...Having a purpose simply means knowing why you’re gathering and doing your participants the honor of being convened for a reason...

...Focus on questions, not answers, for breakthrough insights...

...You can’t beat the flavor combination of sweet cornbread casserole and creamy, tender chicken. Add some butter, sour cream and cheddar cheese to the mix...

...A paradox is defined as a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true...

...Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away...

...Do...Plan...Question...Drop...

...While amateurs may attempt to start from scratch when trying to make something creative in a new area, professionals know they must first get in touch with the existing territory...

...Don't be afraid to be pushy and loud when you are championing he idea of someone less powerful than you, or someone with less of a voice. You should not speak up for someone more powerful as you will appear as a suck up...

...How do we keep everyone in the loop without everyone getting tangled in everyone else's business?...

...First, you only need one skillet. Second, you’ll be using traditional lasagna ingredients for an authentic flavor...

...Do new things often. This seems to be really important. Not only does doing new things seem to slow down the perception of time, increase happiness, and keep life interesting, but it seems to prevent people from calcifying in the ways that they think...

...Directed desires give us a path to drive on, but once we reach the goalpost, a sense of aimlessness befalls us. We realize that the “promised land” is actually just a starting point for another journey, but oftentimes we’re unsure of what the next destination is...

...You’re only as good as your worst day. Not because what you do the rest of the time doesn’t matter. Not because you should be expected to be perfect under immense stress or to behave according to plan when everything goes awry. But because what you do on your worst day is impossible to fake. It’s honest signaling....

...Do everything you can in advance when you are having people over for dinner. No matter how easy and tossed-off the task may be...

...“I’ve always felt ideas were a dime a dozen,” he said. “If you had one that didn’t work out, you should not fight too hard to save it, just go find another.”...

...Psychologists call this the hedonic treadmill, in which satisfaction wears off almost immediately and we must run on to the next reward to avoid the feeling of falling behind...

...This oven-baked meal combines flavorful sausages and tender vegetables in a homemade gravy sauce...

...Career changes are some of the biggest moves we will ever make, but they don’t have to be daunting. Using mental models helps us find both the direction we want to go and a path we can take to get there. The result is a change that aligns with the person we are, as well as the person we want to be...

...A likely culprit is overestimating the consequences of mistakes. One solution is to be concrete and write down what you expect to happen if it turns out you have a typo, miss a shot, or bomb a test...

...We just don't have enough experience with early versions of ambitious projects to know how to respond to them. We judge them as we would judge more finished work, or less ambitious projects. We don't realize they're a special case...