How NOT to ignore situational context.

When I was five, there was a kitten mewing outside our classroom door, so the teacher let her in but told us if we couldn’t ignore the cat and get our work done, we would miss recess.

Guess who missed recess?

Nobody cares. Isn’t that great? Sure, it makes it hard to get noticed; can make it feel like you’re swimming uphill in a vacuum sometimes. But that very thing that makes connection so challenging is also a bit of grace.

Flailing gets a bad rap, but should it?

Years ago, I almost died on a river in Colorado. Our raft upended and I was swept over a waterfall, then up against an undercut rock, the current sucking me down.

Panic doesn’t begin to describe it. I wasn’t ready to go…

How do you stay focused on work, even when it feels like everything is crumbling around you?

When I was in my late twenties and Millennials started invading the workplace, I could have been one of the people throwing their hands up, bemoaning their entitlement, their gall. But I was in awe.

Here's just a bit of what I've learned...

Two quick rules to live by:

1. Don’t tell somebody’s story without them , and

2. Make damn sure their story is well told.

I’ll be honest. When I see a brand (or even a person) post something on social media and then ignore all the comments, I cringe.

Imagine doing that in real life.

Be a sub-hero. And no that’s not just an amazing new sandwich I invented.

Have you ever met someone who’s the hero of every story they tell?

It’s not a good look, is it? Feels a little trite, a bit disingenuous, it just… isn’t all that interesting.

If you want to grab someone's attention...