People Skills

“People like to talk about themselves, but they really like to know that you like to hear them talk about themselves.”

— Jamison Ward, age 14.

Never Say Never

You just never know what will happen or what God can do.

Really Good Vanilla

Greenwood, Indiana, where I live, is like really, really, really good vanilla ice cream. It’s not fancy or flashy, but you can do almost anything with it as a great base.

We’ve got low taxes, affordable housing, one of the best school districts in the state, and friendly, welcoming people. We’ve got downtown Indianapolis 20 minutes north for professional sports and first-class cultural events, including the Pacers and Colts, the Indianapolis 500, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

Less than an hour to the south, we’ve got the rolling hills of Brown County and the quaint town of Nashville. A bit west of that is the great college town of Bloomington, home to Indiana University. For more far-reaching adventure, we are two hours from Cincinnati and Louisville, three hours from Chicago, and less than four hours from St. Louis — and just 20 minutes from a beautiful, modern international airport.

Add to all this four beautiful seasons, a collection of great churches, and the fact that most of our restaurants serve sweet tea, and this is pretty much one of the best places in the world to base a great life.

Consider The Downside

You’ve been captivated by the vision, or by the visionary. You are excited about the possibilities and ready to make the leap.

Before you do, consider the downside. What is the worst that could happen if this doesn’t work out? What if the visionary moves on? What if the organization changes course? What if this sure bet isn’t such a sure thing after all?

Don’t be crippled by fear of the downside, but at least consider it. Then you can move forward with eyes wide open, confident of your decision even as you are aware of the risks.

Inbox Theory

What is your relationship with your email inbox? Do you start to twitch when the unread messages start piling up? Or can you live comfortably with hundreds or even thousands of unread emails?

Check out this fun article in The Atlantic in which the author theorizes that there are two types of people in the world — Inbox Zero and Inbox 5,000 — and explores the psychology behind email response.

(It probably comes as no surprise that I am most definitely an “Inbox Zero” personality type.)