People have a need to be engaged in purposeful work. We want to feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, and that our work makes a difference in the world. […]
Servant Leadership: Key Concepts
Quick Read: Better?
Here’s a short thought experiment about the difference between better and good. Imagine you’re driving a big truck along a highway. You see a sign that says low overpass ahead. 13′ clearance. […]
The Secret Formula for Building a Winning Culture
The challenge with growth companies is to figure out how to scale the culture as the size and complexity of the business grows. How do you grow the business without breaking the culture that made the business great to begin with?
Demma’s Notes: My 3 Favorite Concepts from How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
What could a cartoonist possibly have to teach you about living your life? That’s the question I had before starting Dilbert creator Scott Adams’ book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. By the end of the book, I was an Adams disciple. It turns out there’s so much more to Mr. Adams than Dilbert.
Disney World: The Super Bowl of Parenting
This is it. The moment I’ve been training for. We’ve got one more FastPass+ to hit before our lunch reservation on the other side of Magic Kingdom. The hot Orlando sun beats […]
Demma’s Notes: Limbo. A book about working class kids who migrate to the middle class.
Limbo, by Alfred Limbrano, is an eye-opening book about what it’s like to be raised in a working class family, be the first in your family to go to college, and then migrate to a middle class world.
Forgiveness
Jack is going through the sacrament of First Penance and Reconciliation next week. This is the Catholic ceremony of the first confession in which a child examines their conscience, asks for forgiveness […]
Christmas Vacation and 2018 Recap
We just got home from our 2018 Christmas adventure. It started with a night in Fairfax, VA where Gracie was starring as a snowflake in the Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker. From there we […]
Demma’s Notes: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
“There’s a starman waiting in the sky, he’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds.” – Bowie Elon Musk has been grabbing more headlines than usual […]
Well-Being Check: Dexa Scan, Nutrition, Sleep, and Meditation
I decided to take stock of my well-being and health routines now that we’re on the other side of a chaotic summer. I got my annual physical with blood work, got my […]
Quitting Twitter
I joined Twitter on April 1, 2008, which puts me in the 84th percentile for my Twitter age, an early adopter. I loved the platform for many years, but recently Twitter and I reached a point of no return in our relationship. It’s over. I think.
4 Ways to Win Back Time From Your Phone
“You’re already a cyborg.” Elon Musk In 2012 I noticed how addicted I was becoming to screens, mostly my phone. I wrote this article about it. To clarify, I was then, and […]
How to Get Rich Quick in Real Estate (kidding, it’s just another love story)
A switch flipped inside of me after college. I became obsessed with being successful and getting rich. I devoured self-help books like popcorn shrimp. How to Win Friends, 7 Habits, Think and […]
Sad News, New Territory, 2 Great Books: 3 short posts in 1
What follows is a somewhat disjointed collection of updates from the past month. I probably should have made this three separate posts, but I’m short on time and I wanted to memorialize […]
Demma Family Update
Hello Everyone, I have some personal updates for all of our friends and colleagues out there. First, Kelly and I are excited to announce that we have welcomed our fourth baby into […]