The rush is on. The holidays are here. To manage the craziness, there’s a simple equation I’ve used to maximize the joy of the season, and it follows this very beautiful and simple equation…

The hero in the ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho says that he is an adventurer, looking for treasure. Which sparked this joy in me to know there is a place, right here, where I too can can set sail, or point the wheel. Where will the treasure take us?

The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor… The only limiting factor…

This week, I tried to remember my daughters growing up. There was the usual highlights, the trips, the birthdays, the holidays. The big moments that spark and lead the way. But some of it was also lost…

There is a downside to being an optimist. Jim Collins in his seminal book ‘Good to Great’ tells a story about General Stockdale. General Stockdale was a POW in Vietnam for 8 years…

Of all the information I absorbed this week, perhaps the most powerful was a quote from a Rabbi who lived way back in 110 BC. His name was Hillel the Elder, and when asked to explain the Torah he said simply…

I had another email in the queue until January 6th became our reality. This forced me to regroup and rethink. For a minute there, everything was in a spin and being stressed, leaving me truly wondering what might happen next….

As we cut the tethers to the strangest year, I’m focusing on three words for 2021. These are intentions I plan on revisiting frequently as a measure: maybe they’ll change if better words come along, maybe they’ll fit exactly…

This week’s newsletter is hard for me to write. It’s about Tony Hsieh, who was a wildly successful entrepreneur who appeared to have the world on a string. But in the wild scree that was his life there are lessons to be learned…

My social animal awakens this time of year. I’m reminded we are all tribal beings. This time around though, we’re faced with some new challenges. Here’s some ways, perhaps, that we can work through it.

These last two weeks have been about change. Some have resisted it, some have embraced it. My own answer for change might not be for everyone. It may not even be for you. Let’s find out.

My grandfather Rodgers Donaldson was the Chief Legal Counsel at Lockheed Aircraft when he retired in the 1970’s. By then, he had seen through the magic kaleidoscope. These were his last words to me.

I struggle with managing my time. I’m not sure if it’s the COVID age, but the last few months I’ve been walking around in a gelatin dusk. The moment I wake up, I already feel woefully behind. But here’s how I get through it.

Radical Optimism is what is needed if we expect anything of substance to happen. The planting of the tree, the writing of the blog. But what is Radical Optimism, exactly? I’m beginning to look at it this way…

I didn't know Liz Strauss. But I admired her from a distance. She was one of the first ‘social media influencers’ and spearheaded the power of the Web. She once said about writing blogs…

My father, like me, doesn’t like plumbing. So my father, like me, hires a lot of plumbers when the pipes burst or things go awry. Lots of plumbers through lots of years - but here’s an encounter with someone who is truly exceptional.

I embarked on a journey with a group of wonderful individuals and the goal was simple: build something. This newsletter and Radical Optimists are the end result, a journey that asks one question: is it enough?

Today is my Mom’s birthday. She passed away 657 days ago from an infection called MRSA. MRSA is highly contagious, and if you encounter a perfect storm (and she did), it can be very deadly. This is a bit of her story….

Radical Optimism is not about being happy. Being happy can often be a mirage and a burden. I’ve been feeling it lately: the incessant grey drum beat of the pandemic. Always in the background, always ticking away…

This podcast with the ever thoughtful Nina Polo Marcellier for her Quarantine Phone Calls podcast outlines my greatest struggles, some successes, and maybe one way we can deal with the Pandemic. You might find this helpful.