And the version of her I kept waiting for

Most of what upsets us isn’t what happened. It’s the story we tell ourselves about it. Here’s the button fight that taught me that, and a simple four-step way to start reframing negative thoughts.

They’ll remember your address, for one

What it takes to leave the corporate cushion for the unknown

When I first got started in my finance career, I found it tremendously exciting. Everything was in motion.

A homecoming of sorts

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. What the world needs is people who have come alive.”

We all have heroes. Some are parents or uncles or godmothers. Some are sports figures or people who excel in their field. Some are even our own children.

In 1995 I received my first “real job” paycheck (as a college intern).

Last week I found myself sitting in a hospital room with my wife. It was a routine colonoscopy, the kind of thing you do once you hit a certain age. Everybody does it, nothing to fret over.

Are you listening?

“If you are not afraid, there is no way you will hate me. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will be jealous or sad.”

My final stint in the “corporate world” was at J.P. Morgan, on a trading desk, in San Francisco. I was 17 years into my career by then, and I was burnt out. I needed a change.

Recently I’ve had what feels like the same conversation with 10 different people. People who are business and services consultants, whose clients are small-to-midsized businesses.

(…and have you stopped asking yourself that question?)

I should never have gone to Harvard.

Are you really choosing your actions?

Try this the next time you’re facing a hard decision: take a coin, and assign heads to “yes” and tails to “no.” Flip it, and when it lands, ignore the result. Instead, check your gut.

Pain may be inevitable, but…