I created this guide to help our children navigate the constant pull of social media, Netflix, video games, and other forms of what I call “shallow entertainment”.

In sports, we only have to work backwards from what’s measured at the highest levels to see that ‘practice’ is just one component in an equation that also includes technical, tactical, physical, and psychological inputs, or TTPP for short.

Nothing distracts one from achieving true happiness more than the pursuit of stuff. Ask anyone that can’t leave a bad job, that can’t afford the car they are driving, the house they are living in, or the credit cards they are paying off, or anyone else that’s drowning in clutter or deprived of time: “Does the pursuit of stuff lead to happiness...or not?”

More often than not, businesses are built upon loans. Without loans, the world of commerce would come to a grinding halt. If you plan to borrow or lend money, here are a few simple rules to live by:

My father was a successful businessman who built an auto recycling empire. Despite the fact that he spent his days amongst a sea of wrecked cars, bent metal, and burly men, my dad went home each day to his beloved trees, his blossoming flowers, and landscape designs. He was a junkyard dog with a soft spot for pansies, pine mulch, and asparagus.

A windhorse is not a strategy. It’s not a relationship. It’s not a routine. It’s not a drug. It’s any of the above. It’s what you ride that takes you to a place where you didn’t know you wanted to be.

If someone shows you, you will obtain confidence that the problem or puzzle can be solved. If someone shows you, and teaches you, you will solve the problem. If nobody shows you, and nobody teaches you, the stone can teach you what you need to know.

Every time I go out to move a pile of firewood, I think this is hard labor, but it's not hard work.

Over the years, I have quit caffeine for years at a time. I slip back into the habit when I forget how unnecessary it is to functioning at a high-level. A big desert after lunch…coffee. Too much booze the night before…coffee. Not enough sleep…coffee. Lots of time behind the desk and not enough time at the gym…coffee. Staying out extra late…espresso martini. Not making time to meditate…coffee. Not enough fruit…coffee (beans). Caffeine paves over bad habits, and conversely, the absence of it makes living...calmer.

It’s safe to play the middle, but power comes out of the ends of the battery. I use this analogy when I am talking about what to create or how to say it. Some creators have an inclination to attempt to appeal to the widest possible audience by splitting the middle. In my experience, the middle is never as large or as powerful as either end. If you are building an audience, consider appealing to the ends. Power comes out of the ends of the battery, not the middle.

When we put our minds to the task of making the most of the space between, it’s not all that surprising to learn what we can accomplish during a long commute to the office. What’s really surprising though, is to learn what we can accomplish as a bag of popcorn expands in the microwave. Small spaces are the biggest part of our days.