I was arrogant throughout my career. It based on a justifiable pride about my own capabilities. But it deprived me of something crucial: an appreciation for the best qualities of other people. How I became arrogant I’m going to tell you about me. It’s going to sound like bragging. But it’s all factual. I was…
People die. They don’t pass away. Here’s why I’m done with that euphemism. I had little opinion on this when I was younger. I was fortunate — other than grandparents who died when I was young, I’d not really experienced losses of people close to me. Since then I’ve had the chance to grieve people…
A funny thing happens as you get older. All the noise and confusion of a busy career quiets. You begin to focus on what’s important. And you give up silly and unproductive behaviors. Here are the only four things I still do. And the one thing I’m pleased not to do any more. Learn You…
Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek, died yesterday. Most of what you’ll read about her celebrates her rule as a trailblazer for Black actors on network television, and what that did for America’s perception of Black people. I’d like to talk about what her appearance meant for me, a sheltered…
I once had the chance to give a speech in Rome. It was almost a disaster — even if nobody in the room noticed. The client was a large industrial company in Europe. The venue was one of Rome’s fanciest hotels. The audience were a couple dozen senior executives at customers of the industrial client….
I was a math major and had ambitions to be a mathematician. That didn’t happen. Instead, I found myself in the business world. In contrast to writing, which I consider an essential skill for almost any job, advanced mathematical ability is not clearly necessary for most jobs. But as I look back at my career,…
I am quite independent. I vote independent, I work freelance, and I depend solely on myself for nearly everything. I live in a house in a nice neighborhood in Maine. My neighbors are pretty nice people. The other day, a huge piece of one of my trees broke off. Apparently it landed in the street….
Picture this. It is the 1960s. You are a student at the Ogontz Campus of Penn State University, near Philadelphia, where the students and professors who are unable or unwilling to get into the main University Park campus end up. You are majoring in something other than science, but you need a science class to…
Halfway through an hour’s walk in the cold, I was perched on a cinder-block wall in front of the Grace Baptist Church in Portland, Maine. There are not many places to rest in this part of town, and I needed a rest. It was overcast and lightly snowing. A boy who looked about nine years…