I eat a McDonald’s breakfast sandwich several days a week. I can imagine a young line worker, trying to impress their boss, taking extra care to get that Sausage McGriddle right. I can also imagine that supervisor telling that young employee they need to step it up and get food out the window faster. We Continue reading

Gabe thinks the words “I thought you might like this” is an act of vulnerability. He’s right, but that’s not what a lot of people say. I can’t count the times I’ve been told “Landon, you will LOVE this.” Unless it’s my wife or close friends, I almost always do not like it. Even then, Continue reading

I’ve blogged about Sabbath before. I think about sabbath a lot. Especially as a Christian pastor, I think having a vibrant and well-formed understanding of sabbath is a key part of our faith. I’ve often attended to the systemic aspects of promoting Sabbath. As the leader of a church, a lot of what I do Continue reading

We sometimes tell kids they can be anything they want to be. I think that’s poor parenting. If you’re 4’10”, you’re probably not going to be a pro basketball player. If you can’t carry a tune, you’re not hitting the top of the charts. This is nothing to be ashamed of or fight against. It Continue reading

It’s a classic philosophical thought experiment: If, over time, you repaired a ship plank by plank so that no original planks remained, is it still the same ship? Does it matter how long a new plank is on the ship before the next one is replaced? Once the 50% threshold is crossed, does it cease Continue reading

If someone is very good at their work and makes strides to improve their own position in the world, we often say they “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps.” Especially in the modern West, we tend to value hard work and ingenuity. We like people who are self-reliant. It’s the (particularly American) myth we revere. Continue reading

When I was in High School, I was a debater. I was pretty good, if I’m honest. I was on the team my Senior Year that went to State. I thought being a good debater taught me about good arguments. It did not. What I learned later in life is there is a difference between Continue reading

The older I get, the more I wonder why anyone let me be in charge of anything. I’m grateful – let me be abundantly clear – because the gift of being able to stretch my wings and learn was invaluable to who I am today. It is also invaluable for anyone at the start of Continue reading

James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits A habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a Continue reading

I lead a lot of groups and teach a lot of classes. The way I like to operate is to include as many people who want to talk as possible. But I’ve been doing this long enough to know that if I don’t watch it, the extroverts will take over the discussion, so a regular Continue reading