Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Living

Life Lessons

Upping Your Game

Many years ago, as a young engineer, I never thought about playing a bigger game. I just wanted to do my job, get paid, and go home to a quiet evening with my husband. What I've discovered over the years,...

Last Gasp for Traditional Media?

I'm seeing signs everyday of the struggle for traditional media to remain relevant: The Wall Street Journal reported that Newsweek shed 20% of its staff, a result of lower ad revenue and newsstand sales. The most telling quote: "At a...

The Science of Leonardo

An interesting article from Ode magazine, titled, "The Wow of Physics," points to a classic boundary crosser.  Fritjof Capra is a PhD physicist who uses Eastern philosophy with quantum physics to show how Leonardo DaVinci got it right on how...

Ways to Brainstorm: FlickrStorm, The Hub, and TED

How do innovators get their great ideas? Often by being exposed to lots of good material from different worlds. Some good stuff that I've found: FlickrStorm is a great tool that provides a collage of Flickr photos based on a...

Meatball Sundae and Johnny Bunko

Two of the blogs that I read on a consistent basis are ones written by Seth Godin and Daniel Pink.  They were both authors before starting a blog. I enjoy their posts and it's a treat when they come out...

Johnny Bunko: A Case Study

Dan Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, is releasing a new book on Monday, April 7.  When I talked to Pink, several months ago, he talked about working on the book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, a career guide...

The Power of Hybrids

In a recent online discussion with the ABV team for the pilot, I talked about being distracted by opportunities for visibility instead of focusing on community-building. One team member shot back, "I disagree." He pointed out that visibility is important...

Kites and Other Useful Metaphors

Yesterday, I flew a kite. It was the first time in over thirty years. It was exhilarating and joyful. My husband returned home from a trip. The proverbial question, "What did you bring me?" was answered in the form of...

Where Wisdom Comes From

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take us or spare us." --Marcel Proust Many thanks to my colleague, Ellen, who emailed this quote to me recently. This gets exactly...

Closing A Few Doors

A friend sent me a fascinating New York Times article about how as humans, we instinctively try to keep our options open, even when cognitively, we know that it doesn't serve us to do so. In a cleverly designed experiment...