LIFE
The Sweet Life Retreats
When we decided to organize killer retreats, one for couples and one for writers (but both designed for positive, growth mindset-type people), we knew what we were getting into. Sort of. We know how to exceed expectations. We know the town of Todos Santos and how best...
The Trials of Travel
Part of it is respecting the fact that everyone needs their own time and space. Not just the adults, but also the kids. My twelve-year-old deserves an hour to read by herself just as much as I do.
The Falsehood of Definitions
There’s a presentation I do at writing conferences called “Success, Failure, and Other Myths of the Writing Life.” People get so caught up in words like “success” and “failure” and their perceived meanings. No one would argue that Hemingway was a success, but he also...
The Discomfort Zone
If we had given up and turned back during the bike trip, she would have walked away believing that “I can’t do it” is true. Instead, she saw it through to the end and now knows that while it might be hard, she is absolutely capable.
Family Camp
Wait. Writers Camp, Couples Camp, and now Family Camp? We’ll, we’re kicking around the idea. We have many friends who would love to attend Couples Camp (and whom we’d love to have join us), but they have young children whom they aren’t comfortable leaving with other...
Our Experience With The GRIT Challenge
If you keep thinking about it, you might never do it. Just rip the band-aid off and commit to investing in yourself right now.
Find a Way
At no point throughout this debacle did we think that a little detail like lack of shoes would stop us from completing a challenge that we’d committed to. We have will, so we’ll always find a way.
LEGACY
What Is ImpactClub?
In its first two years, ImpactClub Boise donated almost $200,000 to the following organizations: Women’s and Children’s AllianceChrysalis Transitional LivingCreate Common GoodInterfaith SanctuaryWyakin FoundationThe Speedy FoundationWilderness Science EducationBoise...
Trust the Process
I wrote one word at a time, one sentence, one paragraph, one page, one chapter. Eventually, I had a manuscript. I had worked through the process.
Living a Better Story is Easier than Most Realize
“And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”― Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand...
The Gospel of Story
Story is how we tell each other what it is to be human.” When she said those words, you could feel the power of them wash over the room of writers.
Veterans Day, 2019
I thought about writing about my father today. He was a Veteran, though he died earlier this year and so now I guess I should be thinking about him on Memorial Day. But it’s not Memorial Day. It’s Veterans Day. And here’s the thing on that... In the past I’ve seen...
My Dream Office
I optimize my environment by knowing exactly what I need, while remaining adaptable. I know that stressing over the perfect environment is not optimizing it, but a form of procrastination.
What Stands in a Storm
Mike and I recently returned from a conference/mastermind group in Orlando. I spent the majority of our flights home in that awkward state where you’re trying to cry as quietly as possible. No, I wasn’t sad to leave Florida. I wasn’t afraid the plane would plummet...
Do It Anyway
It’s not easy to put yourself out there, especially if it’s not something you naturally love to do. But sometimes you have to do it anyway.
LIVELIHOOD
All Figured Out
I’m a born planner, so I’d like nothing more than to have everything all figured out. When I was ten I wrote out what my budget would be in my adult life. (Don’t worry, I accounted for inflation.) I listed my projected salary as a cartoonist and then deducted...
In Pursuit of Dreams
If you can shift your mindset to find pleasure in the pursuit, you end up making bigger strides. Not fantasizing about the end goal, but taking each necessary step to get there, being present along the journey and finding joy in the slog.
Tag-Team Parenting
This morning over breakfast, I told Mike about a project I’m working on and that I’m falling behind schedule. His immediate response was to carve out a portion of the day during which he would take the girls out and occupy them for a few hours. This is a perfect...
Your Team Matters
It’s not that my teammates looked miserable, but they did appear to be incredibly serious. While the other team warmed up for a friendly soccer game, my squad readied themselves as if going to war.
If You Build It, They Will Come… Not Actually True
I wonder how many people took that line from Field of Dreams and ran with it. I think a lot of people don’t realize that they’re operating from that mentality when they start something. In Writing: I see a lot of people publish their books and then not understand why...
Our Experience With The GRIT Challenge
If you keep thinking about it, you might never do it. Just rip the band-aid off and commit to investing in yourself right now.
Duration has Nothing to Do with Intensity
I used to think working for 15 hours a day meant I was applying more intensity to my work and therefore expected better results from my efforts. But when I really examined where and how I spent each hour, I realized there was a lot of unproductive time mixed in. And...
True Fans
There are the obvious benefits to true fans. We gain evangelists, we produce revenue, and let’s not discount the fact that it just plain feels good. There’s a secondary level of benefits when it comes to gaining true fans that’s less acknowledged: True fans make you want to be a better person.