I finally did it. After two years of experimenting with growing my hair and beard longer, I cut them back to my original look. Here are the two lessons I learned. (1) You can’t live your life according to people’s expectations. Two years ago, I […]
Category: The Sweet Spot
Sanctified Busyness
Often, we make our lives busy as a way of hiding from ourselves. When our plate is empty, we have time to think. That can be liberating, or it can be terrifying.
YOUtopia
The factory is empty. Schools make factory workers. Now what?
Film School [@TonyBrainstorms Guest Post]
Great Teachers in Film. Unanimous: they break the mold of sitting in rows. Students in their classrooms do more than follow instructions. They create. There is a scene with administrators yelling at them. There is a student who doesn’t get it, and the teacher fights […]
Withdrawal
Today is an odd day for me. I am withdrawing from two “opportunities.” One is a paper for a conference, the other is a job application. The paper represents the typical academic currency, keeps the “publish or perish” ledger in the black. The job represents […]
Make Some Noise: Why You Must Use Social Media to Reach Your Goals
What is it that makes you an excellent candidate for that dream job? Deep inside you are certain that this is the fit for you. But does the interviewer sitting across the table know it too? This situation feels very familiar to me, having been […]
Iterate and Grow
A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. – George S. Patton We iterate and grow, not prepare and then go. We didn’t forbid you from speaking until you knew fluent, Shakespeare-level English. Learning is a continuum. Not […]
Perfection, Failure, and Experimenting
Schools have spent the years teaching you NOT to experiment. Think about it. The system rewards you for getting good grades. But we all have had the experience of torpedoing our grades due to ONE BAD DAY. You can be on it, “perfect” for an […]
