It’s true. Ok. To be fair, I have a severe gluten INTOLERANCE, not an allergy. But I have developed a pretty bad allergy to cliché. Symptoms include: involuntary eye rolling, a mild but persistent headache, and a creeping sense of boredom and despair. In the brand messaging biz, it’s a workplace hazard. And as much […]

Once I worked with a professional comic, helping with ideas for a TEDx talk about comedy she’d like to give. She shared with me a terrifying account of the night, decades ago, when her abusive husband threatened her with a blunt object in his fist. And how, in that moment, a joke saved her life. […]

One of the things you likely dread (loathe, hate) about the holidays is not so much seeing the family, but fielding any number of triggering questions that set you on your heels, flare your defenses, and bring your blood to the boiling point. And that’s because sitting down across from relatives who haven’t seen you […]

How is it that one moment you can just be sitting there, chewing your fingernail and then, a split second later, things just click? An idea or thought springs forth with such clarity it’s astonishing. How did I not see that before? Things go from foggy to clear, from flat to three dimensional, from black […]