I turn 38 today. That’s just one too many to make a list as long as my age. Plus, I want to talk specifically about the house of mirrors that is aging. That’s a slightly smaller house than the house of mirrors that is life itself.
Today is my 36th birthday. Even though I’m still “just a pup,” I’ve learned a few things along the way. Here are 36 maxims — some serious, some trivial — that I have come to believe. Some are original ideas while some have been shared with me by others, but almost every day one or more of these tenets crosses…
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best…
4 Years, 3,000+ Subway Rides, Here Are Some Keepers (In No Specific Order)..
“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
― Mark Twain
As Mark Twain suggested I think writing a hundred words probably requires more mental effort than writing a thousand — particularly if you want it to be…
About two years ago I attended a Meetup about raising funds and entrepreneurship. The woman who spoke was a serial…
People love to share, I think it is just there since our birth. We shared bonds with…
Your answer to this question will determine whether you will…
When we experience success, we can easily lock ourselves away from future growth…
As I am finishing my first year of college, I have started to reflect on the expectations that I had coming into college vs. the reality of how it went. Although it did not turn out exactly as expected, I could not have asked for a better year. Life lessons…
“It’s always our choice what attitudinal ground to stand on: the emotional quicksand of negative thinking, or the airstrip of spiritual…
This will probably be one of the most transparent pieces that I have ever shared publicly however, it has been on my heart since 3 AM this morning therefore I am sure that it’s necessary.
This time last year, I was in a very unhappy place. Seriously. At this point, I would’ve just…
One of the most liberating things I have ever learned, is not that I am an artist, but that I…
Bugün benim doğum günüm.
Teoman’ın dediği gibi babamın öldüğü yaşta değilim; ama bir çok babanın öldüğü yaştayım.
May 6th, International “No Diet Day”, to be very honest I did not even know until very recently…
there’s so many things I’ve learned along the way and so many things I wish I could change about the choices I made and the paths I took; but in reality, if I would have chosen differently or taken different paths, I wouldn’t be who I am today or where I am today — for…
“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing in. — Katherine Mansfield
Number two will shock you.
Long Ago this door went to an outbuilding no one loved. Now it opens onto a powder room.
Three years ago, my high school friends and I went to New Orleans for a weekend trip; it’d become a tradition of ours to go to a different US city each year. After spending the prior year (unsuccessfully) begging Miami bouncers to let 6 men into clubs for…
part 1 & part 2
It doesn’t surprise me in the least that babies react more positively to faces similar to those they are familiar with. It’s a built in survival trait.
Nor am I surprised that children and teens pick up cues from popular culture. We are hardwired to stratify ourselves into a pecking order.
“Why?”
Grown ass adults, pack mentality, and profound betrayal
I constantly find myself trying to remind me that I need very little. It is strange what an obsession…
“So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no…
Around a year or so ago I wrote about confessions of a 21 year old and personally I feel like…
And the realization that I have time to struggle to the top
1. Just because someone has an expensive camera doesn’t mean that they’re a good photographer.
2. Always shoot in RAW. Always.
3. Prime lenses help you learn to be a better photographer.
The spectrum of internet (and life) positivity
This goes back to a lot of my writings about authenticity, it’s all this inter-related spaghetti bowl of reactions.
So, on either side of this spectrum are two camps: the relentlessly optimistic or…
As an educator with three decades of experience I often reflect on what makes good learners. I can’t help going back to what were the most valuable lessons that I learned while at school and all of them were learned on the playground.
Ignoring messages from my soul and waiting for those messages to translate physically before I…
As my first year at university comes to an end, I’ve been trying to reflect as much as I can on how this year has helped me grow and better myself. I’ve spent long hours thinking about how I’ve become more self-confident, how I’ve learned to manage my time (let’s be…
I grew up with a pair of pedophiles. My father belonged to a set of identical twins. They swapped children…
“You wear your heart on your sleeve far too much.”
Growing up I heard that more times then I care to count.
Multitasking is the enemy.
Or “Writing Apologies in Crayon to Harry”
you didn’t know what i did, you will never know.
you didn’t know how much I prayed about you. you didn’t know that falling in love with me would of been the worst thing you could of done. you didn’t know you’d destroy my world when you told me 5 words that burned a hole…
Moving is terrible.
Do you call yourself an aspiring writer?
This Sunday at church I told a few of my friends about my writing business. I told them I wanted to get my name out there, write for others, and build my…
It’s a word I heard a lot over the last few days while spending two days in Michigan celebrating my Gramma’s life.
May the 4th Be With You!!! Welcome to Save the World: Star Wars Edition!
There is no denying the fact that Bengalis love their fish. So when my half-Bengali (quarter Odiya and remainder…
Pro(ductivity) Tip# 75
If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t…
This has been my safe space for a while now, since when I began burrowing into myself, during my ToLetng days, and I think it has been compromised. I find that that’s largely a…
Sometimes, you just don’t feel it…
When you ask people, ‘What’s the opposite of fragile?,’ they tend to say robust, resilient, adaptable, solid, strong. That’s not…
Letter #3
My friend, who’s married, told me relationships are work, I believed her. But if I am honest, at the…
I have been doing some life reflection lately, wondering if where I am is leading me where I want to be. Being an analytically minded person I found myself looking for some structure to look through to decide what does feel right and what might be behind those days that feel “off”. I…
For someone who has had thoughts about ending their life, this show was blunt, troubling, and equally welcomed. Suicidal thoughts exist and run through our society more than most people will care to admit. A topic that can be so taboo, purely because of the implications that follow, seems to be…
If you want to be monumentally unproductive, get mad.
As I flop onto my bed after another long but fulfilling day, I can’t help but mull over something I heard today about someone I…
Betrayal is pretty much a universally understood emotion even if it has never happened to you personally. It is one of those life experiences that changes everything and truly, nothing can ever be the same as it was before. Acts of violence and destruction are not uncommon in wake of a betrayal and it is still somewhat socially acceptable that this…
This article is part of the series “What is like to attempt suicide and fail”. Start there, if you have not read it yet.
20 years ago I dropped out of law school and quit my job at Price Waterhouse, put a backpack on my back and left for England… my dad was against it, but I was 22 and had money saved……
We spend a fair bit of time searching for happiness in our lives, relationships, and dreams…
Students, particularly freshers’, are at a higher risk of meningitis than the general population, so be careful and be ready to act fast if you see…
I’ve been trying my best to do this. It’s not as easy as it sounds. But it’s worth it.
I’m torn between a simple scenario, which would ripple through my life and affect many aspects of it. In short, do I either,
Mentors are hard to find. My experience has taught me that in this world there are a lot of people who would make…
In the olden days a coach served as a vehicle that transported a person from point A to point B. Today this definition still…
You probably feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. That feeling doesn’t get better, it just gets worse. The only thing that gets better is you learn to be less afraid. Learn to take yourself less seriously, laugh a little bit at the ups and the downs. The world’s changing so fast we’re…
E.B. Daily Spew
Photo — Sheriff Joe- a prime example of how bad it is.
Master of…some?
I have a problem. I can’t stand not being able to do something.
I have been working with social media marketing without proper guidance and quite…
Have you ever thought, when stuck in some Costa coffee queue behind a screaming child, as…
The world we are living in, the 21st century, after years of trial and tribulation we have started to dream a different dream, flowers…
Flunkyjunkie methhead crackhead ex con current con Why do I keep on?
Random Notes (working doc — hey at least I am writing today!)
To the pre teen who was told her stomach pain was all in her head, only to be sliced open in the ER years later, when it is too late.
I have survived ritual abuse and this is a collection of rants and raves , stories and thinking’s, from my diaries and other writings.
I know that many people cannot hear our stories. In fact I have personally heard “get over it” more time than…
“It may sound absurd, but don’t be naiveEven heroes have the right to bleedI may be disturbed, but won’t you concedeEven heroes have the right to dreamAnd it’s not easy to be me”
Sometimes it works out, other times no. ( life lessons)
I recall I had just done a five week stint in Congo Brazzaville with my company, an oilfield…
Before I was in my twenties, I heard this thing: ” It’s easy for you to say. You clap your…
bwah ha ha ha!
We are not perfect. We don’t go walking around in photoshopped form, we don’t…
Have you thought about 2018 yet?
In the series of inspiring volunteering stories, today we are publishing the story of Ramani Ippagunta who mentored the Summer Computing Camp on Day 3.
I confess, I’m stuck. I’m at that point of stagnancy in teenage life where one just goes through one day at a time, waking up and telling yourself: today’s the day and I’m going to do this and this and this and I’ll feel so good about myself. In the end, it’s about 7.30 pm, you’re thinking about…
Waiting for my Chai Latte to be dispensed at a well known coffee shop today, I was witness to an excruciating, if one-sided…
My mother told me when I was 13, son, in life, never ask for miracle’s, be someone else’s miracle.
The angel and the devil Secretly they get along Sitting up there with me in the middle From dusk till dawn I get so confused by it Which way to turn…
I like to hear a combat situation which defines some kind of familiarity from people around when they provide us a trustworthy helping…
If you have not heard of Bertrand Russell’s The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism I suggest you go and read that now. I have drawn great inspiration from that. Russell outlines 10 commandments in which he believes are essential to living in a democracy. This is my…
It all starts right now with the 7 Rainbows — chapter number 5 from instructions for life — The BBAAIIC…
We have all heard about how nothing in this world is certain and the only thing that is a constant is…
Dear Mr. Brooks,
I have a pre-existing condition, so I guess I lead a bad life.
You know what’s really bad? Going in for surgery and coming out with nerve and organ damage is bad. Losing my health in two hours…
As we all know that Education is a core of success just like Malcolm X said “Education is the…
We start running right from the second we are born. By choice? Not most of the time. Is it worth it? Not ever thought about. Then what is the need? Have we ever thought about it? Definetely not!
How do you get others to hear your ideas ? Especially when said others consider themselves — probably…
Some things take time to mature. Projects are started, and at times, do not see their realization until years later.
Perhaps more than any other emotion, fear is the emotion that reveals that…
Dr. Maynard was a beloved Computer Science professor I had at UTSA (I believe he’s retired now). His reputation preceded him, which instilled fear into all of the undergrads. He was known for being tough — the toughest — but fair. He was someone whose…
Oh email how we hate it. We can spend an entire day in the office pushing email and…
Sex with him was like making a beautiful painting. Every stroke and every inch of color is moved by a deep connection to your…
My husband, a physician and “Mad Scientist”, does research to understand Insulin Resistance, and it’s impact on…
I had a meeting on Monday that could’ve destroyed me, but it didn’t. Here’s the…
Admitting that you’re not getting it is the first step to getting it…
Originally published at yanngirard.typepad.com.
“Positive thinking is utterly self-obsessed and makes us forget that we are in a world where…
As you can see these 5 quotes changed my life completely and I think that they are worth sharing with…
I Could Dye My Hair Red, but My Hair Would Not Be Red.
I could dye my hair red, but my hair would not be red. I can put on makeup, but I still have…
How to ask your wife for permission to spend $250,000 on a domain name
Emotional maturity is a critical factor to any relationship but especially romantic…
Note: This post was originally published on my old blog on June 26th, 2012. I’m migrating my old blog to Medium, so it will eventually it will disappear.
One of my friends, Cleo, has just been offered two jobs. One in her hometown of Glasgow and one in Cordoba.
Admit it. You aspire to do big things but you’re letting the risk (fear of the unknown) hold you back from starting.
Maybe your big risk is saying no to the safety net of a company that you admire, so that you can pursue what you feel in your heart you should be…
Sometimes it’s difficult to say whether we are in a position to change anything in our life. It’s true that change is…
As we age, time seems to move more quickly. It is a common lament, one that has in recent years crept into the lexicon of ever younger members of civilized humanity. What makes it seem to move so, as…
When you learn something the best way to check if you have learned it good is to teach that thing to another person. This will…
For some reasons, I loved you. In some other ways as much as possible I don’t wanna be such a shame. We are here, separated, unknown and grateful for what had happened. These past few years, it seems too cynical about the idea of having you in my life, again. The…
Many of you may know who Tony Robbins is. For those who haven’t heard the name, he is a self-help author. He also holds seminars worldwide to discuss topics like “Life and Wealth Mastery” and “Business Mastery”.
The hardest part about being an adult is admitting that it is hard.
The routine of academics is demanding, and frustrating, but it remains a routine. What that routine doesn’t adequately prepare you for is to learn how to properly grade yourself beyond what you could…
An Attitude of Gratitude… Say Thank You!
What does it mean to have “an attitude of gratitude?” So when my son started kindergarten a few years back, I started a new habit with him. Every single morning on the walk to the school bus…
I’m not exactly sure what to say. Not quite certain of what my voice wants to tell me. Maybe its trying to say something that I dont…
I didn’t think I would see the day that I was going to defend Get Rich Quick Schemes, but here…
Working for yourself should be a rite-of-passage for any designer, regardless of age or experience. I don’t care if it’s freelancing, contracting, consulting, moonlighting or whatever you want to call it. If you have the chance early in your career, do it.
You are right ogundeji yusuff being a misfit is a gift, but also a choice. We need to use that to our advantage. And that requires courage: to be true to yourself, to enjoy being a misfit.
Here’s a powerful Ted Talk by Lidia Yuknavitch : “there is beauty in being a misfit”.
https://www.ted.com/talks/lidia_yuknavitch_the_beauty_of_being_a_misfit
Today, I rode with an old friend who’d been struggling for a while with his business. On the way, he stopped at the ATM…
The best exchange I ever made was trading in endless impending doom for a glimmer of hope. Letting go of anger gave me a life again. Not allowing resentment to reside in me any longer restored me in a way I couldn’t have paid cash for. Leaving my ego out of it and remembering where I came from…
Things happen and you get hurt or hurt someone. If this happens, don’t mope about it. Luckily, I have a friend that reminded me that moping gets me no where and acting and fixing creates progress.
My husbands wedding band sits on my right hand forefinger, gleaming in the duo light, a reminder of our past, present and future. Coming through Zone 2 door, he plunged through with his blue smock hospital gown, flowing behind him like a hospital batman cape. He hands me his ring, I see his unsettled…
Jackie Brownell
I have been attending Arcadia University for 4 years. I have gotten involved in many different leadership positions and developed my leadership skills and my knowledge of growing as a leader throughout my time here. Here I…
When I just thought to share the significant tips for boosting the career, my phone rang and I was having a call of my dear cousin. He is working as a medical officer at children ward, Ittefaq…
Mediocrity. Pain. Stunted growth. Decreased satisfaction. Boredom. Routine. Poverty. Crappy job. Crappy sex life. All of those listed don’t sound to great, well the last for some would be if it already isn’t in your life….
Fear of success exists.
At least for me.
I grew up in Albany Park, located on the north side of Chicago. When I was a teenager, if my friends and I were hungry, one of the spots we’d venture to was Susie’s drive in. Named for the owner, they are known for their infamous confused chicken sandwich, 25 plus…
“Overtime, LA makes people become jaded” — K.
How many people have I affected? I think that I’ve met thousands of people so far…
BBAAIIC ALSPEL-INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE -INTERMEZZO
In the beginning there was nothing and nothing is in the present day; the material that you experience…
They call it ‘teaching’. They say its a way of learning. They point out all your flaws and forget to mention your strengths or maybe they lost it alongside their conscience. They cut you in pieces with their words and when you resist, they claim that you don’t want to learn. ‘‘You have to learn to take corrections!’’ They say. I would learn if only…
Lessons of Footprints in the Sand
By Susan McLaughlin
Can’t walk a straight line
Never could; it’s genetic
We’ve all argued with someone about a specific topic. In many of those occasions neither is using facts…
Truth: in 1000 words or less
