Relational Infrastructure

Five years ago when I was 23 I bought a Tesla using a traditional auto loan. I had a great paying job, great prospects and I could afford the payments. After learning more about money, and how debt steals my future (thanks Ramsey Solutions), I realized what paying for a Tesla at 23 was doing: minimi...

Please do it, we're all counting on you. I believe in you to do it.

In hindsight this realization is obvious: events are a catalyst for forming friend groups. When I look back at times when it was easy to create a friend group, there's a clear pattern: it's all about events.

[Verse 1]Air in my lungs 'til the road beginsAs the last of the bugs leave their homes againAnd I'm splittin' the road down the middleFor a minute, the world seemed so simple

With few exceptions, all of the places and the people you'll interact with in the next five years already exist. That means there are relationships that have not yet started, paths that have not yet crossed, and stories that have not yet unfolded. These connections are waiting, like seeds, ready to...

Our attention isn't just something we pay, it's all we truly have to give to one another. In an age where digital systems constantly compete for our focus, our attention has become both increasingly valuable and increasingly fragmented.

Commonly we think of joy coming from big moments: graduations, promotions, weddings, vacations. We are conditioned to believe that happiness requires grand gestures or significant achievements. We save our happiness for the weekend, for after we get the promotion, for when we finally move into that...

People want to be good:

I've lived in Michigan my entire life, where the rhythm of seasons isn't just a change in weather, it is a fundamental truth about how things work. Each year is predictable here: winter drags until it doesn't, spring shows up eventually, summer arrives right when we need it, and fall eases us back i...

From my experience there is a strong correlation between people who sit in the middle seats on airplanes and how interesting they are. You can even add in an extra dimension of time in seat and how necessary the route is. For example, people who fly on the middle seat to Hawaii from the lower 48 are...