Everybody’s abuzz about the new book, Manage Your Day-to-Day, by the folks at 99U. The subtitle—build your routine, find your focus & sharpen your creative mind—pretty much describes the insides. For those of us drawn, for whatever reasons, to the productivity, self-help, get-creative, work-smarter books, this one hums. It’s succinct. Editor Joycelyn […]
It’s graduation season again, and I watch the Clinton School of Public Service students cross the stage—brighter and more motivated than ever. I’m hopeful because I know (from the previous five years) the kinds of places they’re headed and how they will begin to make their patch of the world a better place. (And as […]
Late last month when the Supreme Court met to hear arguments on same-sex marriage, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) launched a show of support for marriage equality. On March 25th the HRC urged its followers (and their friends and families) to change their Facebook profile pictures to the red and pink equal sign. […]
Wrong Thinking about Charity. Dan Pallotta hits the nail on the head with this provocative talk. Around 1994 I introduced a Marketing Plan to the board of directors of a nonprofit I worked with. It called for modest expense and would grow marketing revenue from $3 million to $20 million over five years. After my […]
“What makes you itch? … How would you really enjoy spending your life?” In this three-minute reflection, the late Alan Watts says “it’s better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing.”
One morning I wrote down everything I could imagine to be afraid of: my dog could run away; I could get really sick, be a bad parent, not be able to pay bills; I could be fooling myself; people may laugh behind my back; the Middle East could erupt into even more […]
Need a pick-me-up to keep moving? I know I often do. First, this short video of Ira Glass is about story telling, but the idea holds for whatever you’re working on. Then head over to Kirstin Butler’s Five Manifestos for the Creative Life. You’ll find The Cult of Done Manifesto, Right Brain Terrain, and three […]
My biggest challenge in writing this post was picking which film to highlight. Go to Focus Forward where you’ll find a series of 30 three-minute films, “about innovative people who are reshaping the world through act or invention.” World-acclaimed documentarians tell the stories of people with life-changing ideas. A businessman has introduced the internet to 10,000 Pakistanis […]
Chances that you’ll soon find a way to raise giant sums for your cause are slim. Your chances over time to find a way to raise giant sums are actually good — if you keep at it. And one best ways to think long term is the flywheel, a concept from […]
New Year. New Habits. Ariel Schwartz in Fast Company describes Lift, a mobile phone app for tracking new habits. I just signed up. And you can understand how to create new ones by reading The Power of Habit. (I’m about half way through and definitely recommend.) Outrospection. An RSA animate explores Outrospection. Empathy helps us be […]
