Work With What You’ve Got

Because What You’ve Got is A Lot. Resourcefulness has been one of my life’s most-valuable ongoing lessons. In the face of challenges or obstacles it’s opened doors of consideration and practical ingenuity that would have otherwise remained shut. Curiously-enough, it’s had a more successful record at leading me to elegant solutions than the more desirable,… Continue reading Work With What You’ve Got

The Flintstone Vitamins Principle

How to smuggle value past resistance As a kid my parents were very committed to making sure that my siblings and I grew up right and—to a large degree—ate the right things too. This included supplementation. Long before my days of creatine or protein powder there were Flintstone vitamins. I knew that they were vitamins… Continue reading The Flintstone Vitamins Principle

Let’s Talk About Creative Composting

Transform your habit of passive collecting into active, creative cultivation. Like many creatives, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of inspiration over the years: Screenshots, images, design references, articles, ideas, you name it. Interesting little sparks that somehow felt worth saving eventually found there way into my possession. The collection became so large and disorganized that… Continue reading Let’s Talk About Creative Composting

Programmatically Speaking

Why Naming Things Matters More Than You Might Think One of the most useful technical habits I’ve picked up recently has nothing to do with writing code. It’s naming things. At first glance, file and folder names seem trivial. After all, what’s the difference between: Final Project and project-final-v1? Quite a bit, as it turns… Continue reading Programmatically Speaking

Nexus Made Simple: The Hands-Off Guide to E-Commerce Compliance

Years ago, I intentionally limited an online store to a single U.S. state. One reason was simplicity. Another was sales-tax compliance. Recently, while building a completely unrelated consulting business, I encountered the modern economic nexus landscape. And yes, the whole matter IS about as sexy as it sounds. Multi-state sales tax obligations can emerge automatically… Continue reading Nexus Made Simple: The Hands-Off Guide to E-Commerce Compliance

Personal Escape Velocity

When Momentum Finally Beats Gravity. Some milestones are worth celebrating. Not because they’re dramatic but because they’re quietly transformative. Lately, I’ve been on something of a writing frenzy, and for the first time in my life it feels completely natural. What’s funny is that I wasn’t actively searching for it. The whole thing began as… Continue reading Personal Escape Velocity

Not Just Systems, Systems Optimization Too

There’s plenty of discussion online about building systems for success via routines, habits, workflows and productivity structures. While I generally agree with that thinking, I’ve noticed something important over the years: Building systems is only half the equation. The other half is learning how to adapt and optimize them over time. I’ve been fascinated with… Continue reading Not Just Systems, Systems Optimization Too

Nexus and Online Sales: A Note for New Online Sellers and Creative Entrepreneurs

For new—and especially online entrepreneurs—it often helps to balance awareness with reassurance. One of the easiest mistakes a new online seller can make is believing they need to understand every tax rule before making their first sale. If you’d like to dive further into some broader context and details regarding modern economic nexus then feel… Continue reading Nexus and Online Sales: A Note for New Online Sellers and Creative Entrepreneurs

No Longer Held Hostage by My Irrationally-Rational Self

There’s a big part of me that feels as though I haven’t yet fully lived. At the same time, there’s another part of me that feels completely exhausted; tired of the reaching, stretching, risk-taking, and endless attempts to force meaning out of life through sheer effort and discipline. Lately, I’ve caught myself wanting to do… Continue reading No Longer Held Hostage by My Irrationally-Rational Self