The Misery of Doing Good

On Sunday, I decided to take a few weeks and give up coffee—all caffeine, actually. A friend at church actually begged to buy me a cup of coffee because he thought I looked horrible. Apparently I’m more addicted to coffee than I might care to admit. That manifest itself further on Sunday night when I got…

Risk or Regret

Have you noticed the difference between people who have followed their dreams and those who live with regrets? Sit in a room filled with retired people. You’ll instantly be drawn to the ones who share the risks they’ve taken. You’ll generally avoid the ones with regrets over all the things they didn’t accomplish. Let me…

I Am a God

In a sense, I am a god. Before you pitch stones at me, let me explain. I am the center of my universe. Everything I do is about me. I receive prayers in the form of emails and tweets—people asking me to do things for them or thanking me for things I’ve done. If someone…

Your Voice Must Speak

One of the biggest myths I’ve seen perpetrated in people’s heart is this: The things that break my heart break yours. Now, I’m not talking about genocide or poverty. Those things should affect all of us. I’m talking about a passion unique to you. I’m talking about your unique voice. It’s easy to think everyone…

Where is Your Voice Going?

On Friday I told you that you have a voice that needs to be heard. Here’s the next question you need to ask yourself: Who’s hearing my voice? My voice is primarily one of encouragement and counter-intuitive thinking—with a few nuances here and there. And I’ve been working hard at writing from that voice. At…

Is Everyone Special?

There’s a weird notion in my generation in the ones following. It’s the idea that anybody can be famous. And to be honest, it’s somewhat true. Anyone can gain a following online and have people listen to their opinions. Anyone has the opportunity to make a viral video. Anyone can self-publish their own book (and…

When An Idea Won’t Let Go

Over the Christmas break I got an idea for a novel I want to write. It was magic. The idea was pure energy, and I had an amazing amount of focus. It’s like I could see the whole story arc in my head: characters, complications, climax… It was all right there. Unfortunately, when I approached my…

What I’m Learning About Telling My Story

I’m learning that discovering your story is a bit like searching Google. One particular story will result in thousands of details, but it’s up to me to figure out which of those details is important to the story. For instance, I’ve been writing a short story about my experience trying to get to India to…