There is a great story about legendary British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, that goes something like this: At a dinner party one night, a drunk Churchill asked an attractive woman whether she would sleep with him for five million pounds. “Oh my, Mr. Churchill ... I suppose, but we would have to discuss the terms," she responded. “Would you sleep with me for five pounds?” Churchill then asked. “Of course not!?  What kind of woman do you think I am?” the woman responded … [Read more...]

Steven Pinker makes a number of lucid, persuasive arguments about culture and its role in human development in his masterpiece The Blank Slate.  He posits: The phenomena we call "culture" arises as people pool and accumulate their discoveries, and as they institute conventions to coordinate their labors and adjudicate their conflicts.  When groups of people separated by time and geography accumulate different discoveries and conventions, we use the plural and call them cultures. … [Read more...]

I want you to take a moment and put yourself in a scenario that will tell you a lot about your thought processes and inner priorities regarding individual well being versus group well being. You are married with three children.  Your family is your highest priority.  Your life is comfortable.  You earn more than $100,000 per year, or double the median American family, while your spouse stays home to run the household and raise the kids.  As your most precious asset, you spend considerable … [Read more...]

A week ago, I decided to pack up all of the high-end coffee equipment temporarily, put it in the cabinets, and break out an old-school style percolator; the type that my grandparents used when they were first married in the 1950's and 1960's.   There was something wonderfully imperfect about it.  A few coffee grinds inevitably find their way into the brew, the sound of the whirling and whooshing can be heard from several rooms away once you start the process, and it takes a little more time … [Read more...]

We've talked a lot about the importance of making sure your actions line up with the primary mission of your life.  One way I am able to do that is constantly remember what that mission is by developing main life goals and lesser life goals. As a young man, I spent a great deal of time identifying the six life goals I wanted to attain above everything else; the things that would actually make me happy (not the things society tells you that you should want).  I then identified six lesser life … [Read more...]

Take a moment to think about your life.  Picture your family.  Think about your career.  Now, ask yourself if the following phrase applies to you, right now, in this exact moment when discussing your life in general. There is no place in the world I would rather be and nothing in the world I would rather be doing. If that phrase rings true and you can say it with absolute conviction, congratulations. You are a success.  If it does not, you are not a success.  It doesn't matter how … [Read more...]