Brain… Thriving Creativity 28 Jan 20206 Jul 2020 Our culture promotes a stereotype that creators like writers and entrepreneurs must sacrifice everything—food, sleep, relationships—for the cause. Long hours, sacrifices, and courageous decisions take a toll, and exhausted people…
Business… Communication Suspense 3 Dec 20196 Jul 2020 When the beleaguered Apollo 13 capsule fell through earth’s atmosphere on April 17, 1970, the re-entry communication blackout lasted about six minutes. Because of the life-threatening situation, suspense was more…
Collaboration… Training for Global Prosperity and Peace 25 Nov 20196 Jul 2020 Imagine a country with more highly educated doctors and engineers than jobs for them, a country short on skilled tradespeople, a country with a population of about 10 million supporting…
Academic Writing… Save Yourself from this Embarrassing Pronoun Error 2 Nov 20196 Jul 2020 Myself is not a formal substitute for I or Me. Reflexive pronouns (also including yourself, himself, herself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) apply when a subject acts on an object which is—itself! You may shave…
Academic Writing… Lies Your English Teacher Taught You 30 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 Some of you blame your teachers (English or otherwise) for writing advice that is not even true for English or doesn’t apply every time. Please stop believing that these are…
Brain… For Engineers and Other Geniuses Who Cannot Spell 26 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 My dad was an industrial engineer and his spellings were creative. His colleagues shared that talent. When I taught college, many of my students were engineering majors, demonstrating that skill…
Writing How To Clearing Barnacles from Your Prose 23 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 Each language has a cadence. Compare “la casa de mi madre” with “my mom’s house.” That musical Spanish phrase illustrates a romance language cadence, relying on prepositional phrases. (Romance: Roman…
Writing How To Ode to Short Words 16 Oct 201923 Oct 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I have a ________” [DREAM!] He did not say, “I have been considering a possible aspiration for dramatic reformation of the present situation, which…
Change the World… The Official #OneHourBio Challenge 8 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 One of my closest relatives texted, “I have cancer. I need you to help me write something for my girls.” I think I replied, “WHAT?!” A couple years later, she…
Books… Write your nonfiction book before you retire 3 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 Claim it. Are you doubting yourself or your timing? Stop. You showed up here, didn’t you? People don’t do that until they are ready. I get to be the fairy godmother…
Inspiration… Writing with a view 26 Feb 20196 Jul 2020 Elyssa Shalla, National Park Ranger and typewriter enthusiast, placed a vintage typewriter six miles into the Grand Canyon for several days, inviting hikers to record what that moment meant to…
Change the World… Learn a new language, gain a new soul 17 Aug 20166 Jul 2020 Czech proverb, "Learn a new language, gain a new soul," is so beautifully illustrated by Robin Wall Kimmerer's practicing her ancestor's language, Potawatomi. She is even more fluent in botany. I loved…
