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From “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson It is one of the great truisms of our time that we live in an age of technological acceleration; the new paradigms keep rolling in, and the intervals between them keep shortening. This acceleration reflects not only the flood of new

From “Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work that Matters, and Make Smarter Choices About Giving Back” by William Macaskill In the first part, I dedicate each chapter to exploring one of effective altruism’s five key questions: Asking these five key questions can help us avoid common pitfalls when

From “Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner” by Frederick Buechner AN OLD SILENT pond./Into the pond a frog jumps./Splash! Silence again.” It is perhaps the best known of all Japanese haiku. No subject could be more humdrum. No language could be more pedestrian. Basho, the poet, makes no comment on what he

From “Cumulative Advantage: How to Build Momentum for Your Ideas, Business, and Life Against All Odds” by Mark W. Schaefer Chilean sociologists Mario Molina and Mauricio Bucca noticed that when their friends played a card game that was totally based on chance, they insisted that their winning streak was based on superior skills. This inspired

From “Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment” by J. Brent Bill The Inner Teacher uses our life experiences to show the way opening before us. Look at the life map you drew earlier. As you look at the highs and lows and in-betweens, how did particular experiences open a way for you? Do you,

From “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” by Peter F. Drucker Entrepreneurship is thus a distinct feature whether of an individual or an institution. It is not a personality trait; in thirty years I have seen people of the most diverse personalities and temperaments perform well in entrepreneurial challenges. To be sure, people who need certainty are unlikely

From “On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old” by Parker J. Palmer The poet goes on to say, “Who serves best doesn’t always understand.” Those words are liberating because there’s so much about life that’s triple-wrapped in mystery. When I’m sure I know exactly what I’m doing and why – so sure

From “Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation” by Parker J. Palmer Vexed as I was about vocation, I was quite certain that this was the job for me. So as is the custom in the Quaker community, I called on half a dozen trusted friends to help me discern my vocation

From “Trust the Whisper: How Answering Quiet Callings Inspires Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Grace“ by Kathy Izard My life plans had typically been driven by the two loudest voices in my head: my “to-do voice” and my “fear voice.” My to-do voice kept me focused on daily tasks, which included all the rational reminders like