My dad loves to talk about his adolescence and young adulthood. He’s got great stories of all of his early jobs, most notably working at his grandmother’s vacation cabins and shop, the Kittery-York Drive-In, and Mount Snow ski resort. But he decided to be proactive and enlist in the Air Force in 1966.

As much as my dad loves hard work, he did not love being in the service, although he made the best of it and has a lot of stories about that, too. His favorite one is to share his early mindset about joining the military. “I just kept thinking about 1970, when I’d be out. It felt so far away.” And then the punchline: “And now 1970 is fifty years ago!”

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When I started designing a school curriculum, my intent was to make things fun whenever possible.

After all, learning is fun. Why shouldn’t school be fun?

I added brain teasers, puzzles, and games to the menu — and discovered that they did nothing to entice reluctant students. They felt just the same way about the supposedly “fun” activities as they did about the straightforward “read this chapter and answer the questions” assignments. They inspired dread, mostly.

I had overlooked a basic paradox of education: The puzzles designed to make learning fun are only fun for the learners who are already having fun.

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One of my employees has been out sick with the coronavirus for six weeks, entirely unable to work during that time.

I’m happy to report that she’s feeling a bit better — she isn’t having breathing problems now — but her energy and focus are still a long way from allowing her to return at one hundred percent.

So in the meantime, I’ve been spending a few hours each day doing her job. And that’s been pretty satisfying, because I already know how to do her job. I feel productive, industrious, and competent, checking things off the list and watching stuff happen.

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I started rowing due to peer pressure.

The only people I knew in my new city were rowers, so I took up rowing. That was fine with me — I love early mornings, being on the water, and working as part of a team.

I didn’t love rowing, though. Not at first. It was confusing, physically demanding, and even a little bit painful (blisters upon blisters). And if I messed up particularly badly, I might unwittingly toss a half dozen people into the sea.

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I remember the realization, years ago, that I wasn’t sure how I was going to make payroll two weeks later.

Sort of. Honestly, it’s happened so many times that it all sort of blends together now. But I do remember the feeling of the raging storm in the pit of my stomach, walking through the world with a tremendous and constant sense of distraction, unable to focus on work, my daily routine, or anything other than the fact that I was a huge failure.

I learned from the experience. I learned how to ask for help. I learned how to look at exactly what is happening in my business right now instead of letting the future be vague and hopeful. I learned how to run a leaner organization and not say yes to everyone I liked and wanted to hire.

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