In October of 1980 a band of 4 Irish teenagers released an album called Boy. For a debut album, it did OK. It sold 200,000 copies. One of the songs, “I Will Follow,” got some college radio play. But other than that, its impact was minor. The album’s songs were seeded with “dog whistle” lyrics about faith. I was lost, … Read More
A weird musical experiment for you to try
A few days ago, I asked myself, “Self, if you could show people ONE YouTube video that best encapsulates what you love about music, what would it be?” And I answered, “Self, it would probably be Hiromi’s Move.” (Video further down below). Then I wondered, “Self, what is it you like about that?” I said, “Well Self, here are a … Read More
A sobering word about the times we’re living in right now
Regardless of which political or social viewpoints you identify with, I think we can all agree that there’s an unprecedented level of insanity in the world right now. Washington DC… pandemics… riots… “…but wait, there’s more!” It’s fair to say few of us have ever lived in such a vortex of uncertainty. But let’s put this in perspective – – … Read More
How to Plan for the Future when the Future is Uncertain
In chaotic economic times, entrepreneurs like us usually make the wrong moves. We do the opposite of what we should do. And the consequences are often catastrophic. Why? Because most entrepreneurs don’t really get how economic cycles WORK and how to take advantage of them…and avoid making foolish decisions that can tank our business. You are the mercy of the … Read More
Life on Earth is *NOT* all Polarization & Strife
Everybody is wound tight as a violin string right now. One of the most vicious elections in history, rather than being behind us, appears destined for weeks of court battles. Yesterday my son had an hours-long conversation with his buddy about why we should not unfriend and unfollow everyone who voted for the “other” guy. 8 months into COVID, numbers … Read More
COVID 80/20: A Plan for Easing Out of Quarantine
If we follow 80/20, most of us can return to (almost) normal. We just need to go out of our way to accommodate those in peril. 1% of people carry 50% of COVID risk. China’s Center for Disease Control issued this age chart: 80% of COVID deaths are people over 60. Half are over 70. So the #1 COVID 80/20 … Read More
Husband has COVID; Ex-Husband Living in Basement
You CANNOT make this stuff up. What follows is 100% REAL. I’ve got this dear friend. Let’s call her “Lisa.” Lisa has an ex-husband named “Bob.” Bob walked out on her while she was nursing their third child a dozen years ago. Bob left her in the lurch. Their relationship as “woman and her ex” has hardly been rosy, shall … Read More
COVID-19: Not a Sprint. It is a Marathon.
The world you knew is gone. And it is not coming back. You can take one of two stances: 1) Try to cling to what was before 2) Eagerly welcome the revolution and embrace the future unknown. Those are your choices. What was before is now flotsam and jetsam. And we do not know what follows. Even if a vaccine … Read More
The Virus that Shattered the Bureaucracy
In the last 12 hours I’ve had a surprising number of conversations about how bureaucracy is being broken down by the coronavirus. The FDA began relaxing medical regulations to speed detection and inoculation efforts for COVID-19. Regulations in the mortgage industry are being relaxed to allow electronic loans to be processed; inspectors do not have to necessarily go inside of … Read More
Coronavirus: A call to action
In January 2010 I wrote a blog post called “10 Predictions for 2010-2019.” How did I do? Below, my predictions alongside the actual results: