A Mailbox Full of Sunshine

One of my best friends teaches math to 7th graders. These kids are not in the highest level math class. In fact, it is not clear how many of them Continue reading →

Stories are about Transformation

Two years ago I was living in L.A. I planned to return to San Francisco, and take a storytelling workshop in March. I had just learned about storytelling when I Continue reading →

7 Reasons to Love Twitter

Dear Twitter, Have I told you lately that I love you? You make my life easier and enjoyable in so many ways. You help me: 1. Learn new languages. I Continue reading →

Benefits of a Writers Conference for New Writers

Last year I went to my first writers conference. I chose it based on location: Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Writers Conference turned out to be the perfect choice, as Continue reading →

What Happens When You Have No TV and Kids Around

I’ll be honest: my reason for not having a television has nothing to do with any child-raising philosophy. I come from a line of frugal Chinese who demand to know Continue reading →

A Great Vacation is… a Friend’s Conference

What happens to friendships as we get older? Oftentimes we hear, “I’m too busy” with work, with family, with children. Studies have shown that a strong social network provide a Continue reading →

Valuing Love Over Food

In San Francisco, there is no shortage of new restaurants with tasty offerings. I noticed an Asian restaurant with “Comfort Food” prominently in the name. I thought I would drop Continue reading →

When the Student Is Ready…

I used to think of two connected things as “coincidences” but now I’ve started to see things laid out as a series of paving stones along a path. Last month Continue reading →

Do You Give Too Much?

There are so many people who need help, and yet it is also very common that those who do help, don’t help themselves. I grew up needing to take care Continue reading →

There Is a Lot of Doing in Being

I love reading books about improving personal productivity. If there is a faster, better, smarter way of doing something, please tell me about it. I have used a personal organizer Continue reading →

To Feel More Compassion, Think of a Water Pitcher

I have flown a fair number of times, and on occasion, someone has told me their life story. My instinct afterwards was to tell that story as soon as I Continue reading →

My First Business Was a Failure

My first business was a failure. I had no marketing budget. I had no sales force. I didn’t even have the product and had to deviate from my business plan. Continue reading →

Find Evidence of Love

If you want to bring more love into your life, but aren’t sure how, try one of Christine Arylo‘s challenges: collect evidence of love. Go for a walk, keep your Continue reading →

Fashion Emergency – Please Redesign Patient Gowns

I’ve worked in health care for twenty years, and spent much of my childhood visiting my mom in hospitals. As I get older, I really dread one thing: putting on Continue reading →

Overcoming Lack and Feeling Abundance

People like Gabby Bernstein talk about being in a place of abundance, or overcoming a mindset of lack. It can help to recognize the external and internal factors that can Continue reading →

What Turns a Typical Commute into a Surprise

One morning I was sitting in the post-holiday commute traffic, and I wondered what would happen if I paid the toll for the car behind me? Usually I am in Continue reading →

How Ninja Skills Help with Parenting

I once took Ninja classes. I didn’t know it would come in handy after I had a child. Besides the basic skills of diapering, swaddling, (breast)feeding, and bathing a new Continue reading →

Until There is GPS for Emotions

I came across this post of A chart of emotions that are untranslatable. I really like this map for a few reasons: Other cultures value a certain feeling I like Continue reading →

Why This Suicide is Different

Tonight on Twitter I saw a posting about Aaron Swartz’s suicide. I did not know who he was, but I have heard of Reddit, and RSS. I found a link Continue reading →

How to Do What You Are Meant to Do

I recently listened to Seth Godin’s Startup School podcasts, in which he describes someone at the beginning (of starting a business) as having an empty lot. He says you can’t Continue reading →