It’s Pretty Hard, But Very Rewarding Are you often in a hurry? Do you feel in a frenzy when there’s a lot going on? Then maybe it’s time to try what I call, “The Pause Challenge.” “What’s that?” you might ask. Before answering, I take a conscious breath and pause … (That’s it!) That’s right, this challenge simply involves taking a […]
Something Did, But Who or What? Imagine your job is to guide airplanes up and down the runway at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Pretty exciting, considering around 2500 planes use the airport daily. But not as exciting as what you witnessed one afternoon. You look up and spot a large, gray disc hovering above one of the gates. You glance at your […]
A Metaphor For The Curious For many, Lent makes no sense. The 40 days of fasting, the self-denial, the giving up of stuff we love. “How could anyone give up chocolate? or beer? or (fill in the blank)… That’s crazy!” are words some of my heathen friends say (just kidding about the heathen part, haha.) Aside from the self-discipline that fasting […]
You May Never Watch TV The Same Again… What if you could read a screenplay while watching the actual movie? What if I told you every TV out there can do something like this, for free? I discovered the full power of this vastly underused feature after years of playing the drums began to affect my hearing. Yeah, I probably should […]
The Real Deal Behind this misunderstood “Writing Rule” Here’s a rule pounded into the sponge-like brains of writers: never end a sentence with a preposition! (they’re yelling because they’re a know-it-all). Don’t you love it when know-it-alls are wrong? I do, ‘cause it gives hope to those of us who know we know little. Examples of preposition-ending sentences (from the Apple […]
I Don’t Hit Publish Without It Everyone reads the headline, which usually determines if they read the article. With so much power, headline-writing skills are essential for your writing success. Turns out there’s an app for that, or a website actually. The Sharethrough Headline Analyzer uses Behavior Model theory, neuroscience, and ad research to rate headlines on a scale of […]
You Can’t See It, But You Can Feel It I was a pretty average Joe, trying to get the proper exercise and nutrition, but I was missing something huge, and it was all around me. Invisible to the naked eye, it’s as real as other stuff we can’t see, like wifi signals and the air we breathe. I’m talking about your […]
Easily Attained, But Difficult to Accept Walking in nature, a neighbor called out to me from another trail. Keeping socially distanced, he told me about his new girlfriend. Man, I thought, here was a senior citizen playing the dating game in the middle of a pandemic. He already met a couple of women online, but it was a librarian who piqued […]
There’s a Few Things You Should Know As your future self, I’ve got some good news and bad news. What do you want first? Younger self: “I guess the bad news. Wait, why am I talking to myself?” You’re not. You change by the day, by the hour. We all do, so imagine yourself eight years from now. You’re a new […]
How One Surprising App is Changing Everything Her silvery voice spoke truths so clear, but her words just dissolved into the atmosphere. She had no platform, no follower count or even a bank account. Yet, she uttered wisdoms fitting for the Sermon on the Mount. Okay, that’s enough rhyming for now… I’ll just tell the story … from imagination, of course. […]