That’s a pretty depressing and fatalistic post title, but I actually mean it in a positive and encouraging way. Let me explain. It’s easy to go about your life, every day, feeling like everyone else has their shit together and that the things you struggle with are unique to you. But then, when you get… Continue reading
Category: Personal
Becoming a leader of men
In terms of leadership, I’ve done some hard things. Building teams, reorganizing a company, dealing with failure (and success), letting people go, navigating competition, etc. But I suspect all of that will pale in comparison to what’s up next: this weekend I begin my career as a little league coach. Starting Sunday, I’ll be leading… Continue reading
The sweetest pitbull
I had crazy week last week. On Monday, I went to NYC for the day for work, and was overcome by a strange dizzy feeling. Walls spinning; hard to concentrate; nauseous. I thought — maybe I’m just dehydrated. I took a rest during the middle of the day; I drank a lot of fluids. I made… Continue reading
Pond hockey
Happy New Year everyone. I love new years. It always feels to good to turn the page and have a shot at a fresh new year. And new years in New England is always so so cold — which I think really helps mark the beginning of the real part of winter and the turn… Continue reading
The no list (or, do less better)
Saying no to things is something I’ve always been bad at. I have always been (and to some extent, have prided myself on being) more of a “why not” guy than a “why” guy. This has many of advantages — I’m open minded and I end up doing tons of interesting things w interesting people.… Continue reading
Happiness = meaningful social connections
I’m writing this from the DC metro, which I love. Getting from the airport to downtown dc is one of the great joys of traveling. I can’t think of a single airport that is as conveniently connected to a major city by mass transit. But the point of this post is not to talk about… Continue reading
Social Connections: from Something You Inherit to Something You Earn
(I’m writing this on the amtrak to NY as my computer quickly runs out of battery, and I have no charger, so this’ll be short…) Somehow, earlier this week, I came across Zenep Tufekci’s piece from last spring in the Atlantic on Social Media’s Small, Positive Role in Human Relationships. I liked it, but I… Continue reading
My Top 5 Personal Productivity Hacks
I can’t claim to be the most disciplined or organized person, but I’m working on both. I have, however, done a lot to smooth out my moment-to-moment work process, to help me do things more quickly & easily, and to help me avoid distractions where I can. I can only hope that I win more… Continue reading
Living Scared
What happened yesterday in Boston so sad and awful. And it’s deeply scary. All of the communities I’m part of — family, work, school, city — have been shaken by this. But the most important thing we can do coming away from this is not get scared in our core. If that happens, they win… Continue reading
Subtle Discontent
For the past two months, Frannie and I have been doing yoga. It’s a totally new thing for me. I was skeptical about it at first, but it’s been totally awesome and perspective changing. Even though I am completely inflexible and unaccustomed to all of the poses (and perhaps because of this), doing the practice… Continue reading
Coming Back Up for Air
The past three weeks have been really busy. First a trip to SF with the USV team, then to Austin for SXSW to put on We Heart Wifi, and finally to Iceland where we have been helping establish a new institute for internet policy at Reykjavik University. So as is typically the case, I have fallen… Continue reading
Prioritizing Ruthlessly
I met with an entrepreneur yesterday who, in passing, mentioned Warren Buffett’s method of prioritizing (ruthlessly). To sum it up: Jot down a list of the 25 most important things you want to accomplish (in a month, in a year, in life). Circle the 5 absolutely most… Continue reading
Living in the Fall Line
For the past few months I have been seeing an executive coach, which has been really helpful for me. One of my issues is that I tend to keep too much work bottled up in my inbox / in my to do list. This is a drain on productivity and a source of stress. Part… Continue reading
Fighting for change: why and how
Happy MLK Day everyone. I just spent the last half hour reading MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. To be totally honest, I don’t think I’ve ever read it in its entirety before. It is incredibly powerful and moving. I encourage anyone reading this to take some time with it today. I pulled a few quotes… Continue reading
Reflections on two days with no phone
Sunday night, Cescalouise‘s iPhone mysteriously went dark. She had a lot going on Monday, so I gave her my phone to use, then I headed down to NYC for the day and following night. So I’ve been away from home for the last day and a half with no phone. Not a huge deal, obviously,… Continue reading
My Public Folders on Google Reader
I love Google Reader. I’ve used it for a long long time now to keep tabs on things. I suppose it’s an old school method at this point, but I think it’s just great. The screengrab above is one of my home screens on my galaxy s3. I have moved to a widgets-only mobile desktop,… Continue reading
Moving the Ball Forward
I always spend a lot of time around the turn of the new year thinking about self-improvement. This year is no different. Last summer, at a charity fundraiser for a friend, I bought several sessions of personal coaching. Throughout the fall, I’ve been working with my coach, Lisa Lahey, using her methodology called “immunity to change.”… Continue reading
New Years Cleaning
I love milestones. Times of year that mark change and give you a chance to pause and reset. I think that’s part of why I had such a hard time living in California during college, and why I appreciated the seasons so much when I moved back east. They provide a very natural rhythm. The… Continue reading
Striking the Right Balance
It’s hard to find the right balance when bringing technology into our lives. I do think lots of us suffer from some form of internet / social media addiction, and it’s getting easier and easier every day to bring all of that with us everywhere we go. This will only continue to accelerate (and I… Continue reading
Tennis, Psychadelics, and Entrepreneurship
I’ve always thought of tennis as perhaps the most difficult of sports. It’s like hitting a baseball, but while you’re running, and with 90% of the addressable target area out of bounds (in the net, outside the lines, etc). To top that off, you’re a team of one, battling yourself, inside your head. So it’s… Continue reading