Putting Up Roadblocks

The first Executive Order to come from the new President was withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This was a relatively uncontroversial move, and was also a pretty toothless move, as Congress had effectively withdrawn the US from TPP in 2016. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and many other technologists were in favor of withdrawing from TPP for a very different reason--secretive clauses about US copyright--than the President's protectionism.

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Happiness is a Warm Trader Joe's

I am fascinated by Trader Joe's. How does it manage to never lose its shine? It is a privately held subsidiary of a German company that earns over $10 billion a year, yet every one feels like an Anytown, U.S.A. mom and pop shop. The brand is so well-cultivated, and yet, unlike Disney, which has been not-so-secretly nicknamed "Mauschwitz" by its employees, there doesn't seem to be a Sword of Damacles hovering over its staff to conform to the corporate brand.

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Putting the Past in the Past

I remember reading years ago that resumes would become a thing of the past. People's personal web sites or biographies or sizzle reels would take the place of the old staid resumes, and that would be a good thing.To be honest, I don't know how that shift is progressing in the workforce at large; I haven't updated my resume in years. But I am curious about the limitations of things like resumes.

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To Be First and Last

In my sophomore year of college, I picked up a slim paperback that would change my perspective entirely. "22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Ries & trout is a quick read, and its lessons are easy to grasp. It was my very first marketing book, and I referred to it often as I started up organizations, and then businesses. I still recommend it to clients and friends, and I know it has gotten a lot of attention because Tim Ferriss considers it one of the most important books for an entrepreneur to read. But he recommends the original 1993 version that I still read, even though it is incredibly dated.

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Connecting the Lonely Person of Faith

Connecting the Lonely Person of Faith

"I am lonely." These words must have been radical 60 years ago. "...I, thank God, do enjoy the love and friendship of many. I meet people, talk, preach, argue, reason; I am surrounded by comrades and acquaintances. And yet, companionship and friendship do not alleviate the passional experience of loneliness which trails me constantly." I've been thinking of Joseph B. Soloveitchik's words all day... especially today.

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When a Full Moon is just a Full Moon

When a Full Moon is just a Full Moon

Before sunrise this morning, I wheeled the garbage pail to the curb and noticed I could see a lot more than I usually could in the dark. A phenomenal full moon cast its light so bright, I paused to think about it. It suddenly, um, dawned on me that today was Friday the 13th. I thought for a moment about triskaidekaphobia, the paralyzing fear of the number 13. I imagined that it would be a big deal if I believed in superstitions.

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When Cars Come Alive

When Cars Come Alive

The pediatrician told us to go to the emergency room. My son's asthma attack wasn't so bad that we needed an ambulance, but the doctor didn't have the magnesium sulfate that an emergency room would. So--it was so many years ago, but still fresh in my memory!--on an icy narrow one-way seat in Queens, I buckled my toddler into his four-point harness, as a row of cars honked at me. I filled with rage. But I stayed focused. I drove ahead. When we reached the service road, the car behind me screeched, pulled alongside me, and I saw a middle finger through the foggy glass.

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Takeaways from College Interviews

Takeaways from College Interviews

Every year for a decade or so, I have interviewed high school students for my alma mater. As much as I want to give back, I find myself enriched by the experience each year, too. One student years ago introduced me to the concept of "10,000 hours of purposeful practice." Others, who have excelled in research laboratories, have given me insight into the future of medical developments and biotech advancements. Still others regale me with fascinating tales of trips to Africa, Asia, Latin America. But I warn them, "This interview will likely make little difference on your likelihood of acceptance."

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Back to the Future of Business

Back to the Future of Business

Go is the oldest game in the world. I used to play it when I was younger, and I was intrigued when I was told the greatest Go masters were more deft than a computer, because Go was as much an art as a discipline. When Garry Kasparov lost to Deep Blue in a 1996 chess match in which Kasparov had no ability to psych out his opponent, the supremacy of machine over man was seen as a watershed moment. Still, no computer had beaten a Go champion.

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Parents in an Age of Entrepreneurship

Parents in an Age of Entrepreneurship

There was a time when we were spending almost $35,000 a year on child care. My oldest was in day care, and my youngest was just born, and, with no infant day care in the neighborhood, we decided to hire a nanny. Note that I didn't say we were forced to hire a nanny. I am a firm believer in the ready availability of choices, no matter how limited the options. We could have looked outside the neighborhood for infant day care. We could have hired a nanny to watch both kids. We could have done any number of things.

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Golden Slumbers and a Rising Phoenix

Golden Slumbers and a Rising Phoenix

I used to love "American Idol." I have been on record as saying that "American Idol" was the biggest influence on music from the year 2002 to present day. And I loved predicting winners. I was almost always wrong, but I did win in an "American Idol" pool once. Part of my failure at predicting winners each year was my emotional investment in each year. I rooted too much to analyze clear-eyed.

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Mulling Meaning in My Son's Math Quiz

Mulling Meaning in My Son's Math Quiz

This morning, I woke up and thought about how I try to squeeze extra value from each minute of each day, by finding easy ways to connect to my phone. Yes, people decry technology, and especially the phone, but I connect my phone immediately in my car, to initiate my "university on wheels," as Brian Tracy calls it. I even walk around with headphones in my pocket in case I get a free moment to listen to an audiobook or podcast, which I listen to at double speed. Walking around with a paperback would not yield such ROI.

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Something to Meditate On

Something to Meditate On

After almost a month, I attended a restorative yoga class that I usually attend weekly. It was like an exhalation. Up until a couple of years ago, I didn't buy into yoga or meditation or other crunchy stuff like that. I have called myself a "pragmatic idealist" for ages, but prided myself more on my pragmatism, and I never considered yoga pragmatic.

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His Photographs Turn Dance Into Sculpture

His Photographs Turn Dance Into Sculpture

When Alan Cumming appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, he made sure to discuss his album cover that was taken from a photograph by Jordan Matter. The shot, part of a collection of nudes that appears in Jordan's new book Dancers After Dark, the follow up to the New York Times Bestseller Dancers Among Us, is breathtaking. In my opinion, it is a monumental achievement.

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The Surfer's Life Artist and Battles of the (Personal) Brand

The Surfer's Life Artist and Battles of the (Personal) Brand

Jimmy Buffett received a welcome gift on New Year's Eve: a hand-painted surfboard from SoCal's "Surf Life Artist" Nelson Ruger. Nelson had been a Broadway designer, and had worked for Apple, and even designed theme parks, but he had a vision of how his life as an artist was meant to be: bringing a little Aloha into the lives of those who appreciated his work. And here he got the opportunity to bring Aloha to Margaritaville.

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