In 1945, near the end of World War II, there were two prizes yet to be captured by Allied Forces. One was Berlin, controlled almost entirely by the Soviet Union; the other was Berchtesgaden, home to Adolf Hitler’s famous mountain lodge, Eagle’s Nest. Many of Hitler’s plans to take over the world were made in
How to Figure Out if Someone is Genuine or Fake
Recall your last interaction where you weren’t sure if the person was genuine or “fake.” Maybe it was a new hire, a new tenant or a first date. Ultimately, you decided to give the person the benefit of the doubt—you took a chance on them. But it turns out you made the wrong call. Lots of
Learning Emotional Intelligence From Michael Jordan & Jordan B. Peterson
Michael Jordan and Jordan B. Peterson are two men I admire for the same reason: high emotional intelligence (EQ). According to Google, EQ is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. In episode 11 of the podcast, my guest Ted Agon said, “Humans are
Driving a Porsche in Your 30s
When I was 8 years old, I had a poster of a Porsche on my wall. I wanted my dad to buy one so bad, but I hadn’t yet acquired a sales skill set to persuade him. “Besides,” he said, “we can’t afford that.” Later that year, my dad was offered a job transfer to Texas.
Charlie Munger’s 13 Rules to Live By
Charlie Munger shared the secret to a long and happy life in a recent interview: “It’s easy, because it’s so simple … you don’t have a lot of envy, you don’t have a lot of resentment. You don’t overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles.” Who better to give life advice?
Text Conversations 2019
Rule 1 of digital communication: there are no rules. Digitally, everyone communicates differently. Your rules will be closely aligned with those in your age range. For example, my buddy Adam’s grandma comments on Facebook in all CAPS. We think it’s hilarious. Of course, older people tend to talk louder if their hearing deteriorates. If that’s
Dreams Come True at Victoria Falls (Africa)
My buddy, Adam, and I, did a homestay in Lusaka, Zambia. There was a 20-year old kid who worked there named Bonie (pronounced bō-knee). He spoke a sophisticated English, and always had a smile on his face. The trip was back in 2015, so I don’t remember the first thing Bonie said when we met him.
Confronting Man’s Dark Side (From a Nazi Concentration Camp)
An encounter with what Carl Jung called The Shadow is to confront the reality that everything horrible that human beings have done, was done by human beings, and that you are one of them. Man Overseas Travel’s trip to Dachau Concentration Camp last week marked my third different concentration camp visit in four years— my first in
Developing Mental Toughness by Digging Deep Within: The Years that Shaped Me (1991-1994)
1991-1994 were the toughest and most impactful years of my life. Late at night on March 25, 1991, my friend’s dad was driving his family home from our basketball game in New Orleans. A speeding drunk-driver ran a stop-sign and crashed into their Astro van. My family was a few minutes behind, traveling the same
Reflections on Life as an Astros Fan
I remember the feeling of awe walking to our seats at the Astrodome. My dad took me to my first game when I was eight years old. The Astros were playing the Cubs. Astros first-baseman Glenn Davis hit a 427-foot homerun to dead center. As Davis rounded the bases, the electronic board displayed a rocket show,
Mindless “Scrollers” vs. Superhumans: A Futurist Tale
Every once in a while, I’ll delete social media apps from my phone. The reason is I want to reduce the amount of time I spend mindlessly scrolling. I have this theory that if a man can maintain a long attention span in an increasingly distracted world, it won’t be long before he’s considered superhuman. If