Find a way to create joy each day
Sporting events, such as the NFL playoffs, are fun to watch with a crowd, especially a crowd of friends. But one way to add much more excitement, especially if you weren't particularly rooting for one team or another, is to encourage everyone to make cheap bets with friends while everyone's watching together. "One dollar says… Continue reading Adding stakes
How do you feel when you host a large gathering? Do you feel anxious that everything is going to go as planned? Do you feel put upon that you're in charge of entertaining everyone? Do you feel crushed under the weight of preparing the house? Do you feel stifled because of the crowd in your… Continue reading Hosting your friends
As humans, we are pretty good at mourning endings and celebrating beginnings. In fact, books about change management often advise to do just that, to mark the transition from old to new, put the past squarely in the past, and chart out a new path forward. But what happens on Day Two? Week Two? Month… Continue reading Day Two
The new year! The new decade! Moments like these are always an opportunity to take a step back, to count your joys, to look at what's not going well, and to decide what to do about it. Let me preempt your argument about whether the decade starts on Jan 1 2020 or 2021 by telling… Continue reading Fresh starts
Came across this phenomenal advice from Edie Freeman, who among other things was the creative director that came up with the idea of using various animals on the cover of the O'Reilly series of highly technical programming manuals. My current advice to everyone is this: fall in love with your life. Pursue the things that… Continue reading Fall in love with your life
The Joys of JJFoley 