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S uccess is often the first step toward disaster. The idea of progress is often the enemy of actual progress. I recently met a guy who, despite having a massively successful business, an awesome lifestyle, a  happy relationship , and a great network of friends, told me with a straight face, that he was thinking of hiring a coach to help him “reach the next level.” When I asked him what this elusive next level was, he said he wasn’t sure, that that’s why he needed a coach, to point out his blind spots and show him what he’s missing out on. “Oh,” I said. And then stood there awkwardly for a moment, gauging how brutally honest I was willing to be with someone I just met. This guy was very enthusiastic, clearly ready to spend a lot of money on whatever problem someone decided to tell him he had. “But what if there’s nothing to fix?” I said. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What if there is no ‘next level?’ What if it’s just an idea you made up in your head? What if you’re already there a...

S uccess is often the first step toward disaster. The idea of progress is often the enemy of actual progress. I recently met a guy who, despite having a massively successful business, an awesome lifestyle, a  happy relationship , and a great network of friends, told me with a straight face, that he was thinking of hiring a coach to help him “reach the next level.” When I asked him what this elusive next level was, he said he wasn’t sure, that that’s why he needed a coach, to point out his blind spots and show him what he’s missing out on. “Oh,” I said. And then stood there awkwardly for a moment, gauging how brutally honest I was willing to be with someone I just met. This guy was very enthusiastic, clearly ready to spend a lot of money on whatever problem someone decided to tell him he had. “But what if there’s nothing to fix?” I said. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What if there is no ‘next level?’ What if it’s just an idea you made up in your head? What if you’re al...

Y ears ago, when I was much younger and stupider, I wrote a blog post and at the end of it I said something like, “And as a great philosopher once said: ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’” It sounded nice and authoritative. I had forgotten who had said it. Google turned up nothing. But I stuck it in there anyway. It fit the post nicely. About ten minutes later, the first comment came in: “I think the ‘great philosopher’ you’re referring to is Uncle Ben from the movie Spiderman.” As another great philosopher once said, “Doh!” “With great power comes great responsibility.” The last words of Uncle Ben before a thief who Peter Parker let get away murders him on a sidewalk full of people for absolutely no explicable reason. That great philosopher. Still, we’ve all heard the quote. It gets repeated a lot. Usually ironically and after about seven beers. It’s one of those perfect quotes that sounds really intelligent, but it’s basically just telling you what you already know, even ...

Y ears ago, when I was much younger and stupider, I wrote a blog post and at the end of it I said something like, “And as a great philosopher once said: ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’” It sounded nice and authoritative. I had forgotten who had said it. Google turned up nothing. But I stuck it in there anyway. It fit the post nicely. About ten minutes later, the first comment came in: “I think the ‘great philosopher’ you’re referring to is Uncle Ben from the movie Spiderman.” As another great philosopher once said, “Doh!” “With great power comes great responsibility.” The last words of Uncle Ben before a thief who Peter Parker let get away murders him on a sidewalk full of people for absolutely no explicable reason. That great philosopher. Still, we’ve all heard the quote. It gets repeated a lot. Usually ironically and after about seven beers. It’s one of those perfect quotes that sounds really intelligent, but it’s basically just telling you what you already kn...