Warning: This piece will likely challenge your existing views of reality…if you let it. In my September piece, Why Democracy Fails, I reminded you that the sharpest minds of ancient Greece didn’t like democracy. They correctly predicted that the persuasive, the charismatic, and the greedy would exploit the system and turn democracy toward autocracy. Sound familiar? It’s…
“Yes, sir, your insurance plan is no longer being offered,” the faceless voice said with a vague approximation of care, but no substance. Me: “Yes, I gathered that from the poorly written email I received just thirty days before it was supposed to renew.” “I understand you wanted to know why the plan was being…
What’s the difference between, “It feels like…” and “I feel…”? A lot, it turns out. “It feels like…” is one of those phrases that bothered me for years until I finally figured out why. The following may seem like nitpicking semantics, but stay with me and I’ll demonstrate how important this is. Never before in…
If you try to accomplish something big, you’ll need other people. This is one of the many reasons why relationships are so important. Sooner or later, you will hurt another person. It doesn’t matter how good a person you are, or how good your intentions were, we hurt others. That’s life. We’re wounded. We hurt,…
First, I’d like to announce my fall course: Zen & the Art of Meta which begins Thursday September 12 at 11:30-1:30 pm PT. We’re doing two, two-hour sessions per month now instead of four single-hour ones to allow for deeper explorations. Click the link and/or reply to this email to learn more. In the spirit of…
Greetings and Aloha! I’m excited to announce an innovative change in the direction of Clear and Open. For 21 years now, I’ve dedicated my practice to offering cutting edge business development and inner work guidance, techniques, and methodologies. What I’ve discovered, however, is that while my clients clearly enjoy learning about these new approaches, the…
Being an effective student is one of the more important attributes you can have, because it’s upstream of your ability to gain the knowledge, skill, and awareness you need for any challenge whatsoever. When you stop learning, you start dying. There was a single event in my childhood that changed my life as a student forever.…
Before we dive in, I offer some context. I break a lot of marketing rules by having a complex service offering. I combine business, psychological and spiritual perspectives to solve problems. In the domain of money, economic realities and dynamics must be understood, but they are not enough. Because money is a symbol of value,…
The journey inward is the most difficult and also most rewarding path there is. During these darkest times of year, most people fill the darkness with food, drink, and various forms of merriment. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. So while I wish you a Happy All-the-Days, I also invite you to take some time…
Trigger warning, The following may elicit feelings You don’t want to feel, It may remind you of things You don’t want to think about, It may call for you to examine Uncomfortable aspects of yourself That you work hard to ignore, Trigger warning, You may experience vulnerable emotions like Hurt, anxiety, anguish, and shame, Emotions…