I had a shocking realization after I graduated from caollege. On paper, everything was great. I was working for an incredible company, and genuinely enjoying what I did. I also had some fun stuff going on in my personal life and was learning every day. Yet something was clearly missing. Back when I was in …
One of my favorite Ted talks of all time is by Kelly McGonigal. She takes a unique view on stress, and it has completely changed the way I think under pressure. I grew up thinking that stress was evil. That it was something to avoid at all cost. And to some extent, that’s true. Chronic …
During my senior year of high school, my basketball team lost two consecutive games in the final seconds. The worst part? When we reviewed the film, it was obvious that in both games I had missed an opportunity to make a defensive play that could have sealed the victory. I felt like I alone had …
My high school track coach once said something that has really stuck with me. He was always a great guy – someone who I knew genuinely had my best interest in mind. And as someone whose primary passion was the football field (he was recently selected as the high school coach of the week), he …
A conversation I had with my parents just before my high school graduation has stuck with me. We reflected on my life until then – on all of the incredible things that had happened. We reminisced on all of the wonderful times I was leaving behind. After talking for awhile, my mom finally asked me …
Over the past few months, my approach to sleep has drastically changed. And through this process, I’ve learned something valuable. When I was going through high school and college, sleep was a non-negotiable for me. Since academic and athletic performance were my top priorities, I knew I had to treat my body right. While other …
At the deepest level, I hate losing. But recently, I had a surprising revelation. Over the past few months, I’ve been in the midst of some serious ping pong (yes, ping pong) tournaments at my work. Picture what you would expect from an office ping pong tournament. Now triple the intensity – that’s what I’ve …
Perfection. It’s an admirable goal. But we often miss the risk that is inherent in this pursuit. We miss the dangers of the facade of perfection. Back in high school, I was fortunate to have some public successes. And because of that, I would occasionally be referred to as “Mr. Perfect”, or something similar. I knew …
When legendary comedian Steve Martin was asked what advice he would give to aspiring comedians, his response was simple. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” Notice what he didn’t include. There’s nothing about; Waiting for the world to present you with an opportunity. Finding coaches/teachers/bosses who will treat you special. Relying on anything external …
Where does humility come from? First, it might be worth defining humility. Admittedly, there are many working definitions out there, but for simplicity we’ll use: “A modest view of one’s importance.” Through the years, I’ve been consistently told that I came across as being extremely humble. As I was doing well academically and helping to …