Plant your words here and watch them grow — What Is The Word Garden? Here at The Word Garden, we showcase nonfiction, fiction, and poetry from writers at various stages of their journey. The goal of The Word Garden is to help writers sharpen their skills and build an audience around their work by practicing in public. Who Runs the Word Garden? For those who don’t know me, I’m…

How to write on Medium — Hello writers! To support the writing community over at The Word Garden, I wanted to write a “How To Blog” guide for newcomers to Medium. First things first: what is Medium for writers? Medium is an ad-free blogging platform where writers can start a blog (for free!) to build an…

Where is the line between justice and cruelty? — The hardest part of being a leader is owning your mistakes when you know people will hate you for them. That’s why most leaders don’t do it. They lie and deny, or they hide behind layers of bureaucracy to protect them from the people they hurt through their actions. Occasionally…

Don’t fight the river — follow it — Last week, we talked about how to hold onto peace in the face of chaos. This week, we’ll discuss the opposite — how to experience joy by letting go of control. One of the hardest things about growing up is realizing that, even as adults, we have very little control…

What we own owns us — There’s a certain paradox to ownership that we can only experience once we’ve brushed with abundance: the more we own, the more we must protect and carry. After a while, the very things we thought would set us free become chains that trap us in an ivory tower of our…

More value = more business Business is simple, but we make it complicated. It’s all about value. Create Value Communicate Value Deliver Value Even huge businesses will fail in the long run when they veer away from value. One of the best examples is Blockbuster / Netflix. Blockbuster faded into…

How to hold onto peace in times of chaos — Last week, we talked about the benefits of living like you’re already dead. This week, I want to talk about preparing for tragedy to befall you and those you love. In many spiritual and self-help communities, people talk about “manifestation” and “the power of positive thinking.” Likewise, many times when…

Live Like A Corpse — Last week, we talked about the paradoxical prison of pleasure. Today, I want to explore my favorite topic of all — living like a dead person. As a human, it’s so ridiculously easy to die. All it takes is a slice of undercooked meat, a misplaced marble, or a moment…

In a world full of good things, chase great things — Last week we meditated on the gift of loneliness. This week, I want to talk about giving up good things in pursuit of great things. Life is full of wonderful things: delicious food, spectacular wines, scenic views, beautiful people, cool cars, amazing jobs, interesting books, great music, awesome TV shows…