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Have you listened to the radio recently? I was on a radio interview with the CBC last week with Jo-Ann Roberts. It reminded me about a lot of stuff I had forgotten about in radio culture– things that are necessary because of channel-surfing that goes on with most listeners. One of those things is to [...]
Guys, I normally don’t do this kind of thing, but Escape From Cubicle Nation is amazing. I just met Pam Slim this week. We were getting awards for our books at the 800 CEO READ awards and as a result, we ended up trading books. I just finished reading hers and it’s so great. You [...]
I’m reading this amazing blog right now called Marshall and Me. It’s Michael Hinton, a guy I met a few months ago, writing a post every day about something or other that Marshall McLuhan wrote. He’s doing 300 posts. (I love projects that have finite endings. Rules For My Unborn Son is another.) Anyway, it’s [...]
Do, or do not– you know how it goes. Right now, it’s 9am. I just finished my Crossfit workout for the day. A few months ago, I did not work out at 9 in the morning. Not a chance. But today I was diligently up at 6:45 because my New York trip prevents me from [...]
When we’re young, we’re curious. We experiment a lot. We don’t mind trying new things, whether it’s walking on our hands, running backwards, putting our hand in the toilet, or whatever. We do this even if the result is to get hurt, and that’s because our curiosity drives the understanding of how the world works. [...]
Magazine readers still have a hell of a time finding out about the stuff they see inside, don’t they? First, they write it down. Then they get to a web connection (computer or iPhone if they’re lucky). Then they Google it– and that’s just to get started. The percentage that lose interest along the way [...]
A life that has been wasted leaves a body intact and pristine– but a life that has been properly used leaves scars. Scars tell stories. They are what’s left by mistakes we’ve made. They’re what remind us of the places we’ve been and the people we’ve known. Scars also tell us that we can handle [...]
I saw this Fairmont doorman this morning in Calgary. Cute hat, right? The hat is part of a uniform, of course, along with the coat and everything else he wears. He puts it on every day. But it’s also more than that. Every time this doorman puts on this uniform, he plays a role– one [...]
Ever wonder where your opinions come from? Jonathan Safran Foer, a pretty famous author, just published Eating Animals, a whole book about his becoming vegetarian in a time where nobody wants to hear about it at all (even me). Can you imagine trying to change someone’s mind like this? Opinions are often smart, but what’s [...]
Have you been reading this blog via RSS? It may be time to take another look. Today, the team at Stresslimitdesign and I are making public the final redesign of this blog, which has otherwise been half-assedly designed by myself since 2004. Only now, however, can I say I’m really happy of the way it [...]
Imagine that the coffee shop you visited today knew that you would leave a Yelp review. What would happen? Maybe they’d treat you well, an extra dose of courtesy or maybe a little more food. They might offer you a brownie for free at the end of the day or something, since they’re getting rid [...]
When I first saw Wil Murray’s art, I was pretty sure it was ugly. My friend Justin Evans, the co-founder of Stresslimitdesign, had one of his pieces on his wall. I had gone over to his house, looked at the painting and thought, “I don’t think I’m smart enough for this.” Either that, or it [...]
Every two weeks or so, Mitch Joel, myself, and a few other smart guys get together and do a show called Media Hacks. In case you haven’t checked it out, we talk about all sorts of awesome internet stuff. Episode #23 just came out, so you should check it out and report back. There will [...]
The only way to get ahead is to do what others will not. If you’re in a job and you’re wondering why it takes so long to get a promotion, wonder no longer. Everyone has a job. Everyone is working 9 to 5. Everyone follows the rules. Never mind if you’re in a huge company– [...]
We don’t always realize it, but right now, there are three selves making decisions. The weakest of all is present self. Present self is lazy, and would rather play video games than clean up the house or catch up on reading. Present self feels fear and stays in rather than going out and meeting new [...]
You know what else makes a huge difference? Controlling your emotional state. The first step in that is to recognize that how you feel will impact what you do, or how well you do it. Why did I want to skip class yesterday? Was it because I was having fun playing cards, or because I [...]
“To be governed by appetite alone is slavery, while obedience to a law one prescribes oneself is freedom.” I don’t know about you, but I was pretty stupid when I was younger. I really believed that I should only do what I feel like at the moment, not what I really cared about in general. [...]
The internet is like a giant cocktail party. No one wants to hang out with those who are hanging out alone, while people that are laughing, good-looking, and popular get all the attention. And the rich get richer, of course, so through this very behaviour, we reinforce who is popular and who is not. It [...]
As Dan Pink says in Drive, “mastery is a pain.” Have you ever wanted to do something, but knew you would have to get through tough times to get there? To go through the dip? Unsure about whether it’ll be worthwhile or not? If something will take a year of my life, I don’t think [...]
I was writing some goal type emails to Chris earlier. We’ve been sharing what we have in mind for the New Year, and I realized that I had no idea, so I wrote this out kind of on impulse. Maybe it’ll help you out. BE MORE ARTISTIC – Before my life on the internet, I [...]
My favourite album from childhood is Paul Simon’s Graceland. I remember the exact moment my parents bought it. It was the first album I ever knew all the lyrics to, the first album I fell asleep to, night after night, probably for years. It had a heavy influence on the way I see music. When [...]
