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Living in the past or future are sure-fire ways to frustration. Living in the present? That’s the sweet spot. Here are five proven ways of doing just that.

1. Practice single-tasking. Do one thing at a time — and really do it. When you’re eating, just eat. When you’re listening, just listen. When you’re walking, notice the air, sounds, and movement. Presence increases as distractions are removed.
2. Use senses as anchors. Our bodies are always in the present. Our thoughts aren’t. To instantly ground our brains,  we must pause and ask: What do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel physically? Doing this emphasizes the now.
3. Reject “When X happens, I’ll be happy.” A lot of suffering lives in future conditions. “When I get that job… When I lose weight… When life calms down…” Instead, ask: What is okay right now? Even small things like warmth, breath, light, or a meal count.
4. Accept the moment before trying to change it. Living in the present doesn’t mean you like everything. It means you stop arguing with reality. Acceptance reduces mental resistance, and resistance is what usually causes stress.
5. Give what you want to feel. Want love? Give appreciation. Want connection? Be curious. Want peace? Slow your breath. Presence deepens when we move from taking from the moment to participating in it.

Need a quick reset? If you feel overwhelmed, take one slow breath. Relax your shoulders. Notice three things around you. Tell yourself, “I am here.” That’s it—you’re back!

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Because I appreciate the economic spark they provide, I want them to feel welcomed, and I’d rather my kids work alongside hardworking dreamers over entitled residents any day. Whether Turkish taxis, Venezuelan Ubers, Mexican farmers, Nicaragua servers, Argentine bus boys, or anyone in between, I hope you’ll do the same in thanking these wonderful people who traveled for and sacrificed a lot to get here.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” 

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1. “I’m allowed to change my mind.” Letting go of outdated goals, identities, or promises is growth, not failure. Freedom starts the moment you stop defending old versions of yourself.
2. “Progress beats perfection.” Perfection freezes people. But imperfect action builds confidence, creates feedback, and compounds momentum.
3. “No one is coming to save me, and that’s okay.” This sounds harsh, but it’s liberating. When you accept full ownership, you gain agency, choice, and power.
4. “Rejection is information, not a verdict.” A “no” is data. Wrong timing. Wrong framing. Wrong audience. Internalizing rejection keeps you small. Interpreting rejections keeps you moving. Continue reading…

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For most of my life, I believed the path to opportunity was paved with information. Read more books. Study smarter people. Collect insights like baseball cards. If knowledge is power, then surely the most informed person wins.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: information is everywhere and opportunity isn’t.

Many of the best opportunities never appear publicly. They aren’t posted on job boards, tweeted, or packaged into online courses. They live in conversations. In DMs. In quiet meetings. In rooms you’re either invited into or you’re not.

The internet did an incredible job democratizing information. Anyone with a phone can learn how to code, invest, write, build, or sell. The problem is that everyone else can too. Information has become abundant and cheap. What’s scarce now is access.

Access to decision-makers. Access to context. Access to trust. Continue reading…

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1. “Can you help me think, not just answer?” Asking this explores trade-offs, reasoning, and how to decide rather than just a quick fact.
2. “What am I missing?” Inviting blind spots, assumptions, and second-order effects is where conversations really get interesting.
3. “Can you challenge my idea?” People often want validation. This question stress-tests your ideas to make them stronger.
4. “How would this look from a completely different perspective?” Ethical, cultural, historical, or systems-level reframing like this unlocks new insights.
5. “What’s the boring but important part of this?” The unsexy details usually matter most, including maintenance, constraints, and sustainability.
6. “How would you explain this to a beginner, child, or skeptic?” This forces clarity and exposes what actually matters.
7. “What would you do if you were me?” Asking this can surface priorities, values, and trade-offs.

May your queries always result in greater intelligence.

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Tax avoidance strategies, legal loopholes, and maximizing credit rewards aren’t wrong. They’re just one of the many ways smart people use superior information, networking, and financial literacy to navigate America’s complex but rich society.

1. Learn how incentives work (most people don’t). Everything runs on incentives: taxes, education, jobs, healthcare, housing. If you understand why a system rewards certain behavior, you can align with it instead of fighting it. Example: Employers reward visibility, not just competence.

2. Optimize taxes legally, not emotionally. Tax code rewards investing, home ownership, education, entrepreneurship, and retirement saving. People who “win” don’t evade taxes. They structure income smartly (401ks, IRAs, HSAs, capital gains, business deductions, asset depreciation). Continue reading…

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Without draining yourself in the process:

1. Lower your expectations. Emotionally unintelligent people often lack self-awareness, empathy, or emotional regulation. Expecting emotional depth or accountability from them usually leads to frustration. Adjusting expectations protects your peace.
2. Communicate clearly and concretely. Avoid hints, emotional subtext, or indirect language. Be direct, specific, and factual. Clear boundaries and straightforward statements work far better than emotional appeals.
3. Don’t take it personally. Their reactions often reflect their limitations—not your worth or intentions. Detaching emotionally helps you respond thoughtfully instead of reacting defensively.
4. Set and enforce boundaries. Decide what behavior you will and won’t tolerate, and act consistently. Boundaries aren’t about changing them; they’re about protecting your time, energy, and emotional health.
5. Limit emotional engagement. You don’t have to explain your feelings in depth or seek validation from them. Share selectively, disengage when conversations turn unproductive, and save emotional energy for people who can reciprocate.

Bottom line: You can’t teach emotional intelligence to someone who isn’t ready to learn—but you can manage your responses, protect your well-being, and choose how much access they have.

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The following consistently show up across leading research and marriage counseling:

1. Communication matters more than being “right.” Couples who focus on understanding each other do better than those who focus on winning arguments.

2. Listening is more powerful than talking. Feeling heard reduces conflict faster than problem-solving or advice.

3. Conflict itself isn’t the problem—how you handle it is. Healthy couples disagree, but they avoid insults, contempt, and defensiveness. Continue reading…

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These are all super easy and scientifically proven to work.

1. Change your environment. Step outside, open a window, or move to a different room. A small change can reset your mood.
2. Cold water reset. Splash cool water on your face or hold something cold. It helps calm your nervous system fast.
3. Name 3 things you did right today. Even tiny wins count. This interrupts negative thought loops.
4. Play an uplifting song. A familiar one you like can lift your mood quickly—no playlist needed.
5. Breathe slowly for two minutes. Inhale 4 seconds, exhale 6 seconds. Longer exhales = calmer brain.
6. Text someone supportive. A simple “Hey, can you talk?” is enough. You don’t need to explain everything.
7. Remember: “This feeling will pass.” Bad moments feel permanent—but they’re not.
8. Drink water or eat something nourishing. Low fuel = worse mood.
9. Shake it out. Stretch arms, roll shoulders, shake hands for 30 seconds. It releases tension.
10. Talk nice to yourself. Replace “I’m bad at everything” with “I’m having a hard moment” or even “What’s the easiest next step?” to get yourself slowly back on track.

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Simple to hear, hard to accept.

1. Consistency beats talent. Small daily actions outperform bursts of motivation or raw ability over time.

2. Feelings aren’t facts. How something feels often has little to do with what’s actually true.

3. You can’t change people who don’t want to change. Effort, logic, or even love won’t override someone’s own willingness.

4. Being busy isn’t the same as being productive. Activity can hide avoidance. Results matter more than effort.

5. No one cares about you as much as you think. Most people are focused on their own problems, not judging yours.

6. Comfort is the enemy of growth. If it feels easy and familiar, it’s probably not pushing you forward.

7. Time is more valuable than money. Money can be earned again; time can’t be recovered.

8. Confidence is built through action, not thinking. Waiting to “feel ready” is often just fear in disguise.

9. Most limits are self-imposed. Many barriers exist only because we’ve accepted them as real.

10. You’ll never feel “done.” There’s no permanent arrival point. Happiness comes from progress, not completion.

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Backed by science and doctor recommended, here are 10 healthy ways to feel good about yourself. Continue reading…

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1. No one feels “ready.” There’s no moment where you suddenly feel like an adult. You just keep doing things slightly scared and call it responsibility.

2. Your energy matters more than your time. Free time means nothing if you’re exhausted. Sleep, boundaries, and saying no are adult superpowers.

3. Money stress is about habits, not income. More money helps, but unmanaged money disappears fast. Small, boring habits beat big financial plans and pains.

4. Consistency beats motivation. You won’t feel motivated most days. The adults who “have it together” just show up anyway, usually imperfectly.

5. Relationships fade without effort. Friendships, family, and partnerships don’t maintain themselves. If not on your calendar, all will eventually die.

BONUS: Everyone else is winging it, too.

Meaning, Philosophy & Purpose

1. The Meaning of Life: 13 Things I Learned from the World’s Greatest Thinkers. A deep synthesis of wisdom—from Plato to Viktor Frankl—on suffering, authenticity, and values.

2. 3 Ways to Save Your Life (Motivational Speech). Reflections on deathbed regrets and how to live more purposefully right now.

3. 5 Rules to Live By, According to a 101‑Year‑Old. Simple, timeless advice on joy, relationships, and staying grounded.

Creativity, Writing & Self-Expression

4. What 20 Years of Writing Have Taught Me. Lessons on persistence, voice, and creative longevity.
5. I Write for Myself. You Should Too. A compelling case for doing creative work from the inside out—not for approval.
6. Made a Writing Mistake? It’s Okay (Because Editing). An ode to imperfection, editing, and giving yourself grace.

Travel, Culture & Perspective

7. The Time I Hiked Patagonia with National Geographic. Poetic reflections on awe, scale, and nature’s power to change perspective.
8. My Best Travel Columns (So Far). A curated selection of stories on gratitude, discomfort, and cultural insight.
9. How Disney Turned Me into a Travel Writer. An unexpected journey through bias, curiosity, and finding joy in what you thought you disliked.

‍‍‍ Relationships, Gratitude & Partnership

10. Behind Every Great Man Is a Greater Woman. A thank-you to the unseen partners whose support makes success possible.
11. 50/50: My Wife Is So Much More Than a ‘Silent’ Business Partner. A powerful reminder of shared dreams, emotional labor, and real partnership.

Work, Technology & the Modern World

12. Fast Food, Hard Work: What I Learned as an Underpaid Chick‑fil‑A Employee. An honest take on grit, humility, and the dignity of “low‑status” jobs.
13. Smartphones Are Depressants. Laptops Are Stimulants. A nuanced critique of how different technologies affect our mood, focus, and productivity.
14. The First Personal Computer Wasn’t a Phone. Reframes our understanding of innovation, chance, and what “personal” means in tech.

Identity, Change & Coming Home

15. What I Learned Returning “Home” After 10 Years. A reflective piece on personal change, belonging, and how home evolves as you do.

BONUS: Best of my blog: 20 years, 2600 posts later

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The following habits are backed by science and proven mood boosters:

1. Drink lots of water (aka “pee a lot”)
2. Walk outside
3. Give thanks (daily)
4. Hang with friends
5. Exercise
6. Write down your worries
7. Pray (or meditate)
8. Laugh
9. Journal
10. Smile (even when you don’t feel like it)
11. Stay curious
12. Volunteer
13. Stay off screens
14. Eat more plants
15. Clean your house

Go get ’em!