There are two types of giving – with and without expectation. Most giving is done expecting something in return. We clean a car and expect money in return. We lend a hand and expect help when we need it. We offer advice and expect to get paid for work down the road. … On the …

A common exercise technique is to use the last set in a given session as a “burn out set.” Essentially, everything goes into this last set to push your body to the limit using something like drop sets or rest-pause sets. Generally, it’s a pretty good concept. The theory is that, after a full session …

By the time we finish most of a project, we’re ready to move on. We’re tired, bored, and sometimes rushed; so we just want it to be done. But that’s a huge mistake. The finishing touches have a disproportionate impact on the final product. Take my basement renovation for example. The vast majority of the …

“The weather looks a little iffy Saturday and my daughter is feeling under the weather. I also stubbed my toe last week walking in my backyard and that’s still bothering me, so unfortunately I’m not going to be able to make it to the game this weekend.” That’s great. But it just took 31 words …

The local storage on smartphones is limited. Even 16 or 32 GB can quickly fill up with apps, downloaded content, and pictures. I got to that point a few years ago, so I started storing everything on the cloud. But even the cloud isn’t limitless. Apple gives 5 GB free on iCloud, then they cut …

Abraham Lincoln is attributed with saying, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Who knows whether Lincoln actually said it (he’s attributed with random quotes all the time), but the sentiment is fascinating. When I think back to the people who I have “disliked,” it almost always comes down to …

One of the most impactful conversations I’ve had came at a strange time. The business relationship with one of our customers was seemingly getting out of hand, so one of my company’s executives wanted to see the situation firsthand. I had been explaining that things weren’t as bad as they seemed, but the feeling up the …

If you’re like most people, you know that you want it “a little pink on the inside” or “medium-rare.” If someone orders “a little pink on the inside,” that’s how they want it. They don’t want to hear that cooking beef to an internal temperature of 145 degrees classifies as medium-well, and that since a …

What happens if the bag doesn’t fit? At Spirit, the policy says that you pay. So when the couple in front of me got asked to check if their bag fit in Spirit’s test fixture, it was a problem when the wheels couldn’t make it. The volume of the bag was smaller than what Spirit …

Losing a key team member hurts. In a business setting, it can seem crippling. Like a major setback that has the potential to slow the momentum you’ve been building. But how is it that different than a key injury in sports? How often does the centerpiece of a team go down? The indispensable player who …