Move the rock

It was a dark and starless night as I rounded the bend on that remote stretch of road. My eyes were tired after a long day at work, and I was zoning out on the drive home. The back road from Livermore to Tracy cuts through rocky hills with tight twists and turns along the…

The price of admission

I’ve heard the first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one. Sounds easy enough. However, most people won’t admit they have a problem because of the price they have to pay to admit it. The price could be risk, embarrassment, guilt and even public humiliation… so maybe it’s just safer to live with…

Who do you love?

Loving relationships can be hard.  But no matter how hard they become, living without love is even harder.  So we do the best we can, making some mistakes and trying to correct them along the way.  If we’re lucky, we get to experience the joy of being loved and a human connection that lasts a…

Get busy livin’

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’.” Andy Dufresne uttered these words in a pivotal scene from the movie Shawshank Redemption, and it came back to me today as I contemplated the news I just received.  I’ve invested a lot in “gettin’ busy living” over…

Going to eleven

In this famous scene from the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, the character Nigel Tufnel is showing off his Marshall guitar amplifiers, and points out that the control knobs all go to setting Eleven. When challenged by the director on why he just doesn’t follow the usual convention of One to Ten, and make Ten…

What’s next

I’ve had quite a week… 7 days to reflect on the marathon finish and the process leading up to it. I learned a lot about running and a lot about myself. I also learned that the blog has been a trigger for many of you to motivate yourselves into a new fitness routine, or to…

Mind tricks and tradeoffs

I had lunch with a former work friend yesterday, and we got to talking about fitting in fitness in our busy lives.  She said she wanted to work out more, but just could not find the time.  She followed with a good list of other priorities that always seemed to take precedence.  You know the usual ones……

Minor adjustments

Do minor adjustments really make a difference… like taking the stairs instead of the elevator? If you work on the fourth floor, you could lose a pound a week. How about switching to instant coffee instead of daily Starbucks?  You could save $500 in just one year. I have recently been feeling a pain in my leg…

Certainty in an uncertain world

I was talking with a friend this morning who was concerned about impending changes in his company’s organization.  It reminded me of the times in my career when it was hard to do my best work because of uncertainty in the company’s strategy or next quarter’s financial outlook.  Who wants to do great work in…