While I have very strong discipline (the time I go to bed), I have very poor sleep hygiene (length and quality of sleep). The last few nights, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night. As a middle age man, that part is not so surprising. But what’s really frustrating is how I can’t fall back to sleep. I try deep breathing. I try taking a little bit of melatonin. But there’s something preventing the sleep line from being crossed. Of course, I go looking for a solution. Thinking about my day, t...

While I have very strong discipline (the time I go to bed), I have very poor sleep hygiene (length and quality of sleep). The last few nights, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night. As a middle age man, that part is not so surprising. But what’s really frustrating is how I can’t fall back to sleep. I try deep breathing. I try taking a little bit of melatonin. But there’s something preventing the sleep line from being crossed. Of course, I go looking for a solution. Thinking about my day, t...

“How was it?” It’s kind of a lazy question. If “it” had any type of profound impact, then “it” deserves a thoughtful response…and a thoughtful question. And if “it” wasn’t profound, you’re going to get a lazy response: “fine.” Either way, an opportunity is missed to learn something…and help your conversation partner learn something as well. Peel it back:“what surprised you most about the experience?”“what was the biggest takeaway from the experience?“what expectations were met or left unmet?”...

“How was it?” It’s kind of a lazy question. If “it” had any type of profound impact, then “it” deserves a thoughtful response…and a thoughtful question. And if “it” wasn’t profound, you’re going to get a lazy response: “fine.” Either way, an opportunity is missed to learn something…and help your conversation partner learn something as well. Peel it back:“what surprised you most about the experience?”“what was the biggest takeaway from the experience?“what expectations were met or left unmet?”...

There are times when you want something for yourself. Then, there are times when you want something for someone else. But, as a good friend said to me, “you can’t want something more than the person who is supposed to want it the most.” It can be frustrating when we feel others don’t see just how ripe a situation is for possibility and opportunity. But we can’t force it. And hurt though it may, at a certain point, it’s time to let go. The flip side is that we should use these moments to remin...

There are times when you want something for yourself. Then, there are times when you want something for someone else. But, as a good friend said to me, “you can’t want something more than the person who is supposed to want it the most.” It can be frustrating when we feel others don’t see just how ripe a situation is for possibility and opportunity. But we can’t force it. And hurt though it may, at a certain point, it’s time to let go. The flip side is that we should use these moments to remin...

There’s a concept in quantum physics called a “wave function.” I’m not sure I fully get it. In fact, I’m pretty sure, I don’t. But, what I think it represents is that, at any moment, an entire, nearly infinite range of possibilities exist for a given particle. Then, there’s a moment, a “quantum leap” where the wave no longer exists-it collapses-and the actual event occurs. Now, all of this happens on a sub-atomic level, but I like to “zoom out” and think about the parallels with the macro wor...

There’s a concept in quantum physics called a “wave function.” I’m not sure I fully get it. In fact, I’m pretty sure, I don’t. But, what I think it represents is that, at any moment, an entire, nearly infinite range of possibilities exist for a given particle. Then, there’s a moment, a “quantum leap” where the wave no longer exists-it collapses-and the actual event occurs. Now, all of this happens on a sub-atomic level, but I like to “zoom out” and think about the parallels with the macro wor...

You know those moments where you lament about some aspect of your life? There’s a fix. It lies in a strange combination of quantum mechanics and eastern mysticism. In quantum mechanics, it’s called the Many Worlds Interpretation. The Tao Te Ching says:The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.In other words, you can take comfort that, in some other dimension, one that our simple human minds can’t fathom, there’s a quantum version of you whe...

You know those moments where you lament about some aspect of your life? There’s a fix. It lies in a strange combination of quantum mechanics and eastern mysticism. In quantum mechanics, it’s called the Many Worlds Interpretation. The Tao Te Ching says:The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.In other words, you can take comfort that, in some other dimension, one that our simple human minds can’t fathom, there’s a quantum version of you whe...

I look at this list of prices from 1973 and I see red. I feel anger and I feel fury. I feel this because in seeing this price list and knowing that, only 2 years prior to this, President Nixon infamously closed the gold window, thereby introducing the free floating era of pure “fiat” money. Since then, and you should go check this yourself using any of the LLMs out there, the purchasing power of the US dollar has fallen precipitously. That means that when your grandparents decided, in 1973, t...

I look at this list of prices from 1973 and I see red. I feel anger and I feel fury. I feel this because in seeing this price list and knowing that, only 2 years prior to this, President Nixon infamously closed the gold window, thereby introducing the free floating era of pure “fiat” money. Since then, and you should go check this yourself using any of the LLMs out there, the purchasing power of the US dollar has fallen precipitously. That means that when your grandparents decided, in 1973, t...

It’s not clear to me why, but I sense a strong undercurrent of latent anger within. Over the years, I’ve learned to control it, but not perfectly. It emerges at times. I wonder if it’s because I’ve never really, truly processed it. Probably because I wasn’t really even aware of it. My suspicion is that it comes from ego and a sense of entitlement. I’m not sure. I just have recently-mostly thanks to meditation-recognized that there’s a lack of internal harmony because that anger, whether at th...

It’s not clear to me why, but I sense a strong undercurrent of latent anger within. Over the years, I’ve learned to control it, but not perfectly. It emerges at times. I wonder if it’s because I’ve never really, truly processed it. Probably because I wasn’t really even aware of it. My suspicion is that it comes from ego and a sense of entitlement. I’m not sure. I just have recently-mostly thanks to meditation-recognized that there’s a lack of internal harmony because that anger, whether at th...

The sage is not ill, because he sees illness as illness -Lao TzuEveryone has hardships. Everyone. Rich people. Poor people. Old people. Young people. But, like Viktor Frankl says, “we always have the choice of how we respond.” Illness is not only physical, as we know. It can be mental. It can be a tough job/boss. It can be a marriage that didn’t meet expectations. It can be rear-ending a Tesla or a tweaked muscle in your back. Allowing our mental states to be completely hijacked by the “illne...

The sage is not ill, because he sees illness as illness -Lao TzuEveryone has hardships. Everyone. Rich people. Poor people. Old people. Young people. But, like Viktor Frankl says, “we always have the choice of how we respond.” Illness is not only physical, as we know. It can be mental. It can be a tough job/boss. It can be a marriage that didn’t meet expectations. It can be rear-ending a Tesla or a tweaked muscle in your back. Allowing our mental states to be completely hijacked by the “illne...

One of the primary differences between programming a classical computer and a quantum computer is in how outcomes are achieved. In classical computing, you lay out a recipe, much like you would bake a cake. In quantum computing, however, you try to design an environment so that a cake emerges. It’s not EXACTLY like that, but it is close enough. In life, when we want to achieve an outcome (say, lose weight or make more money), we tend to think in classical terms. “If I do this, this, this and ...

One of the primary differences between programming a classical computer and a quantum computer is in how outcomes are achieved. In classical computing, you lay out a recipe, much like you would bake a cake. In quantum computing, however, you try to design an environment so that a cake emerges. It’s not EXACTLY like that, but it is close enough. In life, when we want to achieve an outcome (say, lose weight or make more money), we tend to think in classical terms. “If I do this, this, this and ...

It’s not easy for me to say it, but it’s possible that the overarching emotional experience of my life is self-disappointment. It may be hyperbole or it may be that I’m still working diligently to get in touch with a range of emotions, many of which I don’t feel comfortable acknowledging because they make me feel vulnerable or because I don’t believe I actually know that they are there, when they are there. But self-disappointment, that one I feel. Why that’s the dominant (or prevailing or mo...

It’s not easy for me to say it, but it’s possible that the overarching emotional experience of my life is self-disappointment. It may be hyperbole or it may be that I’m still working diligently to get in touch with a range of emotions, many of which I don’t feel comfortable acknowledging because they make me feel vulnerable or because I don’t believe I actually know that they are there, when they are there. But self-disappointment, that one I feel. Why that’s the dominant (or prevailing or mo...

I’m not proud of how I react to the setbacks I face. When I encounter one, in particular those that are self-inflicted (I’m looking at you, scale), that negative voice in my head takes front and center stage. It’s the voice of the slippery slope towards total, complete, abject failure. It feels like I’m in a fight with myself that I’m never going to win and so, I understand the instinct for capitulation. It can feel Promethean in its magnitude and it makes me feel vulnerable, scared, and weak...

I’m not proud of how I react to the setbacks I face. When I encounter one, in particular those that are self-inflicted (I’m looking at you, scale), that negative voice in my head takes front and center stage. It’s the voice of the slippery slope towards total, complete, abject failure. It feels like I’m in a fight with myself that I’m never going to win and so, I understand the instinct for capitulation. It can feel Promethean in its magnitude and it makes me feel vulnerable, scared, and weak...

I got hit by one of those sites where you owe a certain amount and then they tack on the “credit card processing fee.” I felt the frustration rise on a few dimensions. From the customer experience and marketing perspective, it’s a negative for someone to think “Ok, I’m paying $100” only to find out “I’m really paying $103.29.” That’s a downer. But, for me, there’s something deeper. The credit card fees represent an inefficiency in the payments system. They add friction. Because of the existen...

I got hit by one of those sites where you owe a certain amount and then they tack on the “credit card processing fee.” I felt the frustration rise on a few dimensions. From the customer experience and marketing perspective, it’s a negative for someone to think “Ok, I’m paying $100” only to find out “I’m really paying $103.29.” That’s a downer. But, for me, there’s something deeper. The credit card fees represent an inefficiency in the payments system. They add friction. Because of the existen...