Remote work is here to stay. A recent study projects that after the pandemic ends, 22 percent of all full work days will be take place from home, compared with 5 percent before. (Barrero, Bloom and Davis, 2020). Fortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses found that they could still get payroll…
By now, most of us are familiar with the mental health risks associated with the practice of law. A 2016 ABA study found 20.6% of lawyers had unhealthy relationships with alcohol, 28% reported symptoms of depression, 19% showed signs of anxiety, and 23% had harmful levels of stress. North Carolina has a long history of attending…
I am excited to announce that my first full book is now available. (You can find it here.) Mud and Dreams is a series of essays on the poetry and science of living. A work of “motivational poetics” the book speaks directly to the human concerns at the center of…
For my wife’s family, life is filled with dance. Every New Year’s and Christmas, each cumpleaños and quinceanera, everyone would laugh and yell, cry and dance. And in the culture of her family, when the music is playing, it is the duty of the man to ensure that no woman…
One day my wife and daughters were at the beach enjoying cups of ice cream and sun and walking out on the pier. My youngest looked over the rail, and bursting with joy, shouted, “How cool! A shark!” Her excitement was absolute and unrestrained. My older daughter, turned and glanced…
In the Republic, Plato gives us his “allegory of the cave”. Prisoners who are chained to their spots underground see only images flickering on the wall. They have no other reality. They are shown shadows of puppets without dimensions, without substance. Our poor little creatures know nothing else of life.…
Zen Buddhists talk of the “beginner’s mind” – that presence and openness that allows us to remain original and fresh, where there is no thought of achievement or thought of self. If you can keep your mind receptive and empty, like a beginner, it will always be ready and open…
In the 1941 movie, Dumbo, a little elephant with big ears could fly. However, he only believed it was possible when he held a magic feather in his trunk. The feather was his source of confidence and comfort. It provided a secure touchpoint and reminded him of what was possible.…
Are you ever stressed at work? Regardless of whether you see your work as a calling, a career or a job, you probably do experience stress from time-to-time. It could be due to unreasonable demands or expectations: the client’s, your boss’s or your own. It might be a lack resources…
Last week I wrote about three different approaches to work: Work as a job, a career, or a calling. The benefits of seeing work as a calling, to the individual and the organization, can be profound. In that article I pointed out that one way to shift to work to…