Sometimes noise-canceling headphones are not enough. Especially when the asking is loud and clear, it can cut through anything. You see, although 95% of the time Vlad drops the ball directly in front of his chosen candidate for fetch, occasionally he will approach from behind. He always gives his ...

I probably should blame myself more. And I’m honestly not sure how much this is innate or because of my bad parenting but… Vlad has a level of Personal Confidence that easily wanders into Entitlement. To be frank, I find the way that Vlad asks for anything––and you could substitute other verbs for...

This guided meditation is 8 minutes long with an extra 8 minutes more of music by my talented friend David Buchs You can stream it here or download in the link below. CLICK TODownload

Looking back at the life lessons I’ve consistently failed to learn, certain themes dominate. One of them might kindly be called Optimistic Overconfidence, particularly around timing. I did, however, once demonstrate an extremely rare moment of early mastery in this arena. Namely, during college I ...

First, he never actually said it. Second, as metaphorical advice, it’s pretty terrific, yet if taken literally, it’s definitely unwise at best. I’m referring to the adage often incorrectly ascribed to Hemingway: Write Drunk,  Edit Sober. Despite his well-documented problems with alcohol,...

I don’t think he learned it from Bill Gates. (At least not directly). But as I was reading through the next section of Essentialism, I couldn’t help but wonder about yet another quirky, self-taught aspect of Vlad’s behavior. (And it’s one that’s escalated considerably now that the Brooklyn tempera...

Nearly 3,000 years ago, Heraclitus taught us that “Character is destiny.” More and more, life has taught me how true this is. And nowhere do I see it more clearly demonstrated than each morning on the baseball field. Of course, I’m not really talking about the humans. Instead, I’m much more int...

It’s a problem I face only a few times a year. Nonetheless, I find myself resisting solving it, perhaps for reasons beyond how it tests my patience. Namely, the wind chimes that my friend Pam gave me as a sweet memorial gift when Belle went to her heavenly reward desperately require untangling. ...

This guided meditation is 5 minutes long with an extra 10 minutes more of music by my talented friend Andrew Shapiro. You can stream it here or download in the link below. CLICK TODownload