Category: character

  • Happy Birthday, Debbie

    This the third birthday Debbie has missed, or I guess more accurately it’s the third we’ve all missed without her. I sat down to type with storyline in mind, but whenever I think of her, the rush of stories and memories hit like a tsunami.  The Fellas are a couple of days into camp and […]

  • Faith in the Next Generation

    Ford: “I don’t really believe in God.” Ford and I had our first of what I assume will be a series of conversations about God and his existence. Faith has never really played a role in his mother’s life and church has not been a meaningful part of his upbringing to this point. This is […]

  • one rule giving

    From time to time, in the midst of the beatdown-that-can-be-a-startup, I like to muse on “some day” when the hustle has reached fruition and the bank account overflows and millions have been lifted up by LIGHTHOUSE to lead happier more thriving lives.  Somedays my mind goes to easy things like paying for everyone’s college, or […]

  • for the love of the game

    First, as near as I can tell, pro football has replaced baseball as the “national pastime”, at least as it is measured by maniacal fandom and diehard commitment.  Today’s anguish — how do I get my boys to love football?  Yesterday I sat with a dad that I barely knew while our kids had a […]

  • Stretching the Noodle

    In Japan I learned a wonderful word that created an unexpected and painful self-awareness. “Tsundoku” is made up of two characters that mean “pile” and “read” and basically means to “buy books to make piles”, with the implication that those books don’t get read. The nightstand books tend to reveal who we want to be, […]

  • The “known unknown” vs the “unknown unknown”

    Unplanned Risk I run a startup and there’s a bunch of risks I plan for (competitive, talent, data breach) and a long list of minor ones I don’t plan for – the “known unknown” vs the “unknown unknown”. Today I found out about a major risk I had not planned for that I’m hoping does […]

  • Two Extremes

    I was on a road trip with Max Levchin (Paypal founder) and we had a pair of meetings at the two extremes of personality. To lay some groundwork, Max is wildly introverted, an “academic” Jew more than a spiritual Jew, and struggles with his need for recognition and significance and his desire to be alone. […]

  • 10 Year Friendversary

    Click to see video…

  • 9/11

    I was in NY on 9/11. My apartment was next to St. Vincent’s where they planned to bring survivors. I rode a bus up to Columbia Hospital to give blood, but ended up just registering the busloads of donors. The day is worth more than this short prose, but not the topic of the moment. […]

  • John McCain

    After a great week of talking about honor, integrity and duty, me and The Fellas wore our matching McCain shirts on Friday I went to see Senator McCain resting in state at the AZ capital building. It was moving and inspiring.