"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." –Marcus Aurelius
I have no children, and my wife isn’t even pregnant yet. But we will start trying in 2020. And it’s interesting how this theoretical fatherhood is already having a big effect on my life. I don’t mean in terms of shopping for baby clothes. I mean in terms of my own identity and concerns. It’s…
There are a lot of people you’ll interact with when you make purchasing decisions who will try to influence your decision. Mostly it’s easy to understand where they are coming from. Your friends and family want what’s best for you, but that may be influenced by their own preferences or desire to have you be…
Apologizing is an important life skill. Done properly it can repair and strengthen your relationships by building trust. But it’s hard to get right. Most people can smell an insincere apology a mile off. At best an insincere apology will look like you are going through the motions but don’t really understand why what you…
“Life hacking” has become a universal concept. We all know what it means. It can be fun to find creative ways of doing things, or to see what crazy stuff other people have come up with. Sometimes we see people taking it too far, though. The very word ‘hacking’ implies a quick and easy fix…
My wife and I are ready to start our family, and I’ve been thinking a lot about raising children in modern America. Traveling through Europe has also given me cause to think about the differences. I can remember reading a news story back in the 2000s about a Danish mom in America getting in trouble…
It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. – Mahatma Ghandi I’ve come across a complaint about the golden rule that I find very helpful as a way to think about the world. The golden rule…
Let’s talk insurance again – this time, life insurance. How does it work, and who should have it? Life insurance is, of course, something you get because you are betting that you will die soon (or your wife wants to make that bet…). Just kidding. It is still based on life and death. Like all…
Men are struggling in today’s world, with falling employment and education rates, and rising addiction and suicide rates. At the same time we’re being outspokenly cast as dangerous, predatory, and ‘oppressive’, which doesn’t help men find their place or confidence in their identity as men. So I fully support men’s groups that aim to help…
Nothing is a greater impediment to being on good terms with others than being ill at ease with yourself. – Honore de Balzac The amiable is a duty most certainly, but must not be exercised at the expense of any of the virtues. He who seeks to do the amiable always, can only be successful…
“We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present.” Human beings are unique in being able to learn from the experience of others. We are also highly social beings unable to function without having a place in a group. We need to know who…