Why risk it if you don’t have to?

A while back, one of my friends questioned my penchant for voluntarily placing myself in situations where I could get hurt, for “manufacturing fear”. The world provides enough danger already, why go out looking for more? She was referring to mountain...

Lifting the skirts on the writing process

Have you ever watched a professional runner run? Looks so easy, doesn’t it? They’ve all got that half smile playing across their face, that healthy sheen, those long, fluid strides that make the act seem so fun. From the couch, you can practically feel the endorphins...

Just write an essay

When I was in grad school, I took an essay writing course. We were assigned an anthology called The Best American Essays, which still sits, all marked up with black ink, on my bookshelf. (If I could find a link, I’d put it here, but I can’t.)  In it, I...

You get to be the hero

This week, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of awesome entrepreneurs about powerful stories, stories that sell. The nice folks in the audience are required to market their products and services to keep the lights on and the mortgage paid, etc. so they were...

Healthy as F*ck

Oonagh Duncan, author of Healthy as F*ck, has a potty mouth. It’s one of the reasons we hit it off straight away. It’s one of the reasons her people are drawn to her like Spandex to a thigh. They’ve tried to get fit and loose weight before....