Greetings and happy somewhat belated new year. 2017 is in the books, and books are what I’ve got to share with you today. While I didn’t quite reach last year’s volume of reading, I do have good stuff to recommend.
Continue readingJanuary 21, 2018
December 28, 2016
40 books I read (and recommend that you read) this year
I am a believer in building a diverse skillset in life, and part of that process is consistent self-education. 2016 was a crazy, busy year, but I still managed to carve out time to feed my brain and soul through books (mostly at the expense of zombie and football tv time).
It was worth it.
Let me repeat that for emphasis: Every moment spent away from the TV (or game console) and in front of these books was worth it.
So I’d like to share my past year’s reading list and encourage a little bit more reading in the world as we move into 2017.
Continue readingNovember 23, 2015
Do you need a land to have a country?
Our borders are no longer absolute barriers. Our culture is constantly changing. Countries are evolving at a rapidly increasing pace due to economic change and demographic change—which then turns into cultural change.
Recently, a thought had occurred to me: How important is country?
Continue readingOctober 28, 2015
Finding your purpose at work
Finding purpose in your work can be hard. It can get confusing to know where your motivations are coming from if you aren’t sure about what you want. You can be making decisions out of fear:
What will happen if I screw this up? What does this mean for my reputation? Do I even have a reputation? Will this help me or hurt me in my goals?
Real fears. All are pretty much worthless for helping you to do great work.
Continue readingOctober 21, 2015
The introverted manager
I am at an interesting point in my career. In the past 5 years, I’ve moved from an individual design consultant, to individual contributor at a corporation, to manager at a corporation and back to an individual design consultant (within a corporation). It’s been a wild ride. During that time, I’ve had to learn a lot about […]
Continue readingOctober 14, 2015
Distraction or empowerment. Which is it?
I love technology. I love gadgets. The fact that we can create products and services that enhance our productivity, reduce our cognitive stress and bring a little more delight into our daily lives…well, it makes me happy that I live in the time that I live. There is a problem though. A lot of these creations […]
Continue readingMarch 28, 2014
Has Austin lost its mojo?
Change is inevitable. It sometimes seems like the more you want something to stay the same, the less likely that actually happens. Austin has been in a constant state of change ever since I moved here in 1996. Even back then, long time residents were bemoaning the evolution of their beloved city. That seems like nothing compared to what is happening now.
Continue readingMarch 25, 2014
Don’t compete. Just create.
If you have to compete. Compete with yourself. Compete with the expectations that you set for yourself. Even if you fall a little short, you’ve moved the ball forward. More so than if you accept your personal status quo.
It is when we compete with others—when we give in to the urge to compete with others—that we lose ground. Competing with others changes your personal energy. It changes your mindset from the joy, pleasure and pain of creation to the fear of competition. The fear of limited resources that you think everyone is vying for. Competing for money. Competing for ideas. Competing for attention. Competing for time. Time—especially time—is often viewed as a limited resource. Fear of the ticking clock.
Continue readingMarch 17, 2014
SXSW Interactive 2014 Recap
SXSW Interactive can be overwhelming. The hype, the parties, the crowds. It is sometimes difficult to separate the noise from the real insights and connections you are there to make. (Well, some of you are there to make. A lot of you are just there to party and get noticed. That’s OK too.) Every year is different. What you get out of it is different.
Continue readingOctober 7, 2013
Present Shock by Douglas Rushkoff
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to live in the digital age. Partly because I can remember a life where it wasn’t so obvious that we were in it. My childhood was decidedly analog, but my formative years and adulthood were dominated by the personal computer. I was mostly a fully formed adult before the invasion of email and mobile technology into our daily lives. I still struggle to identify how how much technology is changing our social interactions and how we think.