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I started teaching music lessons because it was a skill I had that matched what people were looking for.
Once I moved to my new city, it took a few months for people to find me, but after that, I had all the students I needed.
I didn't leave it there, though. I took a next step: What about all of the people whom I couldn't serve because I already had too many students? I needed to find a solution for them.
Read MoreNobody really wants to hear the boss gripe about pet peeves, but let me tell you the one thing that saps my life force faster than anything.
It's when I'm asked to weigh in on something that someone else could decide, especially if I've already asked that someone else to take care of it.
"I wasn't able to reach them. Would you like me to try again?"
Read MoreWhen I left college, I thought I was going to be a performing songwriter.
I recorded an album of original songs that year.
I recorded another album of original songs eighteen months later.
And since then...nothing.
I've written songs, but I've never gotten back to the mindset I once had in which writing and recording songs meant everything.
Read MoreRunning a tiny, weird school exposes some fascinating and frustrating human behavior.
From prospective families who decide not to enroll, I often hear, "We love your program, but we're going to give our public school a try first. Who knows, maybe we'll be contacting you again if it doesn't work out!"
It’s understandable that people would be reluctant to take the risk, financial and educational, of trying something different. But I also hear, equally often, "We wish we had started with you sooner!" from parents who return a year or two later, finally ready to give us a try.
Read MoreWould you rather gain $20 or avoid losing $20?
Studies have shown that the relief of not losing $20 is greater than the satisfaction that we get from gaining $20 — or, put another way, that the pain of losing $20 is bigger than the satisfaction of gaining $20.
We humans tend to focus more on potential losses than potential gains. Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman were the first to note this phenomenon. They called it “loss aversion.” And if we’re not careful, it will rule us.
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