Is This Really Necessary?

  Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play If there is one word that describes our modern, hectic lifestyles, it’s “obligation.”  We are connected 24/7 to our devices, and literally anyone in the world with a smartphone can reach out to us. Our inboxes are filled with email from marketers, influencers, clients, … Read more

The Other Side of Your Comfort Zone

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play In the year 532, the emperor Justinian stood gazing at the smoking ruins of Constantinople’s patriarchal church that had just been burned to the ground by riots. As the leader of the Byzantine empire, he wanted to build a cathedral that would surpass the glory … Read more

Put Some Love Into It

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play Put Some Love Into It If your writing was a cake, what would the ingredients be? You would certainly include structure. You’d think about the audience. If you were writing research, you would include some data or case studies. If writing fiction, you would make … Read more

What If?

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the military historian Robert Cowley coordinated a fascinating series of books called What If? The books featured essays by prominent historians, each one looking at a particular “what if” question in history. For example: What if the Mayflower … Read more

The Most Powerful Two-Letter Word

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play What do powerful words look like?  When you think of powerful words, you probably imagine Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, or JFK giving a speech about America’s mission to go to the moon. Or maybe imagine an author like Maya Angelou talking about how … Read more

Stuck in the Twilight Zone

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play One of the most popular episodes of the original Twilight Zone series is “Time Enough at Last.” Burgess Meredith plays Henry Bemis, a bank teller with thick glasses who is obsessed with reading. One day during his lunch break, he goes to the bank vault … Read more

Cynics Don’t Change the World

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play Every period in history seems like the worst for people going through it. 2020 has certainly been a challenging year on many levels. We’ve still in the middle of a global pandemic, we had a bitter election in the United States, the economy has been … Read more

The Wicked Witch Isn’t Real

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play Anyone who grew up in the second half of the 20th century was familiar with two icons of pop culture: The Wizard of Oz and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. On the surface, these two couldn’t be more different. The Wizard of Oz was a 1939 movie … Read more