{The User's Guide To Being Human}

Michelangelo once said, “every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Each and every one of us is a sculptor of the most important kind. We chisel away at our lives with every action. The question is, to what extent are we conscious [...]

Last week, I was about 20 minutes into a lecture on “Focus” when I realized that I was giving what might very well have been the most discombobulated presentation of my entire career. Standing there before a roomful of people who had come to learn about focus, speaking in real time to keep from entering [...]

In writing The User’s Guide to Being Human: The Art and Science of Self, I did a fair bit of work for the book in my dreams. For example, I knew I had about 3 pages for a section on “The Nature of Reality,” which was the setup for The Art of Authenticity chapter. Exploring [...]

Last night during a particularly vivid dream, I noticed that in television and movies there are often very specific musical themes that accompany specific characters. The main character in particular often has two key themes or variations that follow him or her through the movie. One is the inspirational, “on the path” theme. The other [...]

The Good News Everyone has inside himself a piece of good news! The good news is that you really don’t know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is! —Anne Frank, teenage author (1929-1945) The Problem Every human being is born with an extraordinary [...]

In the natural world, plants and animals are driven to live in peak condition as a matter of everyday adaptation and survival. Human beings are important members of this natural world. By birthright, we too are called to live in peak condition. We are called to cooperate with the various Earth systems and other living [...]

Society has brought about extraordinary scientific, technological and social advancements during the last century. Despite these advancements, many of our societal systems (government, education, medicine, information, and social services) are still based on a model established in the context of the Industrial Revolution that began in the 1700s. Our current model has yet to incorporate [...]

The User’s Guide To Being Human is organized in two books. Book 1—The Art and Science of Self examines eight arts for personal development. It guides the reader to make use of those arts through a “Personal Growth Project.” Book 2—The Art and Science of Connection examines eight arts for connecting with others and leading [...]

What if prosperity is not something to be sought out there in the future? What if it is a frame of mind that enables us to tap an abundance of possibilities that are always flowing within and around us? I’ve recently discovered a remarkably simple way to hoist a kind of inner sail into the [...]

Do you ever wonder how it is that children can play a single game over and over again, hour after hour, day after day? Do you ever wonder why their play is so important to them, or what influence it has in shaping the adults that they become? Do you ever consider how your play as a child may have shaped the person you are right now?