The Obvious Question

Is it better to live a life full of awareness (awareness of ourselves, the world around us and how we fit) or to just do our thing...enjoy what we enjoy...do what we want to do. Awareness might seem to be the right path, but with awareness comes responsibility - I may have to do something with it once I have it.

What is talent? Where does it come from? Is hard work and dedication enough, or is talent innate - you got it or you don't? And if we can zero in on where talent comes from, can we foster it in the people around us?... can we foster it in our children? (And here is where it can get sticky...) Should we foster it in our kids, even if they hate the thing that we’ve discovered them to be talented in?

How do you say “I’m sorry?” How do you apologize? So often, we run into situations where we have to own up to something hurtful that we’ve done to someone else, and the words “I’m sorry” just don’t cut it. Going the other way, there are times when we feel wronged, and making it right will take a lot more than just some lame “sorry”. So what should you say? How can you make it right?

Can a stupid internet joke point to something much worse about our society? Are we if already witnessing signs that the best days of our culture are behind us?

What does it mean to be yourself...to be real...to be authentic. Ever since we’re little, we’re told that a foolproof strategy for feeling good about ourselves in just about any situation is to “just be yourself”, but what does that mean? It seems simple, but is it?

Where does the road rage driver or the rude guy at the store come from? Who are they, and what role do we play when we're the ones who are being jerks?

If given more of whatever we think we’d need (money, time, anything at all) would we change how we live, or would we keep on doing exactly what we’re doing.

Are we different people at work than we are at home? When we power-up our company laptops or scan our badges to enter the office, do we leave a part of ourselves on the outside? Should we leave a part of ourselves on the outside?

The corporate world uses an all-too-familiar term of “work/life balance”, so….what’s the right balance?

Is there ever a time - big or small, important or not, when it is ok to look someone straight in the eye and lie to them? What if the truth is harmful?

A special note about this episode if you’re listening to it with kids around...we don’t swear (or if we do, we edit it out), but (SPOILER ALERT) we talk about a major holiday tradition that is, essentially, steeped in a big fat rosy cheeked jolly lie. So...you know...maybe get headphones.

How do you answer the question, “What do you do?” Or better yet...how should you answer it? What's your elevator speech about yourself? How do you define yourself in a way that feels right and accurate?