Character Development

Once upon a time, in real life, there was a guy named William Penn. William was a Quaker and also a nobleman, which led to a lot of conflicts in his personal values. As you may know, Quakers are committed pacifists (they oppose war, violence, and militarism). A symbolic conflict for him was that he...

We really can’t control much of anything in our funny little lives. We grasp for control. We grasp for meaning. We grasp for a semblance of purpose in everything that we do. In my opinion, there’s only one thing that we can ever truly control. And I’ll tell you what that is. But first, a story. My...

When you were born, you had a unique way about you. You spoke in a certain way. You admired others in a certain way. You picked up your food in a certain way. No matter how much your parents, friends, culture, society, and peers tried to shape you into something other than what you were, your unique...

I recently started writing about more holistic topics (i.e. not just sex and relationship building topics) and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. So today, I’ve decided to write about the seven highest leverage life skills that I’ve incorporated into my life over the past few years that...

I was walking home from the grocery store today when I witnessed something truly special. It gave me a tremendous feeling of hope for humanity, and I'd like to share it with you. ... A mother was walking down the sidewalk with her son. She was in her 30's. She walked in a straight line. And she was...

You hear the advice of "love yourself first" from so many sources throughout your life. But what does that actually mean? While I think that it's wrong/damaging/ridiculous to tell people that they can't be loved by others until they love themselves (*ahem*... of course you can... you not loving...

I was lying on the sidewalk. Cold, January concrete supporting my head. Tears streaming down the sides of my face towards my ears. Over a dozen pairs of feet raced by me before someone acknowledged my strange placement. “Are you alright brother?”, an eventual stranger asked. “I think I might be having...

I believe in loving like you give a shit. I believe in being overly affectionate in public. Even if it means that those who are envious label you as 'that couple' or tell you to get a room. I believe in flirting with someone you’ve been with for years. I believe in seeking out our barriers to intimacy...

A first-of-it's-kind question landed in my inbox a few days ago... Here it is in its entirety (shared anonymously with permission from the sender): "I got out of a relationship a few months ago (okay, six months ago) and I've been doing pretty well. My life is going well, I like what I do, and...

Happy almost 2016! Today, I want to do something a little bit different. This is a round up of all of the best articles I've written over the past year. I did something like this two years ago, and I thought it was time to bring it back. So without further ado... Here are my top ten most...