I started writing this when the ordeal started. I didn't know how it would end. But I wanted to capture and remember the amazing feelings of love that have been happening in small moments that made a huge difference as we navigated this experience together.
Read MoreSurprisingly, as SII has grown larger, I have found that our community has drawn closer. Of course, every member of the community deserves credit for this. One person in particular, however, who I have never seen seek credit for anything deserves special praise: Lizzie Pollock.
As Lizzie goes on maternity leave, it is worth stopping to recognize just how much Lizzie has mothered many of us, our ventures, and the SII community as a whole.
Read MoreI have met thousands of students who don’t know the world will help you, if you ask the right way. Many students get stuck when networking. In this post, I offer concrete advice to overcome the perceived barriers that hold people back from taking advantage of this invaluable resource.
Read MoreThis week, I attended a meeting at my synagogue hosted by my rabbi, Elan Babchuck, and featuring Irwin Kula one of his mentors and a national thought leader about the nature of contemporary religion. I don't read most of the announcements that come to my house and email about events because I don't have them on my radar as things I would generally consider attending. In this case, Elan invited me personally and the title, "Disruptive Spiritual Innovation" was certainly intriguing. Elan shared that his goal for the meeting was to understand some national trends facing organized religion and to consider innovation as a lens for thinking differently about the future of synagogues, and the future of religion more generally.
Read MoreI've been traveling for the past few days in Iceland with my best friend, Scott. Here are (a bit more than) a few reflections and musings from our time together.
If you know Scott, you know that he's traveled the world - probably more than any of the people that are receiving this email. I've never really appreciated, though, that Scott is an expert traveler. He has certain credentials earn him this distinction. The first, of course, is experience. He has been to more countries than most people that I know - and he's been doing it his whole life. Beginning with his summer camp experiences in northern Europe, continuing as an adult with world travels with MJ, and BIG trips to dogsled in northern Minnesota, adventuring in Iceland, or hiking in the Dolomites. He's done it all...
Read MoreWhen I think about my own life or observe the world around me, I've often wondered about the factors determine success in our lives. I've always valued the role of confidence in the equation - but this week, saw it play out in powerful, demonstrative ways.
Read More"No cancer, your pathology was negative" I have a gift... When my surgeon told me he believed the polyp on my vocal chord was 99.9% likely to be non-cancerous, I believed him. I received an email from Bari (in San Diego) on the morning of my doctor appointment asking if I had heard anything from the doctor about the pathology. That was the first clue. Bari hadn't forgotton that there was a slim but real chance that the pathology would come back with an announcement of bad news - even while I had gone about my daily routine being completely oblivious to the impending news. I jotted a quick email reminding her that the appointment was that morning and promising to be in touch as soon as I left the doctor's office. When the doctor arrived in my examination room, he acknowledged that I might have been worrying about the news by delivering it even before a polite greeting "No cancer, your pathology was negative".
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