A Brief Letter Of Grief

Dear Kobe,

The world is reeling from your loss and most of all for the unimaginable road ahead for those left to continue living in your absence. The same goes for your daughter and for your friends. It’s entirely impossible to comprehend what each of these families are experiencing tonight. I will not try.

The outpouring of love and condolences feels like nothing I’ve seen, and I’ve tried to comprehend why this is. The best I’ve come up with is that your impact reached deep within, and far outside the realm of athletics. You showed us all what it looks like to strive for the farthest reaches of human potential. In your pursuit, you challenged everyone to look deeper within themselves to find something more and to accomplish something greater.

Can we do all three successfully?

I was recently interviewed on the Love of Work Podcast, but this interview was unprecedented for me because I was able to do it alongside my wife. I love the concept of the podcast as it’s all about discussing work and accomplishing your dreams in the context of relational and familial realities.

This doesn’t get talked about enough.

The interview ended with the signature question — which also serves as the tagline for the show —

Is it possible to change the world, stay in love & have a healthy family?

A Single Step Guide

We all have an aversion for the uncomfortable. We gravitate toward the familiar because familiar is safe. We know what to expect and need to put little effort toward any sort of change. And for this reason we slip into patterns, relationships, and jobs that are… meh.

Exercise: name one important or meaningful thing in your life that didn’t require you to get uncomfortable in the early stages.

See Something. Say Something.

In the last year, have you had an exceptionally great experience at a restaurant? Or have you come across a local retail shop that you absolutely love? Or what about a recent online purchase that was exactly the thing you were looking for?

Do that company, and others, a HUGE service by writing a review. Positive reviews boost visibility for businesses, helping them to be more easily discovered by search engines and the everyday shoppers. And even more, those points of social proof are really the thing that other people will pay attention to when they are looking into those same places — or products — of interest.

Listen, Cautiously

We live in an age of endless advice. It used to be that you only had to sit through conversations with your successful uncle Randy on holidays, as he doled out his wisdom. Now, we are bombarded with opinions, online courses, and experts anytime we pick up our phones.

I guess since everyone else is so prescriptive, I will share my two cents as well:

ADVICE IS NOT “ONE SIZE FITS ALL”

Few things frustrate me more in this arena than everyone’s advice on productivity. There’s been many times in my life where I’ve fallen victim to the idea that a) our productivity defines how our day went, b) productivity is a matter of being unquestionably productive throughout the entirety of the day, and c) the fact that everyone calls it “hustle”.