They say April showers bring May flowers, which is really just a fancy way of saying that in order to get to something good, you often have to endure some challenges along the way. I’ve been thinking a lot about growth recently. Being the founder of a small business, I sometimes get caught up in […]

Growing up in the Midwest meant long and cold winters, thick layers of clothing, and endless board (bored?) games. But the first moment that temperatures creeped above 50℉, kids were donning shorts and t-shirts in a frenzied embrace of an unnamed sun god. And while our parents glanced knowingly through the living room windows, we […]

Personal and professional milestones create interesting opportunities for self-reflection. Do we romanticize the past, or instead, let honest memories rise to the surface? Are we capable of seeing things from afar that we failed to notice up close? Is it luck (good/bad), fate, necessity, design, or some combination therein that put us on a certain […]

Wow, what a crappy year for nearly every human on the planet. The pandemic. Relentless storms of every shape and size. An unfathomable loss of life. Economic devastation that has yet to be truly measured. Not to mention a level of emotional distress that will be felt for years (or decades) to come. With everything […]

“Mark, can you set up the card table, please?” Ugh. As a teenager, this request was easy enough to fulfill, but as I unfolded the legs, gathered a mismatched set of chairs, draped the spill-proof tablecloth, and placed the plastic cups and plates around this rectangular nemesis, there was an unspoken angst in the air. […]

As a child of divorced parents, I experienced two radically different forms of Halloween. My dad’s approach was fully immersive, replete with gore, sound effects, and a small army of neighborhood workers funneling innocent candy seekers into a nightmare born from our collective imagination. My mom’s experience was laughably neglectful, including dropping me at a […]

I know I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m just going to say it. I love coffee. I love coffee so much that my son recently told me, “Dad, your teeth really don’t need to be any yellower, so maybe you should stick to water.” (Kids – keeping us humble.) Because of my […]

Imagine attending an all-hands meeting to hear from your organization’s new CEO. Inspirational t-shirts are handed out, leadership paints an intriguing picture of the future, and you enjoy lunch with your colleagues from all across the nation. Then, later that same day, you’re called into a conference room to learn that you and a few […]