For about 10 years, I regularly did public speaking both professionally and personally. Over the years, as I became more experienced and worked on it, I went from being nervous and terrified, to quite comfortable speaking to audiences up to several hundred people. I remember a mentor telling me, “You’ll be surprised what people take…
Loneliness Cure
I am alone most of the time, but I am rarely lonely Apparently I’m an outlier – or at least I am when compared to many other people. Psychologists, therapists, authors and media report that we have a loneliness epidemic. Ever since the book “Bowling Alone” was written in 2000, people have been feeling more…
If It’s Important, Do It Everyday
A rule I live by is, “If It’s Important, Do It Everyday”. I first heard this many years ago from a weight lifting coach talking about doing squats. His advice was controversial because it went against the conventional training approach that scheduled multiple days off between workouts because they were required for recovery. I won’t…
Brick By Brick
When I was a guest on the Solo podcast and talking about how I met my wife, the host asked if I believed in love at first sight. I wasn’t expecting that question and burned out “yes”. ” because I was thinking about how gaga I was for Ellen from the moment I met her….
Small Victories
A few days ago, when I put on a shirt I hadn’t worn in a while, I looked down at the sleeves I had shortened with disappointment. I used a stitch that looked terrible. On top of that, neither cuff was sewn straight. One was even double sewn in places, as if a drunk man…
I Was Made For This
On my Solo Podcast episode a few weeks ago, we were discussing the host’s 10-year plan for the Solo project when he said, “I was made for this.” I can relate. I’ve said that many times. When my wife was undergoing treatments for lung cancer she needed to lean hard on me for everything from…
My First Podcast Guest Spot*
The Solo Podcast episode has gone live. I was pleasantly surprised by my voice – a little nasally, but not nearly as Kermit-the-Frogish as I had expected. I came away from listening to it thinking, “Wow, I sound really confident, energetic and not the least bit monotone.” I was expecting to come across as flat,…
More Than Enough
Now that summer temperatures have finally arrived in Raleigh, I decided to rearrange my clothing on the shelves in my closet. It was time to move my winter shirts to a lower shelf and organize my summer shirts by size and sleeve length. Since I moved here four years ago, I’ve transitioned from wearing size…
Other People Can’t Fill The Hole
Since I wrote You Can’t Fill The Hole a few days ago I’ve been thinking about this concept and seeing it exhibited in people close to me. I know when my friend is struggling with his Loneliness Hole because he’ll call me everyday (long with a rotation of other friends), instead of once a week….
When Everyone’s A Star
TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Podcasts and blogs have made it possible for anyone to post content online. As a result, there has been an exponential explosion of user generated content. Most of it is bad. We now have millions of: One of the least interesting current trends is videos of someone watching someone else’s clip and…