Hard-Wired to Connect

What do your social relationships have to do with your success at work? Probably more than you think. We humans are hard-wired to connect, and that hard-wiring doesn’t go away when we go to work.  Neuroscientist and social psychologist Matthew Lieberman argues that our need to connect is as basic Read more…

I Cry A Lot

I cry a lot. This morning on the bus, when this beyond-cute baby couldn’t stop smiling at me. During a coaching session last weekend, when I was confronted by a particularly uncomfortable truth. This summer, when my comedian of a sister made me laugh so hard I thought I’d break Read more…

Frum William, to Kelly

A few years ago I landed in California to visit my sister and her family. My sister’s eldest son, William, is one of my favorite human beings ever. He was 4 at the time, this hilarious combination of earnest pedant and aspiring comedian, with a voice deeper than my father’s. Read more…

The Science of a Smile

Years ago I came across the idea that just the physical act of smiling can trick your brain into happiness. The notion itself is pseudo-paradoxical… It’s one thing to be hoodwinked by a third party (Santa Clause isn’t real? Subway’s footlong isn’t really 12 inches? That Nigerian prince won’t email Read more…