We’re all connected by events past and present — “When in the course of human events…” — Thomas Jefferson, 1776 Leaders know that a common experience or vision can form a rallying cry for their people. In history, there are a precious few moments that mark a collective experience. Moments when time seemed to stop for a great multitude…

Habits are a lot harder to change than we might think. — “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.” — Charles C. Noble Consistency is an underrated feature. But it’s a superpower. In fact, it’s the secret sauce that is responsible for the success of every New Year resolution. The problem is, many people choose to commit to unrealistic…

How we talk about our choices — “We, at the height, are ready to decline. There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shadows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And…

It’s not always easy. — “The measure of choosing well, is, whether a man likes and finds good in what he has chosen.” — Charles Lamb, 1833 I had to make a difficult decision recently. Every January, the Baker Street Irregulars holds its annual dinner in New York City, bookended by a couple of days…

A timeless message from January 6 many years ago. — “Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941 January 6 is one of those dates that will be hauntingly etched into our collective history. …

Accountability still matters — “The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation… We-even we here-hold the power and bear the responsibility.” — Abraham Lincoln, 1862 In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln stood before Congress to give his annual message, quoted above. …

Dealing with grief is a process. It helps to share it. — “Grief, loss, regret are not the end of the story. They are the middle of the story. Memory does not look backward, it looks forward.” — Anne Michaels, 2020 We’re in the middle of a story, alright. One that seems like the film Groundhog Day. The pandemic rages on, and…

Succession reminds us that family is forever — “The family is the test of freedom; because the family is the only thing that the free man makes for himself and by himself.” — G.K. Chesterton, 1919 This is not a pop culture newsletter — something that should be painfully obvious even if you only glance at the artwork…

To try is to grow — “If we pretend to respect the artist at all, we must allow him his freedom of choice, in the face, in particular cases, of innumerable presumptions that the choice will not fructify. Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise from flying in the face of presumptions.” …