“We are stardust, contemplating the stars, trying to make sense of the gift of being alive.” – Carl Sagan Here we are, where the improbable meets the inevitable. Somewhere in the quiet architecture of biology, a single cell won a race against roughly two hundred million others - on a specific night, in a specific place, between two people who first had to find each other across the unlikely surface of the earth. Move any one piece - a delayed train, a canceled flight, a war t

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection." - Brené Brown There are conversations almost every human being will eventually face - about death, faith, regret, mental illness, politics, forgiveness, money, purpose. Oddly enough, they are the conversations we avoid most. Why do we spend so much time talking to each other, yet so little time talking about what matters most? I have always preferred conversations face to face - looking someone in the eye, noticing the pauses,

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."— Elisabeth Foley One day you are thirty. Your children are still young. There are birthday parties to attend every weekend it seems. School functions. Baseball games and dancing recitals. You meet new friends like the parents of your children’s friends. If you happen to be from and still living in a small town, you still stay close with some of your high school friends. Bu

I turn 57 this week, and I'm struck by how quickly time has passed. The loneliness I sometimes feel doesn't come from being alone or isolated. It comes from watching my children become adults, my parents grow older, and my interests quietly change. It comes from realizing that almost no one asks how I'm doing anymore. I am fortunate beyond measure to share my life with my soulmate and wife, along with our two stubborn dachshunds. I cannot imagine life without them. Lately, I

I would be lying if I said I was not afraid. I'm afraid of watching my parents, my in-laws, and my friends grow older. Yet I also recognize how fortunate they are. They're still here. Still engaged. Still playing in overtime. My parents are in overtime. I'm entering the fourth quarter. And if I'm fortunate enough to hear the final buzzer decades from now, I hope I'll earn overtime, too. Aging has taught me more than I ever expected. The old saying is true: if only I had known

We have become more connected than any generation in history, yet I sometimes wonder whether we have never been lonelier. I know I am part of the problem. Like so many people, I reach for my phone without thinking. It fills quiet moments, answers every question almost instantly, and places the knowledge of the world in the palm of my hand. It is an extraordinary invention, but it is also incredibly addictive. I am trying to do better. Everywhere we look, the signs are there.

Many people today seem to define leadership as toughness without compromise. In this view, a leader is someone who never admits uncertainty, never changes course, dismisses criticism, and projects strength at any cost. As a result, qualities such as negotiation, strategic thinking, intellectual ability, and empathy are pushed aside. Leadership is too often judged by who can shout the loudest, deliver the harshest insults, and gain the most personal advantage from a situation.