Posts in “Persistence”

I used to be terrible with women. Terrible. When I consider my 20s, I recall a litany of missed opportunities, crossed wires and utter fumbles I had no idea how to correct.  This problem persisted for a long time. It's not like I had one bad year and then figured it out.

Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results

This is a warning that accompanies a lot of investment information. In this context it means "just because this investment did amazingly well for the past ten years does…Read more→

Persist. Keep going. Don't give up. Do the work. In athletics, entrepreneurship, dating, and many other arenas the advice is the same. Why?

Why is all advice ultimately the same? Because it's all there is.

At a recent university talk, Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor of The New Yorker magazine, explained what it takes to get cartoons included in this excellent publication—don't give up. He talked about the value of a daily routine. You sit down at your desk at the same time each day, and you…Read more→

Want to better understand women? Think about connecting with their experience. This short video, with 30 million+ views, has been making the rounds of the web. The harrassment women face is a reminder that context is important, words matter, and big cities have distinct social norms.

Big city vs. small: social norms

Big cities have their own social norms, especially crowded, busy places like Manhattan. Living in a small midwestern city, I'm used to courteous strangers, people…Read more→

Perhaps you just take yourself too seriously, or are too fixated on what could go wrong. Instead, ask yourself "What's the worst that could happen?" You'll usually find the answer is "not much."

When approaching someone, there's usually a slight feeling of nervousness, of butterflies in the stomach. Like I'm getting ready for public speaking, or about to meet someone important of famous. Of course, it is nothing so grand, I'm just talking to a stranger. I saw her sitting on the steps in the…Read more→

A family friend will graduate high school next year, and I've been pondering what will make a thoughful graduation card. A gift is easy—cash or gift cards are always appreciated. But what is the best message I can give them?

I'm 40 years old at this writing. I don't consider myself a wise old soul, but I have lived long enough to reflect on what has been most helpful to my own personal development. Here are four tips for younger readers. 

Inquisitiveness

To the extent that I've had…Read more→