As anyone who’s been to San Francisco knows, if you walk around the city for a while, you’re sure to meet some colorful characters.  I met one such person the other day in a park.  She was middle-aged, and she wore a rainbow-colored dress embroidered with hearts and llamas.  I guess I was smiling, because [...]

Not surprisingly, when I was thinking of leaving my old job as a lawyer, a number of different fears about the consequences of my decision arose.  I was surprised, however, by one of the fears I experienced—the fear that, by leaving, I would “betray” my colleagues.  I felt as though I would break some commitment [...]

Do you have trouble accepting compliments?  I definitely did at one time.  When someone would say something nice about me, I’d get bashful and downplay the aspect of my character or accomplishments they’d pointed out.  For instance, if someone at work said “you did a great job on this project,” I’d say something that suggested [...]

I have a friend whose business, in his view, has failed.  He’s been trying to start a hedge fund, but he hasn’t attracted the investor interest he wanted.  The saddest part of this experience for him is what happens every day when he leaves his apartment building.  There’s another man who lives on the street [...]

I want to tell another story about my friend, the computer programmer who wants to be an interior designer, because my conversations with her raise so many fascinating questions about the challenges surrounding career transitions and pursuing your calling.
My friend is fully ready to start her interior design business—she’s got the ambition, the capital, and [...]