I want to: Learn languages (German, Spanish, Japanese, etc) Practice playing piano Learn to create music Play the guitar Play every sport imaginable Exercise Cook creative foods Read biographies Build things with my hands Renovate my house Become a better woodworker Meditate Do yoga Write and grow my blog Start a podcast Start a business Become …

Within organizations, “firefighters” are often the ones that get all the glory. They step in when a situation has gone awry, and they find a way to fix it. Take Iacocca as an example. His work at Chrysler is shared in business school classrooms around the world as he is credited with reviving a company …

When we feel like we can affect the outcome of a given activity, we often feel pressure to do something. Actively trading stocks feels more productive than leaving money in an index fund. Prodding your coworker or customer for their input makes it seem like you’re moving the process along. But often, the better choice is …

When I was growing up, I never left food on my late. I spent my entire childhood as a scrawny growing boy hoping to bulk up for the football field, so I couldn’t afford to miss out on any calories. Fast forward to present day, and the story is very different. I’m still fairly active and …

I’ve previously written about the odds of recurring events, and the likelihood that an unlikely event will occur if given enough opportunities. But how about the other side of the coin? If you can confidently do something once, why can’t you do it every time? If I can walk up to a 3-foot putt with nearly …

The decathlon is the best test in the Olympics for identifying the best overall athlete in the world. Various track and field events encompassing a combination of running, jumping, and throwing are combined to compare the contestants. But what if we took it a step further? What if the athletes had to: Throw a football …

The best type of art is polarizing. Take hip-hop as an example. Even more specifically, the rapper Kendrick Lamar. Ask your average person what they think of Kendrick’s music, and I can almost guarantee that they don’t like it. The vocals on the tracks are nothing like what we’re used to considering “music”, the lyrics …

Toyota has established themselves as a world-class company and a leader in the development of high-quality vehicles. They revolutionized the manufacturing world with their unique approach in the Toyota Production System and continue to remain on the cutting edge of technological advancement. Entire books and courses have been devoted to all of the intricacies contained …

Where’s the line between theory and practicality? I can honestly say that I learned a lot in Engineering school. I gained a better understanding of how the world around me works, and I got to understand the math and physics underlying so many of the greatest inventions. But from a practicality standpoint, the past year of …

There’s often a conflict between choosing the quick, easy fix or solving a problem the right way. I’ve spent the last few days gutting my basement because the previous homeowner took shortcuts when addressing mold issues. Rather than properly cleaning up the mold and addressing the root cause, they used a band-aid. They sprayed some …