The Estate Sale

One of our favorite things to do as a family is go to estate sales. We’ve been doing it for years. Walk through our house and you’ll see the evidence — furniture, quilts, cookware, books, decorations. There’s no shortage of things we’ve found in other people’s homes that have become part of ours. What I’ve … Continue reading The Estate Sale

What Do You Have to Offer?

Cal Newport asks a question that most people get backwards. The passion mindset asks, “what can the world offer me?” The craftsman mindset asks, “what can I offer the world?” I’ve been sitting with that second question for a while now. And the honest answer surprised me. For a long time, I didn’t think I … Continue reading What Do You Have to Offer?

Fifteen Years Later

I ran across something I wrote in 2011 about Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. The idea that stuck with me then was simple: a character doesn’t change unless they go through hard times and conflict. Without it, the character stays one-dimensional. I used Braveheart as my example. I’ve always loved that … Continue reading Fifteen Years Later

The Craving

It took two days. Two days into assessment week — a planned break between rounds of the 7-40 Challenge — and I was already craving the structure I’d stepped away from. I’ll admit, some of the break was good. I stopped listening to audiobooks for a few days and let my mind clear out. That … Continue reading The Craving

Nobody’s Going to Tell You to Go

Day 76 | The 7-40 Challenge I started reading Seth Godin's Tribes this morning. Early in the book, he draws a line between managers and leaders that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Managers make widgets. Leaders make change. Managers manipulate resources to get a known job done. Leaders create change they believe in. I've … Continue reading Nobody’s Going to Tell You to Go