My favorite, favorite thing to do is work with people who already incredible at what they do.

Sure, it's kind of cheating. It's not very hard to help someone great become even greater.

Superstars move quickly, meaning that results show up quickly, too. And they tend to make a big impact. They influence others, meaning that helping these leaders is a way of helping many people all at once.

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My niece, age four, was practicing her letters. It was not going well.

“This is is the [most] tewwible W I’ve evew seen!” she said angrily, already imposing unrealistic expectations upon herself at her tender age.

This is normal behavior for a four-year-old, but it is nonetheless painful to witness. As an adult, I wish I could have helped her to understand that it’s okay to create letters that aren’t perfect—there is no reason that she should feel bad about herself. But that’s not the kind of thing you can tell somebody. They have to figure it out for themselves.

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When I first started working with small business owners, I was a little intimidated.

I had been a music major in college, after all, and I’d spent the larger part of my career working with kids. I wasn’t sure how valuable my contributions would really be.

Well, imagine my delight when I discovered that the needs of adults aren’t actually that different from the needs of twelve-year-olds. The fart jokes are fewer and farther between, more’s the pity. But what we require to stay on track, feel good, and succeed is pretty much the same no matter how old we are.

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I recently injured my shoulder — I don’t know how. I think maybe from sleeping?

Anyway, it felt a little scary. Every day, I would gasp in pain at least once as I went about my daily activities, unwittingly aggravating the sore muscle. Or was it a torn muscle? I decided to have it looked at.

Naturally, after I booked the appointment, things started to get a little better. By the time I went in to see the orthopedist, I was in a lot less pain. He confirmed what I already suspected: Nothing was broken or torn, and my best course of action was anti-inflammatories and lots of stretching.

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At a party for The Little Middle School, I watched a student cut herself a piece of cake.

It was a challenging motor planning exercise with many elements. At what angle should the knife be held? What side of the cake should I cut into? How do I deal with the fact that my height relative to the cake is not optimal? How do I get the cake onto my plate with this cake knife? How do I balance the weight transfer of the piece of cake onto the plate I’m holding if my dominant hand is busy with the cake knife?

She managed — barely. But it was time well spent. The more she practices such tasks, the better she will get at them. There is no shortcut and no substitute.

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