Day 214 – When the Blue Jay Procrastinates
When the Blue Jay Procrastinates: Understanding Displacement Activities Have you ever found yourself inexplicably pulling weeds when a daunting task awaits? You’re not alone; welcome to the world of displacement activities. The Unavoidable Garage Clean-up Today is the day I’m finally supposed to buckle down and clean the garage. For months, it’s loomed over me, […]
Day 213 – Beware of the Synecdoche
Introduction to Synecdoche: A Powerful Linguistic Tool I am fascinated by the powerful words in our language, those that are not part of our everyday vocabulary yet capture unique meanings incomparable to others. The focus of this article is one such word: synecdoche. This figure of speech, where a part is used to represent the […]
Day 212 – Courage is Not the Absence of Fear
“You, Lion, are under the unfortunate delusion that simply because you run away from danger you have no courage. You’re confusing courage with wisdom.” – L. Frank Baum, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” A Surprising Revelation in Sales Leadership Recently, I took on the leadership of a seasoned sales team, feeling the weight of my […]
Day 211 – My Thoughts on Criticism (and 10 tips on feedback)
Over the years criticism has lessened in the impact it has on me. When I was younger if someone placed some criticism in my direction it would send me into a tailspin of agony and contemplation trying to figure out what I could have done better. The Loudest Critic: Ourselves However, there is no voice […]
Day 210 – Become an Edge Dancer
This is one of my favorite concepts, and I am collecting and returning to it frequently in my daily musings. I have collected about 30 of these concepts so far, and this one is my favorite. There are three sources of inspiration for this concept, and I will outline them below. Inspiration from Fantasy: Brandon […]
Day 209 – Our Doubts are Traitors
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win.” – Lucio in the Shakespearean Play Measure for Measure. When I was growing up, quoting Shakespeare was considered a mark of superior intelligence and literary awareness. This was appropriate because I am not sure there is any to William Shakespeare’s equal […]
Day 208 – Miracle of the Holy Fire
Today is Easter in the Christian Orthodox tradition. This is a large body of churches loosely organized together in a common theology, mostly found in eastern and southern Europe, parts of Russia, and Greece. This”Eastern Orthodox Church,” which today has about 230 million followers, claims true Catholicism, which in effect means the complete, whole, and […]
Day 207 – No New Thing Under the Sun
King Solomon, or at least one of his hired courtesans, recorded the following in the Book of Ecclesiastes: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” This may have been a commentary on […]
Day 206 – Out of Thin Air
The Myth of Spontaneous Ideas There is an idiom in the English vernacular that might be used in this context: that person came up with that solution “out of thin air.” This expression is used to describe the concept of a person coming up with an idea or an answer to a problem with no […]
Day 205 – We Wield the Double Edged Sword
Ever since I left my corporate job, I’ve been on a thrilling journey of diving deep into new technological advancements, particularly AI. I’ve had the privilege of hearing diverse perspectives, some extolling the immense benefits of this innovation, while others have sounded the alarm on its potential disastrous consequences. After careful consideration, I’ve come to […]