Archive
Articles from 2009
These 15 articles live at addresses from 2009, the year their topics first appeared on this domain. Each one was written fresh for the relaunched site.
October (5)November (3)December (7)
- Decisions & GoalsThe First Step: How to Start When You Don't Feel ReadyWhy the first step matters more than the plan, how to make it small enough to take today, and what to do when the second step feels just as hard.
- Stress & ResilienceMaking Mistakes and Overcoming ThemA practical way to handle mistakes: own them quickly, repair what you can, learn one specific lesson and stop replaying the moment long after it's useful.
- Gratitude & HappinessThanksgiving: Simple Ways to Make Gratitude the Main CourseThanksgiving ideas that put gratitude back at the centre of the day, from a two-minute table ritual to thank-you notes, plus how to cope when the holiday is hard.
- Book NotesThe Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: Book OverviewAn honest overview of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist: what the fable is about, the ideas it explores, why readers love or dislike it, and who will enjoy it.
- Stress & Resilience"Our Deepest Fear": Where the Famous Passage Comes From and What It MeansThe real source of the 'our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate' passage, why it's often misattributed to Nelson Mandela, and how to use its idea.
- Purpose & MeaningA Meaningful Existence or a Meaningless One? How to Tell the DifferenceWhat psychologists mean by a meaningful life, the three ingredients researchers keep finding, and practical ways to add more meaning to an ordinary week.
- Purpose & MeaningHow Will You Be Remembered? Thinking About Legacy Without the GloomA practical way to think about legacy: the eulogy exercise, why character outlasts achievements, and small habits that shape how people will remember you.
- Book NotesThe Leap by Rick Smith: Book OverviewAn overview of Rick Smith's 2009 career book The Leap: its three-part argument about strengths, passion and risk, what holds up, and who will find it useful.
- Money & WorkTop 5 Reasons to Leave Your Job (and How to Know It's Time)Five solid reasons to leave a job, the warning signs that it's time, and a practical checklist for leaving well without burning bridges or your savings.
- Decisions & GoalsShow Me Your Plan and I'll Tell You Your FutureWhy a simple written plan shapes where you end up, how to make one that survives real life, and the weekly review that keeps it honest. No spreadsheets needed.
- Stress & ResilienceYour Past Does Not Determine Your FutureHow the past shapes us without deciding everything, why the stories we tell about it matter, and practical steps for building a different future from today.
- Stress & ResilienceYou Are More Than Good Enough AlreadyWhy the feeling of never being good enough is so common, how perfectionism and comparison feed it, and practical ways to build steadier self-worth.
- Book NotesSeth Godin's What Matters Now: The Free 2009 Ebook, RevisitedWhat Seth Godin's free 2009 ebook What Matters Now was, how it worked, the themes its contributors wrote about, and which ideas still feel relevant today.
- Gratitude & HappinessHow to Put the Meaning Back into ChristmasPractical ways to make Christmas feel meaningful again: simpler gifts, rituals that matter, generosity beyond the family and permission to skip what drains you.
- Just for Today ChallengeJust for Today Challenge: How 31 Days to a Better You WorksThe thinking behind the Just for Today Challenge: why one small experiment a day works better than big resolutions, how to do it, and how to keep what helps.