The Pride and Joy of Pounding Sand

“The achievement of goal is important. But the real juice of life, whether it is sweet or bitter, is to be found not nearly so much in the products of our efforts as in the […]

by Chris
Posted on February 17, 2018February 17, 2018
Business

In a recent post, Culinary Conversations, I urged for everyone to make a sincere attempt at listening and asking questions during conversation rather than defaulting to talking and giving opinions. Now, in this post, […]

by Chris
Posted on February 11, 2018February 20, 2018
Business

I remember the time and place when I decided that I would someday be an entrepreneur. I was sitting alone in my college apartment, a senior at the University of Minnesota with a heart full […]

by Chris
Posted on February 1, 2018
Food

The first thing you will learn in any basic cooking class is how to appropriately wash your hands for maximum sanitation. This is so basic and obvious that your first response is to become offended. […]

by Chris
Posted on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017
Business

Over the last few years, I’ve had various opportunities to lead. My employers, my church, and a few non-profit organizations, each bold and brave in their own way, have entrusted me with some form of […]

by Chris
Posted on September 11, 2017September 11, 2017
Cognition

“All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” — Blaise Pascal Meditation seems to be all the rage these days. I tried it once. I sat on the […]

by Chris
Posted on September 4, 2017September 5, 2017
Life Improvement

Ode to a Self-Improvement Junkie The truth is, you’re an addict,And you’ve been one for quite some time now. Your goals are set so pure and exact that they could be passed as new legislature.You […]

by Chris
Posted on August 30, 2017August 30, 2017
Business

Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.— James Belasco and Ralph Stayer Flight of the Buffalo 1994 […]

by Chris
Posted on August 23, 2017August 23, 2017
Business

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” –Martin Luther King Jr. Feed Them Remember, for a moment, a specific time when a colleague at work acted in a […]

by Chris
Posted on August 19, 2017August 19, 2017
Career

“I often think how terribly sad it is that so many people–the ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ brigade–are not in the least bit passionate about what they are doing with their lives. I’m talking about the […]

by Chris
Posted on August 14, 2017February 17, 2018
Business

Many Americans credit Thomas Jefferson with the brilliant writing of the Declaration of Independence. What those people fail to mention, however, is that Jefferson’s first draft was a rough one and greatly in need of […]

In modern business, accomplishing tasks and staying connected to customers and coworkers is necessary for success, but it comes with a price. In today’s age, rather than measuring how many widgets we make or ship, […]

A couple of weeks ago, a Monday to be specific, I had a bad day. A very bad day. Making a long story short, I lost one of my most prized possessions, a watch, somewhere between […]

I was talking with a friend earlier this week and he asked me this question: “how do you keep balance in your life?” Then he said. “Man, I‘m in my early 30’s and I still […]

Yawns and accents are two things that are easily passed to others through behavioral osmosis. What else is passed on?

In my last post, Being in Two Places at Once, I discussed the almost supernatural ability that our devices give us, the ability to be co-located, to sit in one place while teleporting to another, […]

Just because you can be in two places at once doesn’t mean you should…

Think of the most interesting person you know. Now, answer this question: why is this person interesting? Pause for a second to answer before you read on. This question is a tough one for me, not […]

If you have spent even one hour with me then you have probably heard me talk about the book I that am currently reading at that time and how it applies to something in our […]

hamilton musical the private bank theatre

“Talk Less, Smile More, Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for. You wanna get ahead? Fools who run their mouths off’ wind up dead.” — [bad advice from] Aron Burr, Hamilton […]

“Happiness existed only as a contrast to unhappiness, and one could not exist without the other. Therefore, they balanced out: ‘Since pain naturally and infalliably produces a pleasure in proportion to it, every individual creature […]

“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention…” — Herbert Simon, Nobel Prize Winner and Economist Basic Economics of […]

“A rubber band is useless unless it is stretched.” I heard my Jiu Jitsu instructor say this recently and it stuck with me, despite its drastic simplicity. Think about it. A rubber band (or “rubber […]

The only sport I was ever half-way decent at while growing up was basketball. My skill developed mostly by shooting hoops in the driveway with my older brother, Andrew, or playing at the local YMCA […]

What do you do when the thrill is gone? When the honeymoon phase is over? When the new job is now mundane? When the task that once excited you is now obligatory? What do you […]

by Chris
Posted on June 14, 2017February 17, 2018
Business

This post is about how the words we use shape our voice and dictate the results we achieve, or don’t achieve. I write this as an essay to myself, as I have for so many […]

A couple of months ago I was fortunate enough to see Jerry Seinfeld's comedy show in Minneapolis at the beautiful Orpheum Theater. If you haven't seen Jerry do stand-up live, I would urge you to […]

by Chris
Posted on February 25, 2017February 17, 2018
Fashion

There I was, standing in the Goorin Bros. hat store in Uptown Minneapolis, trying on every kind of hat you can think of. If you haven’t been to Goorin, you should try it out. The […]

by Chris
Posted on February 19, 2017July 20, 2017
Business

This is not a post on how to get rich. If I knew that, I wouldn’t tell you anyway, I would be too busy swimming in my coins like Scrooge McDuck. It is, however a post […]

“The number of automobiles and trucks on American roads now exceeds the number of people living here.” Imagining Cities Without Highways Article There I was, coasting down the interstate and in full-song, singing loudly Adele’s “Rolling in […]

“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” — Francis Bacon Traveling on a plane can exhaust even the most energetic of people. Somewhere between […]

Over the past couple of years, I have experienced more injuries and sickness than I had in my whole life. Between sports injuries (back and shoulder), bacterial and skin infections, and flu and other illnesses, […]

Today at work I watched my coworker tap her computer mouse on her desk. “Hmm,” she said to herself, “it keeps freezing up.” How often does this type of unexpected malfunction happen with technology? Often! […]

“Difficult things aren’t easy, but they’re worth it.” – Mia Love Ice Baths and Performance For years professional athletes have been taking ice baths after big games and tough practices to repair their bodies. There […]

“Stop settling for what’s good enough and start creating art that matters. Stop asking what’s in it for you and start giving gifts that change people. Then, and only then, will you achieve your potential.” […]

I’m still shocked when I find out that many of my friends and colleagues do not listen to podcasts and have no interest in starting. To me, this is purely a missed opportunity for them. […]

“His retreat into himself is not a final renunciation of the world, but a search for quietude, where alone it is possible for him to make his contribution to the life of the community.” ― […]

Picture her, a lean runner jogging briskly through a freshly paved path between green and brown earth. The crisp autumn wind bites at her cheeks. She is alone, early in the morning as she has […]

Looking Back and Looking Forward One year has come to an end and another has begun. As I summarize 2016 I can quite easily look back at this blog and see the thoughts, hobbies, and […]

by Chris
Posted on November 27, 2016July 12, 2017
Business

“Labour not as one who is wretched, nor yet as one who would be pitied or admired; but direct thy will to one thing only, to put thyself in motion and to check thyself, as […]

by Chris
Posted on November 19, 2016July 12, 2017
Career

For a long time, I was using the words “further” and “farther” interchangeably in my speech as if they meant the same thing. I just didn’t know the difference so I would use whichever one […]

by Chris
Posted on November 11, 2016July 12, 2017
Business

We have all been in this scenario… You are exiting a public restroom with a crumpled paper towel in hand, rushing out the door to resume your busy life. As you toss the paper towel […]

Earlier this year, I started craving a new challenge. Life was feeling mundane. I wanted a new hobby that would challenge my brain, and maybe my body, although I didn’t yet know how to achieve […]

by Chris
Posted on September 25, 2016August 26, 2017
Business

I was twenty-one years old and like most college kids, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. This concept infuriated me: the one that tells teenagers to pick a college major […]

by Chris
Posted on September 19, 2016July 12, 2017
Cognition

“The mother of a man accused of striking his girlfriend’s 3-year-old with a frying pan, hanging him upside down and hitting him, and whipping him with a metal rod said Friday that her son is […]

“I’m too busy to exercise.” “I don’t have enough money to save.” “I don’t have time to read.” “There’s never enough time in the day.” “I don’t have enough energy to go for a run.” […]

Thoughts on money and spending: I consider myself a relatively stingy frugal person. The process of budgeting and planning for the financial future is moderately enjoyable for me, and I carry some pride in the fact […]

I turned the corner out of the Portland PDX Airport rental car parking ramp at 10:15pm. It was dark and raining and I didn’t know where I was going. The rental, a red Nissan Sentra, […]

America seems so dysfunctional lately, doesn’t it? Police are shooting civilians, civilians are shooting police. There’s political distress all around and it seems like CNN and Fox News are constantly screaming at us about it. […]

“Anticipating future rewards can actually light up the pleasure centers in your brain much as the actual reward will.” – Shawn Achor One of my favorite things about my wife is how good she is […]

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in […]

“Leveling up” is making tomorrow’s you better than today’s you. Leveling up is striving for at least 1% self-improvement in a day. Getting 1% better means spending time and energy doing things that are dedicated […]

If you have been around me enough, you know that I am a list maker. If a topic or agenda has more than two items, I will start a list. I do this partially because […]

“I mean, honestly, I love this restaurant.” “To be honest, I am not a big fan of baseball.” “It’s not that I don’t want to hang out, I’m just so busy, to be honest with […]

If a particular whole food becomes popular with consumers, food manufacturers will figure out a way to adulterate and cleverly market it so that the average consumer is fooled into believing that this new fractionated […]

I am comfortable in the uncomfortable. — Conor McGregor, Current UFC Featherweight Title Holder Many of the most rewarding moments in life are when we are either: A. Extremely comfortable B. Extremely uncomfortable Here are some […]

Aspartylphenylalanine-methyl-ester is one of the most dangerous drugs on the street. And we are all consuming it. Let’s go back to the beginning… A few years ago a friend of mine, Curt, told me about his […]

I know what you’re thinking. “This guy has had a blog for a month and he is already writing about poop? How mature!” However, despite how much your nine-year-old self still giggles when you hear […]

Today I set out to fly to Dallas. The flight was redirected due to a thunderstorm, and since we were at risk of running out of fuel, we landed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After an hour […]

In such a highly developed humanity as the present one, each man by nature has access to many talents. Each has inborn talent, but only a few have inherited and cultivated such a degree of […]

I am currently seated at the very noisy Chicago O’Hare Airport. The sounds around me are borderline overwhelming… A businessman at the gate yells about being bumped from his flight. The intercom blasts “last call […]

“Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.” – Prince Last month, one of Minnesota’s most beloved musicians, Prince, died unexpectedly. Flocks of people traveled from near and far […]

I have a bad habit that, in theory, sounds like a good one: I try to finish everything I start. About a year ago, I was talking to my dad about a book I was […]

In recent months I have become more aware of how important gratitude is in my life, mostly because of its unique power to dramatically affect my level of happiness. I started thinking more about happiness […]

You might be asking why do I care about drinking less coffee and drinking more tea? It started a few weeks ago when my caffeine intake caught up with me. Not just physically, but the black […]