear is universal. The gymnast fears stumbling instead of sticking the perfect landing. The singer fears a moment of wavering pitch. The serious speaker fears laughter; the joker…
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What Extreme Athletes Can Teach Us About Overcoming Our Fears
At twelve years old, when most girls her age were learning algebra and crushing on the members of NSYNC, Samantha Larson was preparing to conquer a fear that…
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