So…a friend and I started a podcast. There’s a lot of confessing, challenging, a bit of conflict, and a touch of cussing. But most of all it’s a conversation between friends. This project grew out of years of relationship and talking about our ventures and missteps and learnings and stories. And we want to share…More
Tag Archives: personal growth
Finding purpose
What do you live for? It’s a simple question. But it’s one of the most difficult to answer. From my experience, many of us find meaning but few have purpose. Purpose is the belief or reason we have for living. It’s different from meaning. Meaning is about the significance or feeling of significance for something…More
Overcoming one of our greatest obstacles: ourselves
Our lives are determined not just by what we think but how we think. Before I started writing I used to believe I couldn’t write. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that my high school papers, after being graded, had so much red ink on them that they looked like someone…More
Cookies, covid, and a confession
Three words likely have never been seen together, but there they are, in the title, all alliterated, and weird. Let me explain. A couple of weeks ago we shipped the most amount of cookies since the start of our Clean Cookie Company, but covid slowed our shipments; and we’ve got to own the fact that…More
The YouTube ad that made me cry
Last week, we were watching a video when the greatest YouTube ad I had ever seen appeared. We couldn’t stop watching it. The skip ad button turned on and I ignored it. The ad went on for seconds then minutes. Until it ended nineteen minutes later. (I know, it might feel weird reading about a…More
One of the best ways to deal with uncertainty
Uncertainty is everywhere. And the best thing we can do isn’t fight it, try to force things to happen—control. No. Sometimes the best thing we can do is just do this—surrender. That’s not the same as giving up. You’re not quitting. Absolutely not! Surrendering is different. It’s not giving up; it’s giving in. And that’s…More
Cookie saga continues
Our cookies got to a couple of friends and they were good, not perfect, but still delicious. It was a huge relief. See, in my last post I mentioned that we tried a new way of packaging our cookies and weren’t sure how they would turn out. We didn’t want to fail, and more importantly,…More
The good, the bad, the cookie
Yesterday we baked and shipped 240 cookies that same day. It’s the highest count so far in the short life of our little company, Clean Cookie Co. With our kids crying and needing food, uncertainties around fulfillment, the clock ticking down, and the sheer mountain of cookies, nonetheless, we made it. Don’t get me wrong,…More
When things get bad, go long
These days it’s easy to think that everything’s crap. But that’s wrong. You need to go long. See, the short-term is crappy. Yes, the pandemic is still here. It’s swelling. There’s a second wave. It’s looking ugly, uglier every day. But, that’s shortsighted. You’ve got to look yonder. Over the horizon. Set your sights on…More
Why we started a cookie business
Sometimes when things are terrible it’s necessary to start something delightful. So last month my wife and I started a cookie business. It’s an online store that sells gourmet gluten-free and vegan freshly baked cookies. They are made from incredible ingredients: organic this and organic that. And they are delicious. I’m the taste tester, so…More
John Pa 