This deflection is named after the oft-called “father of western philosophy,” who was killed for how he used not-knowing and powerful questions to expose flaws in people’s perception, reasoning, and values. It won’t surprise you that he’s one of my heroes, and certainly one of my teachers. After you learn to use the Socratic Method,…

In my series of excuses, today I’ll be talking about Self-Contradiction. It’s a lack of clarity on its surface but often arises from deep-seated commitment issues. Not often used blatantly, this type of deflection may be tricky to spot. The contradictions are sometimes so subtle they require deep listening to detect. Manager: So who’s going…

“Good morning, I see you’re a bit late. And it looks like you’ve got mustard on your chin.” “I couldn’t get my son out of bed this morning, then there was a huge line at the hot dog stand—when I got mustard on my chin—but the guy didn’t give me the right change, so I…

Greg came to me frustrated. He felt like he was spinning his wheels. He owned a chain of four retail stores and was, by most people’s measure, successful. But he wasn’t fulfilled. His business was profitable, his customers happy, and his employees more engaged than most. “Something just doesn’t feel right,” he told me, “I have so…

In my newsletter this week, I told the story of how the list of excuses came about. (You’re subscribed, right?) I had been working with a management team to increase accountability and responsibility in their company culture, but was hearing excuses left and right from the management themselves. In frustration, I sat down for a…

I once served a business owner, let’s call him Aaron, who lead a cohort of his employees through my Clear Workspace, Open Mind course. While the course is on the surface about getting organized, it inevitably challenges the way people relate to work itself and calls them to a higher level of productivity and excellence.…

I once struggled with a client, let’s call him Corey, who became easily upset—or so I thought. I never actually experienced it, but I did notice that he became slightly agitated when the conversation wasn’t entirely positive, and he would quickly change the subject. I found myself giving him a wide berth. But I needed…

The relatively recent advent of psychology (~1900) and the popularization of Eastern thought in the West (beginning in the 1960s) has contributed to an epidemic misunderstanding of the Buddha’s teachings: “perception is reality.” This is an increasingly popular tenet among younger generations, modern spiritualists, and, as a result, world culture. While the Buddha did teach…