IDEAS FOR THE ROAD
Writing.
If you’re sorting through what matters in work or life, start here. I write about marketing, leadership, faith, and making clearer choices.
You can't fully know God without Church
A lot of people say, "I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious." Which usually means they don't go to church. But what if by not participating in the Church, your view of God is incomplete? What if you can't fully know God outside of a participation in his community?
Why we're afraid of good things
The phrase, “too good to be true” is poison. It has crept into our psyche like a chemical leak into a water supply. Its effects are mostly unnoticed, but the damage is slowly wreaking havoc on our lives. Think about it… AI has made us suspicious of everything. Every article, vide
When the finish line keeps moving
So the finish line moved again 😓
The best marketing is a good product
The best marketing has always been a good product.
Imitation vs replication
If imitation is a form of flattery, then replication is a cheap insult to the people you serve.
I asked AI to put a percentage on the Bible's accuracy
Chasing certainty is a losing game. Trust me, I've tried.
Reputation will always beat optimization
The trust economy is making a comeback.
The best marketing usually feels boring
Great marketing feels boring when it's working.
The unwieldy, unprecedented power of freedom
The Byzantine Empire was around for over a thousand years, longer than any other empire the world had seen.
Doing less doesn't fix burnout. Order does.
I remember sitting at my desk one night after everyone had gone to bed.
AI as a sparring partner
AI is better used as a sparring partner than strictly a force multiplier.
Ambition as analgesic
Ambition is a powerful painkiller.
How wishful thinking grows up to be fraud
Most people don't set out to defraud. They just allow wishful thinking to hang around long enough until it grows into negligence.
Solutions looking for problems
Man, AI is the new drug of choice for tech folks.
Dressing up delay as due diligence
I think the reason a lot of people get stuck has more to do with their commitment than it does their ability.
The grief of an overbuilt life
Some people succeed into a life they can't enjoy.
Escaping the competency trap in AI
A lot of people using AI right now are getting really good at what they were already doing.
Context switching isn't the enemy, contextless switching is
Context switching used to be a productivity no-go. But things have changed with AI.
What AI can't give you but people need more now than ever
The future belongs to people with wisdom.
Overcorrection isn't always a bad thing.
Neglect isn’t easily undone. And extremes are particularly effective at pulling the boat back in the other direction.
Biblically, being "blessed" isn't what you think
What does it really mean to be blessed? We’ve all had the conversations where someone describes something good that’s happened to them and then says, “We’re blessed.” The implication is because something good has happened, that must mean that God has given his blessing. But what
How to Make a Decision When You Can't Hear God
When you pull up to a stop sign at the exact same time as another car across the intersection from you, you basically have three options: 1. The sit and wait strategy: wave and flash your lights violently at the other person telling them to go 2. The press and pray strategy: don’
Assignments vs. Offerings
Not everything God blesses is something He initiated. Sometimes we move first. Take the temple, for example. God never asked for it. In fact, he seemed opposed to it at first. When David said he wanted to build a house for the Lord, God responded with something like, “Did I ever
Is my future up to me or up to God?
I think we get confused by God’s sovereignty. We say God is in control, but what we often mean is that because God is in control, we can be apathetic. In the book of Exodus when the Israelites were told to “be still,” (Exodus 14:14) one verse later God says, “Why are you crying o
Boats and docks
Growth is good, but order is everything. You probably have more ideas than time. More ambition than capacity. And that’s not a bad thing. You should be striving for better in all areas of your life. Absolutely. But without order, everything all falls apart.
The (New) American Dream
The American Dream as we know it is going away. But maybe it was never the problem. For generations, the formula was simple: work hard, follow the rules, climb the ladder. Show up, do your job, and you’ll be fine. But now the ladder’s gone. The jobs are being outsourced, automate
What I learned about dealing with stress and anxiety
About 8 years ago, I overdid it. I had two jobs, two kids (one of which was a newborn), and a head full of business ideas. I poured every spare second into something new. No plan. Just “hustle”. Eventually, the pressure broke through and I experienced a panic attack for the first
Does positivity lead to success?
Can positivity make you successful? Stanford University did a study that examined the impact of positive thinking on students’ learning abilities. They found that “the hippocampus, a brain area linked with memory and learning, was significantly more active in kids with a positive
Christianity vs. Christ-Following
How is it that so many people claim to be Christians—something like 70% of Americans and roughly a third of the world’s population—yet when we look around on a daily basis, we see so few people who actually seem to be following Jesus’ example and exhibiting His attributes to thos
Why Dreams Die
Have you ever wondered why dreams die? Why do people settle for lives that are less than what they imagined? How is it that too many of us (most of us) quit on our dreams and decide they’re no longer worth chasing? People talk a lot about making a difference and changing the worl
Does God Give You Tests He Knows You Won't Pass?
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like there was no way to win? It feels like you’re walking across icy ground in the winter. One minute you’re striding along without a worry in the world, and the next minute you’re overcome by that awful feeling of losing comple
The Science Behind Why You Get a Million Ideas in the Middle of the Night
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and felt like you had a non-stop flow of ideas? It's like the idea flood gates have held all night long just waiting for you to get up so they can open.