Shrinkingthecamel

LATEST ARTICLES ( 504 )

• Hey, All You Forty-Something Parents! WE STILL ROCK! (Part 3)

  

  Modest Mouse finished their set, and the crowd, in solidarity with the band’s namesake, offered up a Modestly enthusiastic applause while the band exited the... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Hey, All You Forty-Something Parents! WE STILL ROCK! (Part 2)

  

  Sophie was running ahead of me, talking to her friend on the cell phone, trying to decide where to meet. We eventually found her friends over at the... Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Hey, All You Forty-Something Parents! WE STILL ROCK! (Part 1)

  

  One summer I promised my sixteen-year-old daughter, Sophie, that I would drive her to see a rock concert. It was taking place at one of those open-air venues,... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• A Tasteful Examination of Using Salty Language

  

  Warning: This post is rated PG-13. If you are offended by certain slang words that might be used in those movies, then please, do not read this post.Is it okay... Read more

  Posted on 18 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Believing the Unbelievable

  

  I have spent the past few months reading through the gospels again, a little bit each morning. Despite of the rush of my daily schedule, those few minutes of... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• My Charity Work is More Degrading Than Yours: Lessons in Leadership from Middle...

  

  In spite of all the chaos associated with leading the middle school youth group, I have grown to love these kids. After feeling initially terrified about how... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• My Charity Work is More Degrading Than Yours: Lessons in Leadership from the...

  

  I’ll admit that leading middle school fellowship was not the most glamorous of choices for my volunteerism, compared to, say, planting sustainable organic... Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• My Charity Work is More Degrading Than Yours: Lessons on Leadership from the...

  

  Here’s a valuable tip for those of you thinking about volunteering with your church’s middle-school youth program: have very low expectations. Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• What Are You Afraid Of? (2) God Might Want You to Be Terrified Sometimes

  

  Continued from the previous post.I believe that the strength of our faith in God can be directly measured by how often we are terrified. Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• What Are You Afraid Of? Don’t Let Your Fears Hold Back Your Dreams

  

  When I was twenty years old I had an intense interest in songwriting. I wanted more than anything in the world to sign a publishing contract and have some of... Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Are You Dealing with Complexity, Ambiguity and Failure? Congratulations. And...

  

  We have a saying here at my company: we like to see managers get “bloodied up a bit” before moving them into more prominent leadership roles. Read more

  Posted on 02 September 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• The Ultimate Advice for Aspiring Leaders: 6 Non-Negotiables

  

  For all of you aspiring leaders out there, let’s just cut the crap and get right to the point. Rather than dragging this out into six years’ worth of... Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• How to Not Suck as a Leader

  

  This Blog’s tag line says “Connecting Business Life with Spiritual Life.” Sometimes I stick very close to business issues, and other times I veer happily on to... Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Forgetting to Remember God (#4 in a Series)

  

  Continued from the previous post and the one before that and the one before that.So there it is. The crammed family schedule was not the culprit here. Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Forgetting to Remember God (#3 in a Series)

  

  Continued from the previous post and the one before that. This was not a small deal I was working on, mind you. No, it was a $30 million deal with a very... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Forgetting to Remember God (#2 in a Series)

  

  Continued from the previous post.But then again, maybe there’s more to it than just plain spiritual laziness. Maybe forgetting about God is really just a... Read more

  Posted on 21 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Forgetting to Remember God

  

  I completely forgot about God for two entire weeks. I know, that sounds terribly unspiritual of me. After all, couldn’t I have at least garnered a passing nod t... Read more

  Posted on 14 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Thou Shalt Love Thy Customer: A Revealing Visit to Starbucks

  

  I love Starbucks. No, I really love Starbucks. You need to know this about me.It’s as if Howard Schultz had me specifically in mind when he built the store... Read more

  Posted on 10 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Was That an Angel? A Mysterious Encounter at Penn Station

  

  Once I took a train into New York City to attend a “Deal Making Conference.” I know, Ha Ha. Deal-making in the middle of a global depression, right? Trust me,... Read more

  Posted on 04 August 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY

• Can We Be Used For a Mighty Purpose?

  

  Here is a great quote of George Bernard Shaw, from Man and Superman:“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a... Read more

  Posted on 30 July 2015 SELF EXPRESSION, SPIRITUALITY