Nothing looks the way I thought it would look. Some of it has been more delightful than I expected, much of it has been more heartbreaking than I ever planned for — or thought I could survive. Yet here I am, living out the story that I am, at best, co-creating in collaboration with mysterious and invisible forces. It has been, at every turn, intere... See more

Answers rise or fall to the questions they meet. And it is a deep, deep truth in science as in life that at any given moment we are being shaped as much by the questions we're carrying as by the answers we have it in us to give. Those moments when a new question rises up in us, stops us in our tracks, those are pivot points. Those are moments when ... See more

I’m starting to wonder if the process isthe art. What do you mean by that? Maybe the photographing, the writing—maybe the tangible forms of the work are only the receipts of something much more important. What do you mean by that? I’m not exactly sure yet. But I’m paying close attention.

“Great leadership has many different attributes, but it starts with knowledge of a particular pursuit, because without the knowledge and mastery of that particular pursuit, I don’t think you have the authority to convey it with conviction to others. It usually is associated with an obsession, because to be a great leader, you have to be obsessed by

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The neuroscience shows that recognition has the largest effect on trust when it occurs immediately after a goal has been met, when it comes from peers, and when it’s tangible, unexpected, personal, and public. Public recognition not only uses the power of the crowd to celebrate successes, but also inspires others to aim for excellence. And it gives... See more

But what if you’re under the influence of bad systems? What if we all are? What if we take a minute to laugh at how hard we defend our right to want things when we can barely explain why we want them in the first place, beyond “I like this”? Can we deconstruct those wants in a non-judgy but curious sort of way? Or maybe delight in the absurdity of ... See more

Obama's career advice for young people -- Just learn how to get stuff done. What I mean by that is I've seen at every level people who are very good at describing problems, people who are very sophisticated at explaining why something went wrong or why something can't get fixed. But, what I’m always looking for is, no matter how small the probl... See more