Inconsistency Creates Confusion You know what may be worse than having no standards at all? Having standards that change depending on the day, the person, or your mood. One day something is unacceptable, and the next day you let the exact same thing slide. One employee misses a deadline and you address it immediately. Another
A Standard That Changes Is Not Really a Standard Read More »
I Miss the Old Internet I miss when the internet did not seem determined to sell me something every five seconds. If you were online in the mid-1990s or early 2000s, you probably remember what I mean. The internet felt rougher, slower, stranger, and somehow more personal. People built little websites that looked terrible by
When the Internet Felt Like a Place Instead of a Marketplace Read More »
The Question That Makes Christianity Uncomfortable There is a question people ask Christians all the time, and I understand why they ask it. What happens if somebody does not believe in Jesus, does not accept the Bible, but lives what most of us would call a good life? Suppose that person is kind, generous, honest,
When Being a Good Person Is Not the Whole Christian Message Read More »
The Sunday Night the Gold Window Closed On Sunday evening, August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon went on national television and announced a change that would help transform the world’s monetary system. He ordered the Treasury to suspend the convertibility of dollars into gold for foreign governments and central banks. Under the Bretton Woods system,
When Money Stopped Being Metal Read More »
We Call Ourselves Good Friends Too Easily Most people, if you ask them, will tell you they are good friends. I probably would have said the same thing without giving it much thought. But if you peel the onion back just a little, the answer gets more complicated. Being friendly is not the same thing
Most of Us Are Not as Good at Friendship as We Think Read More »
Do Not Start With the Accusation When somebody seems jealous and begins putting you down in conversations, the easiest response is to say, “You are jealous of me.” I understand the temptation because sometimes jealousy really may be involved. But that sentence usually ends the conversation before it begins. Very few people are going to
When Jealousy Starts Damaging a Relationship Read More »
A Young Woman Doing What Nobody Expected I want to introduce you to a young woman whose life was short but whose impact was anything but small. Her name was Alice Augusta Ball. She was born in Seattle in 1892 and showed an early talent for science and chemistry. She studied pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy
Alice Augusta Ball: The Young Chemist Who Changed the Treatment of Hansen’s Disease Read More »
Freedom Was Never Supposed to Stop at Our Door When I think about the Black freedom struggle at its best, I do not think the goal was simply to get the boot off our own necks and then walk away. I think the deeper hope was to challenge the kind of system that puts a
The Struggle Was Always Bigger Than Us Read More »
Believe the Information You Are Being Given When a man says he is not ready to commit, I think the safest thing a woman can do is believe him. Do not punish him, diagnose him, or spend months trying to prove that you are patient, loving, or understanding enough to change his mind. Sometimes people
When He Says He Is Not Ready to Commit Read More »
Stop Treating Time Like It Is Unlimited I keep hearing people say, “Thirty is the new twenty,” and I understand what they are trying to say. They mean your life is not over at thirty. They mean you can still change careers, fall in love, go back to school, build a business, start over, or
Thirty Is Not the New Twenty Read More »