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Two Ways to Make It Hurt Less By the time Friday morning rolled around, I realized something that probably shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. Earlier in the week, I had given my son a piece of advice that felt solid, grounded, and true. It wasn’t dramatic or motivational in the highlight-reel sense. It was practical. It was calm. It was meant to help him navigate something uncomfortable without letting it turn into something overwhelming. And then, standing here a

When the Noise Drops, You Start Noticing Things There’s a strange moment that happens when life finally gets quiet. Not the kind of quiet that comes from avoidance or isolation, but the earned quiet—the one that shows up after you’ve put in real work. You’ve reduced the noise. You’ve simplified your days. You’re sleeping better. Thinking clearer. You’re not reacting to everything anymore. You’re focused. Calibrated. Present. And then, oddly enough, you start noticing things y

The Meetings That Could’ve Been Feelings I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how many meetings I’ve attended that had absolutely no business being meetings. Not because they were inefficient—although many were. Not because they lacked an agenda—although that too. But because, at their core, they weren’t meetings at all. They were feelings wearing business casual. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. You’ll be sitting there, notebook open, coffee cooling, calendar blocked fo

The Strong One Is Breaking (Quietly) There’s a version of success that nobody talks about because it looks too much like winning. From the outside, everything is fine. The business is operating. The calendar is full. People rely on you. Decisions get made. Money moves. Problems get solved. You show up. You answer the emails. You absorb the hits. You keep the wheels turning. And because nothing has collapsed, everyone—including you—agrees that everything must be okay. That’s t

Eye of the Tiger There’s a moment right before you walk out on stage where everything goes quiet. Not silent, exactly. You can still hear the room. You know the lights are hot. You’re aware of the people waiting. But inside, there’s a pause. A narrowing. A settling. It’s the space where the noise falls away and what’s left is you, your breath, and the knowledge that whatever happens next is going to be honest. That’s what this Monday feels like to me. Not adrenaline. Not anxi

The Soft Launch Is Over (And That’s Okay) The strange thing about this year so far is how little of it has actually happened. Two days. That’s it. Two days, and somehow most of us already feel like we’ve lived a full emotional week. Maybe that’s just muscle memory from December. Maybe it’s the whiplash of going from everything  to nothing  overnight. Or maybe it’s the quiet realization that while the calendar says the year has started, life hasn’t really clocked back in yet.

A Checkpoint, Not a Restart I woke up today with a strange sense of calm. Not excitement exactly, and definitely not dread, but something quieter and steadier than either of those. The first thought that crossed my mind wasn’t about goals or resolutions or what kind of person I was supposed to become in the next twelve months. It was much simpler than that. I was awake. I was here. Thank you, God, for another day. I’m living in my life, and honestly, it’s pretty rad. Not perf

Leaving It on the Field There’s a moment at the end of a football game where everyone in the stadium kind of knows the truth…even before the clock hits zero. The score might say one thing. The commentators might still be talking in hypotheticals. Somewhere, a fan is convincing themselves that a miracle is still possible. But most of the people watching already know how this game is going to end. That’s what tonight feels like. It’s New Year’s Eve. The final whistle hasn’t blo

When Appreciation Never Comes (And You Keep Showing Up Anyway) There’s a specific kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from working too hard or being too busy. It comes from doing good work for a long time and quietly wondering whether anyone actually sees it. Not applause. Not recognition ceremonies. Just a simple acknowledgment that what you’re carrying matters. Most people don’t say that part out loud. They joke about it. They downplay it. They tell themselves they shouldn

The Last Rep I noticed the number before I noticed the day. Episode 666. Cool Subtle. Of course it is. If you need a moment to make a joke about it, go ahead. I did. A quick one. A quiet one. The kind you smirk at and then move on from. Nothing dramatic happened. No lightning. No ominous music. Just…Monday. Still Monday. Very much Monday. And not just any Monday. The last one of the year. There’s something about that realization that lands a little heavier than I expect it to

The Day After Christmas (a.k.a. The Soft Launch of Next Year) There’s something quietly hilarious about the day after Christmas. Not funny in a laugh-track way. Funny in a “well…that was a lot”  way. The presents are opened. The receipts are lost. The batteries are either missing or already dead. The tree looks a little more tired than it did yesterday. The house smells like sugar, coffee, and whatever casserole someone confidently brought but no one actually requested. And s

The Gifts You Don’t Have to Wrap Let’s get this out of the way first…Presents are still fun. I enjoy wrapping paper. I enjoy poorly disguised boxes. I enjoy pretending I don’t know what something is when I very clearly know what something is. I enjoy the chaos of gift bags, batteries that weren’t included, and at least one person realizing they forgot a card and trying to pass it off as intentional minimalism. So yes—presents are great. But Christmas has a funny way of sneaki

Why Christmas Eve Hits Different Now (And Why That’s Not a Bad Thing) There was a time when Christmas Eve felt like standing at the edge of a roller coaster, locked in, harness down, heart racing, just waiting for gravity to do its thing. Sleep was optional. Time moved like it was stuck in molasses. The anticipation was physical. You didn’t just feel excitement…you vibrated with it. Now? Now Christmas Eve feels more like checking the weather, setting an alarm, and quietly hop

Why We Always Feel Behind (Especially This Time of Year) There’s a specific lie that gets louder this week. It doesn’t kick the door down or announce itself. It just kind of…settles in. It shows up while you’re driving, while you’re standing in line, while you’re half-listening to someone talk about their plans for the next year. It waits for a quiet moment and then slips in like it’s always belonged there. Everyone else has it figured out. It’s a convincing lie. Not because

The Two-Minute Warning There’s a strange calm that settles in right before things get loud. Christmas is three days away. Somehow this week is both slammed and oddly empty at the same time. Calendars are full, attention is fractured, everyone is tired, and yet…nothing feels urgent in the way it normally does. It’s like the world is holding its breath while simultaneously sprinting to the finish line. And then there’s the part nobody really talks about out loud: there are ten

You Can’t Be Everywhere You Care There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from doing too much, but from caring too much in too many directions at once. It shows up quietly, usually when your calendar looks reasonable on paper but your body feels like it’s been negotiating all day. That’s where I find myself. Tonight, the high school football team I’ve followed for the last few years is playing in the state championship. It’s one of those moments you circle lo

Perspective Can Make You Feel Small The first time perspective ever really knocked the wind out of me wasn’t on a mountaintop or during some profound spiritual moment. It was the day I became a father, almost thirty years ago. I remember holding this tiny human and realizing, all at once, that my life was no longer just mine. Someone else’s survival, safety, and future were now partially in my hands. That moment didn’t make me feel powerful. It made me feel small. Not in a po

People Watching Is a Public Service People watching is one of the most underrated public services we still participate in. No tickets. No subscription. No algorithm deciding what you see next. Just you, standing somewhere long enough to notice that humans are…a lot. And not in a bad way. In a deeply fascinating, occasionally confusing, sometimes alarming, often hilarious way. I was reminded of this in New Orleans. If you want a master class in people watching, find a city whe

Communication Costs Something...That is Why Communication Is Hard Communication is one of those things everyone agrees is important in the abstract and quietly avoids in real life. It’s the first thing listed when a project fails. The first explanation given when a relationship breaks down. The first recommendation offered when teams aren’t working well together. “We just need to communicate better.” It sounds clean. Reasonable. Responsible. Almost comforting. And yet, for so

Clarity Doesn’t Cancel Chaos Your Daily Boost – Episode 656 I came back from New Orleans with clarity. Not the dramatic kind. Not the “I’ve got everything figured out now” kind. Just the quiet kind that shows up when you step away long enough to notice what you’ve been carrying. Three days away somehow felt longer than it should have, not because the trip was extravagant, but because I was present for it. And presence has a way of stretching time in the best possible directio