Living a long life is good. Living a long life that you’ve designed without regrets is sublime. “Just like people have basic physical needs, like to sleep and eat and drink, they have basic psychological needs,” says Alan Rozanski, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai…

Is it rude to laugh at a compliment? Today a mentee referred to me as a Master Designer. I’m still laughing. It’s not that I don’t’ love compliments — who doesn’t. I find the idea of Mastery amusing. …

Let’s be real. This has been a stressful year for everyone. Stress is an unavoidable fact of life. One of the most frustrating features of stress is its tendency to build on its own momentum. I get stressed out about being stressed! Reminding myself to work with stress, not against…

We’ve all heard and applied the famous ‘Face it ’til you make it” mantra. It sounds like good advice — right? You just fake it … and then you make it. It’s a simple two-step process. I wish business, the world, and my life were that simple. …

I promised myself. No more cookies! I kept that promise throughout my grocery store journey. Then I arrived at the register. Maybe just one small pack of sugary goodness … Yep. We’ve all done it. It no secret grocery stores are strategically designed to entice the purchase of items that…

I Zoom into web video conference calls during the workday and Zoom out for social contact with friends in the evenings. Zoom calls are a great way of communicating and connecting. But how can Zoom be used as a design tool? Yes. Collaboration is a design tool. The Collaboration was…

It’s time to heal this whiplash. Like everyone else — I’m experiencing the never-ending Ground Hog Day. I can also add the feeling of time slowing down and speeding up simultaneously leaving me with whiplash, time-warp feeling. I try to cure these new sensations. Last night I Netflixed my feelings…

I woke happy this morning remembering dreams of my favorite NYC destination, The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. It’s a designer’s paradise. What’s not to like. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. The collections are exhibited…

“What could possibly go wrong?” A question I remember well. I guess everyone has a childhood memory where those words were used before taking action. My youthful action was playing Superman, with a blanket tied around my neck and jumping down a flight of stairs. Yes, I did. No, it…