Our most precious resources include not just our time and energy, but also our attention.

I have observed that attention is finite. I see that in my students and clients, and I see it in myself over the course of a typical day. Attention gets used up, and we need to rest to replenish it.

But to the degree that we can focus, we can conserve our attention in order to accomplish what matters most.

Read More

A year ago, my parents and I went with my brother and his family to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral to see a Space X rocket take off and explore the visitor complex.

The rocket launch was a dazzling display, and seeing the space shuttle Atlantis was really cool. However, it’s the Saturn V rocket that has stuck with me the most. I simply couldn’t believe how big it was. I could visualize it in my mind, but seeing it was something else. I was truly in awe. We humans designed and built these enormous rockets, more than fifty years ago, to send people to the moon? How audacious. How improbable.

Read More

From middle schoolers to experienced executives, I have seen the same challenge: We put ourselves last.

We show up where we’re supposed to show up, which is almost always at someone else’s behest, whether it’s math class or a client meeting.

Then, we tend to do the stuff that’s in front of us. For some of us, it’s eating snacks and playing video games; for others, it’s answering emails and phone calls.

Read More

I keep thinking I’m going to run out of stuff to talk to you about. But the cool thing is that I keep learning and growing. I’m not just having new ideas about stuff to write — I’m having new ideas in general, triggered by the events and circumstances of my life.

And one fresh idea is something I’m calling the threshold effect. This concept has been coming up lately as I talk to parents about how to help their kids pursue passionate interests, making the most of the abundant free time that so many of them have during this phase of the pandemic.

Read More

For years, I did my most important work in the nooks and crannies of my life.

I was so busy serving clients during the workday and into the evening that key activities, like curriculum development and building a website, took place during weekends and (shudder) holidays.

I also had little time for non-career-related self-development (like hobbies, exercise, friends, and fun).

Read More