Leading The Flock

I spent the night once in the DuPage County Jail in Chicago. I got there by being a leader, leading five other young men in the wrong direction. I saw a video recently that reminded me when a leader is wrong, it has serious impacts on many other people. In this video, we are watching an unremarkable street…

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Risky Business

If you know anything about Oklahoma, you know that the state is known for its tornadoes. Oklahoma is the center of Tornado Alley, a stretch of the central part of the United States between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains, and often ranks at or near the top for total number of tornadoes, total…

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Mice And Men

But Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!  I broke my elbow this weekend. It’s an embarrassing story that involves a skateboard, a slick garage floor, and me having no business being on a skateboard.…

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Shiny Things

“Life is about perspective and how you look at something… ultimately, you have to zoom out.”  – Whitney Wolfe Herd I have a friend who finds great enjoyment and some amount of solace in having something to look forward to. It doesn’t really matter what it is, as long as it is in the reasonably…

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Cruel To Be Kind

In 1979, Nick Lowe released “Cruel To Be Kind” which peaked at #12 on the US charts that summer. The video for the song was played on MTV on the first day of broadcasting and was shot during Nick and Carlene Carter’s wedding (shooting the video actually made him late for the wedding.) The refrain…

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Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself (And Spiders)

I designed a shirt once that said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself…and spiders.” You can see the design here. The shirt would be gray with black and red print. The ‘l’ in ‘itself’ extends down as the web and ends in a black widow spider. There is another spider on the back, left…

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Risky Business

In the 1983 movie by the same name, Joel Goodsen (Tom Cruise) nearly makes a career out of misunderstanding the risks associated with several decisions he makes while his parents are out of town. Unfortunately, this is not just the purview of coming-of-age comedy films. We often fail to understand and accurately assess the risks…

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Progress not Perfection

“Trying to design the perfect plan is the perfect recipe for disappointment.” —Patrick Lencioni We are not perfect. We are, in fact, irrational creatures who often act against our own best interests. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded a Nobel Prize in economics to Richard Thaler for his work in behavioral economics—or why we…

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In God We Trust

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend -them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil, and danger, and expense of treasure and blood,…

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Love Will Tear Us Apart

In the opening to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, lead singer Ian Curtis sings about his failing relationship with his wife. He describes how their relationship has become routine, ambitions are low, and the resentment that naturally follows is tearing them apart. Sadly, Curtis killed himself on May 18, 1980, shortly after…

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