I am sure you have had those perfect, amazing moments where everything just seems to work. Often called “flow states” or “peak experiences”, we produce some of our most amazing work during those times, and experience a breadth and depth of humanity that is not often seen. This is my journey from being burned out and exhausted to finding a workable way to get to a flow state on a daily basis. (more…)

A rather unfortunate incident turned into a source of entertainment for me today…

The unfortunate incident was that my old desktop computer, which I set up in 2006 and used pretty much every day since, finally gave up the ghost. Therefore, I spent most of this weekend setting up a new desktop system (a Shuttle SX38P2 Pro with an Intel E8400 processor overclocked to 3.4GHz/1600MHz FSB, if you’re curious.)

While setting up my new desktop, I decided it was probably time to “clean house” a bit and go through all my old documents. I spent a few hours weeding out over 50GB (!) of no-longer-needed files. While digging through archives of documents I had saved, I came across a gem: A PDF report from the National Association of Realtors, which is dated November 28, 2005. (more…)

We’ve all heard it in the news. “RECESSION!” scream the headlines. These headlines and news articles about upcoming recessions are designed to induce fear. However, instead of worrying about getting laid off, losing your house, or any of the other scenarios that the media loves to portray, I’d like you to consider this: What if the upcoming recession is an opportunity for you to make more money than you are now — and be happier to boot? (more…)

I think it started with my recent post about business cards, actually. But I really noticed it when I logged in to my LinkedIn account recently.

Encouraged by Seth, I am slowly getting into the habit of typing all the names and email addresses of people I meet at conferences into LinkedIn. After going to BarCampBank SF last weekend, I logged into LinkedIn, and there was my current job description: “Temporarily retired” at “my house.” For the first time, it wasn’t tongue-in-cheek humorous anymore. It actually made me cringe. (more…)