The Examined LifeEmpowered by knowledge
Tue, 12/15/2009 - 14:49
“H
ola!”
“Hola. ¿Qué tal?”
“Bien. ¿ y tu?”
“Bien.”
Paul and I were 16 years old and had taken Spanish for a year. We called each other every night on the phone and spoke to each other in our new language. More than anything, we wanted… How Cool Are You?To the coolest person I’ve ever known:
Wed, 11/11/2009 - 13:50
My sons recently started talking about being cool, and I recalled my own teenage years and the need to be cool. That driving desire dictated the clothes I wore, the music I listened to, and what subjects I became conversant in. And, yet despite all… Thrown into the Driver’s SeatAnd making the best of it.
Mon, 10/12/2009 - 16:00
On June 29, 1863, a 23-year-old First Lieutenant received an unexpected promotion. The freckle-faced, strawberry blonde, who graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point, was elevated directly to the rank of brigadier general in the Union… Nine Little WordsMore powerful than you know
Mon, 09/14/2009 - 14:21
“Writing is not a job; it’s a hobby!” thundered my father when I told him my plans for college. “You need to get a profession: Medicine, law, engineering, or accounting.”
I cheerlessly acquiesced and enrolled in a pre-med program, but at the… Defeating the Demotivator Remembering accomplishments, even small ones, can destroy doubt and build confidence.
Mon, 08/24/2009 - 05:30
The sweet strains of a Puccini aria cut through the Saturday night clatter of the busy Italian restaurant in New York City, but it wasn’t coming from the aging voice of the Sicilian baritone, who was hired to belt out favorites such as “Funiculi-…