Stories Archives

A female professor in front of a chalkboard, pointing to the phrase "Life 101" written on the chalkboard.

The Most Important Skill of All – 7 Takeaways No. 237

Aha! Consistency. {Expletive} books. Being offended. The mother of all skills. Creating reality. Better living through writing.

A treasure chest half-buried in golden sand on a tropical beach.

Repositories of Buried Treasure – 7 Takeaways No. 224

Say hello. Small steps. Truth vs. Convenience. Creativity as antidote. Not all stories are true. Lean into aging. Am I enough?

A 19th century British newspaper-style woodcut image depicting two people awkwardly approaching each other as if unsure whether to hug.

Hug, Kiss, Or Shake Hands – 7 Takeaways No. 197

Awkward! Story telling is everywhere. Parenting. Stop waiting. Chances are astronomically small. Just do something. Acting in real life.

An individual on a city street shoveling a nine-foot-high pile of horse manure, depicted in the style of a 19th-century newspaper illustration.

Nine Feet of Feces – 7 Takeaways No. 194

Use your phone to read. Possible piles of poop. Fiction matters. Learning from failure. Making life choices. Critical reading skills. Boring.

A group of people walking past a traditional library. All the people are looking down at their phones, absorbed in their screens, while the library behind them stands mostly unnoticed. The library building is grand and classic, with large columns and a sign that clearly identifies it as a library. The people are dressed in modern, casual clothing, and their attention is entirely on their smartphones. The scene is set in daylight, with a slightly melancholic tone, highlighting the contrast between the focus on digital devices and the neglect of traditional reading spaces.

Reading Is Not As Necessary As It Once Was – 7 Takeaways No. 193

Mud-colored glasses. Playing in the street. Connections are complicated (and important). Telling yourself stories. Dare to see stupid. Does reading matter? (YES!) Taking risks.

A steam engine locomotive falling into a river. The train is depicted mid-fall with the front of the locomotive tipping downward as it leaves the end of the tracks, where a bridge should have been. There is a sense of motion and urgency as the train plummets towards the water below. The river beneath is wide and turbulent, with splashes and waves forming where the train is about to make impact. The background shows a natural landscape with trees and a clear sky, adding to the dramatic scene of the accident.

The Roaring Locomotive of Self-deception – 7 Takeaways No. 188

We don’t know how AI works. Rationality? Nah. I’m bored. Simple explanations. You’ll ignore my advice. We’re right, they’re wrong. How you say it matters.

Using Stories to Make Sense of Our World — 7 Takeaways No. 101

Change, Expectations, Imagine, Population, Stories, Strengths, Happiness

Learn From People You Disagree With — 7 Takeaways No. 59

Overwhelm. Cybercrime. Stories. The Commons. Cynicism. Learning. Suffering.