Hardship as a Teacher (Not Just Backstory)
We often talk about hardship as though it were a chapter we had to survive before the real story could begin. We reference it as “the hard season,” or “the awful year.” In our minds, it becomes the thing we got through. I think that’s fair – 2009-2010 and 2016-2018 were those hard seasons for […]
Hardship with a Capital H
Hardship Is the Crossing Between Who We Were and Who We Become We are weirdly obsessed with the shiny ending and I think there are a few reasons for that. In this day and age, a shiny ending feels like relief with everything going on in the world between wars, politics, gas prices, and the […]
Courage Is Not Bravery (It’s the Next Step Anyway)
When we picture courage, our brains love a dramatic montage. Firefighters racing toward danger. A kid walking into a school where they are not wanted. A leader taking a public stand that could cost them everything. Those “big” moments matter, and they belong in the courage hall of fame. But most of the courage required […]
CHART: A Roadmap for Stories That Move People
Most leaders already know story matters. It rallies a team, sells a vision, restores trust, and reminds people why the work is worth doing. The problem is not whether to tell stories. It’s how to tell them in a way that’s both powerful and usable. Not a rambling memoir (though I have a particular soft […]
Story Is a Change Agent (and CHART Keeps It Honest)
If you have ever tried to change someone’s mind with a spreadsheet, you already know the painful truth: data is useful, and while persuasive, it doesn’t hold a candle to the power of story. Story is how we make meaning. It is how we remember. It is how we decide what matters. It is how […]
Disciplined Self-Forgetfulness: The Container Where Inspiration Can Land
We love the romance of inspiration. The lightning bolt. The muse floating in at 2:00 a.m. with a silk robe and a perfect metaphor. And sure, sometimes it happens like that. But if you make your living creating anything, a keynote, a strategy, a chapter, a painting, a sermon, a meal, you learn a quieter […]
Go Outside to Remember You’re Not the Main Character (and Feel Better Because of It)
There’s a reason so many breakthroughs happen near water, under trees, or on a trail where nobody can see your “thinking face.” Nature has a sneaky way of doing what your best friend, your therapist, and your productivity app have all attempted and failed to do: it gently un-centers you, but less in a shaming […]
The Collective Spark: Inspiration in Community
The name self-forgetfulness does it absolutely no favors. When I’m rattling off the three pre-cursor states to inspiration – spaciousness, stillness and self-forgetfulness – the last one always trips people up. Self-forgetfulness sounds like dissociation or being checked out. It also might sound like losing yourself in a way that should probably come with a […]
Self-Forgetfulness: The Secret Doorway to Inspiration (and Why Leaders Need It)
Most of us are trying to be inspired while also trying to look like we have our lives together. Which is… adorable. And also wildly incompatible. And mostly impossible. Because inspiration rarely shows up when we’re performing, polishing, curating, or trying to control the outcome. It tends to arrive when we forget to care about […]
The Void Is Where the Good Stuff Lives: Stillness, Discomfort, and the Roots of Creativity
Stillness can feel like a void, which is why we avoid it. In this post, I’ll cover what the “empty space” actually gives you, why boredom and discomfort can spark creativity, and simple practices to stop rushing past it. There’s a moment most of us hate. You sit down. You finally have a quiet pocket […]