Just the right amount of cloud cover this morning to add a lot of color to the sky. Fun to walk the beach at dawn.

Hilton Head Island November 20, 2025 Aware Caring Courageous Curious Confident Compassionate Evolving Excited Giving Healthy Mindful Passionate Patient Polite Present Resilient Understanding Vulnerable Wholehearted So the complete list would be... Aware Brave Caring Courageous Curious Confident Compassionate Creative Daring Evolving Excited Fearless Funny Generous Genuine Giving Grateful Happy Healthy Honest Kind Loving Mindful Optimistic Original Passionate Patient Polite Po

Hilton Head November 18, 2025 Pay attention to the sights, sounds and smells. That will quiet my autopilot/internal chatter/monkey mind.

Springhill Suites Hilton Head November 16, 2025 It’s 1030 am, Sunday morning. I’m sitting by the hotel pool on this warm, sunny morning. I have come to Hilton Head, my Happy Place, to regroup and figure out a path forward. This song came up on my ‘80s playlist and it made me stop. So true. Funny, the next song that played was this one…

Charlottesville November 12, 2025 Use eye contact — gaze just a beat longer, make the other person feel like you are making a connection. Smile and show genuine enthusiasm and interest when meeting someone Posture — walk into the room like you belong. Look abead, head high and shoulders back. Send the message of confidence. Name echo — when you meet someone use their name three times. We tend to not remember names when introduced because our minds are so consumed/distract

Charlottesville November 10, 2025 I have done a lot of reading about the brain over the past several years but not until last week did I learned about the "default mode network." The following is from a Psychology Today article: The default mode network (DMN) is a system of connected brain areas that show increased activity when a person is not focused on what is happening around them. The DMN is especially active, research shows, when one engages in introspective activities

Charlottesville November 11, 2025 Thanks to my friend Anna Koester for this mantra. Flexible, nimble, and agile are related terms that describe adaptability and quickness, but with different nuances . Flexibility is the ability to bend without breaking, often implying physical malleability. Nimbleness suggests quick and light movement, both physically and mentally, often with dexterity and precision. Agility can mean quick and easy movement or reaction, but in business, it re

Charlottesville November 6, 2025 The following article appeared in the NYT recently. As I read it, I felt my pulse quicken and my thoughts became jumbled. Given my recent blog posts, you might not be surprised when I say I felt ashamed that after nine years, the memories my cardiac arrest still affect me almost everyday. "Come on man, I think to myself, get over it -- no one else dwells on their survival from their asystole." Dwells might be the wrong word. I do think ab

Charlottesville November 6, 2025 I have condensed some thoughts from a recent article I read: Failure and loneliness are rooted in the same ground—isolation. For leadership, as in life, evolutionary psychology offers an explanation. Going back millennia, the fear of failure meant much more than making a mistake. It was also about rejection. That’s where the fear of loneliness comes in—and far more than the existential angst of being alone. Getting shut out of the circle was t

Charlottesville November 6, 2025 Daring Greatly by Brené Brown argues that vulnerability is not a weakness, but the path to wholehearted living, courage, and connection . The book summarizes her research on how fear and shame prevent people from living authentically, and how embracing vulnerability is essential for creativity, empathy, and meaningful relationships. By "daring greatly," individuals can courageously show up despite uncertainty and risk, which is key to transfor

Charlottesville Some sights from around town today.

Charlottesville November 6, 2025 How much of my life have I spent thinking that I’m the only person having the thoughts and feelings that I have. Clearly I’m the only person with doubts, nervousness, forgetfulness, sadness…. Note the commonality — thoughts and feelings that tend to classified as negative. Which brings me to the negativity bias. Negativity bias is a cognitive bias that describes the human tendency to give more attention to, remember better, and be more psyc

Charlottesville November 6, 2025 As I recovered from my cardiac arrest and the resulting emotional trauma, I read several books that discussed cognitive biases. I had never heard that term before and as I read, I certainly wished I had. Instead of thinking "it's just me," I learned that we are hardwired to respond to some stimuli in a "non-optimum" way. It was enlightening to understand that some of my thoughts and responses were a result of my "autopilot" -- my non-consci

What happens when golf becomes a mirror for your self-worth. by Josh Nichols Golf is one of the most emotionally charged games in existence. Every shot can feel personal. Every mistake can feel like a reflection of who you are. That’s exactly why golf so easily turns from a fun game into a tool for managing our emotions — and I want to explore why that never quite works. The Hidden Transaction Most golfers don’t realize they’re making a trade every time they play: “If I play