Practical advice for everyday life
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Dear E & V, I hate seeing you in pain. When I was struggling with my career, your grandfather called me…
Dear E & V, I’m not a worrier, but I am. I have friends and family that worry much more than I do. I like to think I provide them with a sense of calm, that the world isn’t as scary as they think it is. It’s not that I don’t have worries, I do.…
Dear E & V, Your life is defined as much as what you do as what you do when there is nothing to do. Boredom can be demotivating and energy-sapping, or it can be the path to a rich and rewarding life… My life has been defined by the itch to always be doing —…
Dear E & V, In your life you will encounter two types of fear: Good fear. It’s the fear you experience in those rare instances where your life is in danger and it gets you out of trouble. Like coming across a pissed off grizzly bear or pulling yourself from a burning car wreck. Bad…
Dear E & V, One of the sadder things in life you’ll witness is people using superficial solutions for very deep problems. I’m writing this after reading about another gun-wielding mass murderer out in Colorado. The results will be the same: public outcry and then nothing will happen and the shootings will keep happening. Why?…
Dear E & V, If there is one lesson I could teach you about finances, it would be this: There will always be opportunities to get more money, there will never be an opportunity to get more time. This is one of the hardest lessons you can learn in life because even when you recognize…
Dear E & V, Your uncle might question my qualifications for giving dating advice, but I married your mother so I must be doing something right. Dating is hard for anyone, and even harder if you’re an introvert. It took me about 10 years after my first serious girlfriend to meet your mother, and another…
Dear E & V, One of the most difficult times in my life was when I was struggling with my identity and career path during my early to mid twenties. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, or what made me “me”. But I knew I wanted to be happy, so…
Read more The Happiness Mirage: The Right Way & Wrong Way to Be Happy
Dear E & V, I was struggling with the topic for your first letter because I wanted it to be something memorable that would stick out. Something deep and philosophical. Like one of my favorite Yoda quotes: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” A quote to live by, but not the point of…
