Five insights on memory and mortality from two essays by Sven Birkerts about his parents’ last years: “The Ongoing Vigil” and “Remembrance.” This is one of my Sunday spirit posts, less concerned with entrepreneurship than what is means to be human.
Some quotes and observations on the Declaration of Independence and the “Spirit of Liberty.”
Eight memories of my father from my youth. They have an emotional salience that underscores one or more lessons I took away–eventually.
Two speeches by Werner Heisenberg from the play Copenhagen by Michael Frayn. The first is a clever description of the uncertainty principle and the second explores the horrors of war.
An excerpt from “Aunt Jane of Kentucky” by Eliza Calvert Hall that explores piecing a quilt as a metaphor for making the most of your life.
Thoughts of gratitude on Thanksgiving 2021: the road goes on and we follow in the path of those who came before us, building on their accomplishments and insights.
I have blogged about 9-11 14 times, starting with Lesser Sons of Greater Fathers in 2008. 9-11 is an American cultural watershed as transformative an event as Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy assassination, and the Moon landing.
In an Aug-18-2021 speech to House of Commons, Tom Tugendhat emphasizes the need for patience and persistence to achieve peace.
Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) talks about the benefits of meditation and aligning your efforts with your purpose in two excerpts from his June 2020 interview with Tim Ferris. These excerpts were condensed from the interview transcript Ferris published June-30-2020.
Ipaiku is a character in a “science fiction detective novel” that I wrote some drafts for in 1975-78. This vignette is one of the early scenes in the novel that tries to capture a particular sense of movement beneath the surface or the potential energy latent in apparent stillness.
Unasked questions linger after the death of a parent, along with all of the things that you wish you had said.
Looking back nineteen years on 9-11 I am struck by how it unified America in way that perhaps only the Moon Landing and Pearl Harbor did.
Tips to cut the stress of a startup: plan for learning, take time to recharge, join a peer support group, don’t compare yourself to others.
A review of two short essays by Sridhar Vembu that explore the meaning of capital as the capability of a group or population to meet its own diverse economic needs.
Excerpts from Clayton Christensen’s address to the 2010 graduating class at Harvard Business School on “How Will You Measure Your Life?”
Both of our sons were able to join us for Thanksgiving 2019. It was wonderful. We ended up in a conversation about George Washington, I have included his 1798 proclamation that established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the US.
I came across a list of 21 “Things I wish I knew in my twenties” by Michael Wade and was impressed by the insights he offered. Here are my top eight.
Octavia Butler rejects inspiration, talent, and imagination as essential to creative pursuits and suggests that habits that enable persistence and learning are the essential element.
I had a birthday this week which triggered from reflections on my life. I prepared a short list of lessons learned for my party. I hope you find them helpful.
I like working with entrepreneurs because I find it easier to deal with their psychological challenges and the small team dynamics of a startup than the political problems of an enterprise.
