
Deliberate Practice
The deliberate practitioner won’t just rely on one source for skill development. You have to learn across multiple mediums. Go out and read on the history of your interest, listen to podcasts, and watch how-to tutorials from masters.

Music Discovery
I am an audiophile but there are no more record stores. I don’t listen to the radio. I don’t drive a lot and do not want to give that little bit of time away to shock jocks and advertising breaks. I stream what I want, when I want over the Bluetooth audio. Convenient as this approach may be, it is a double edged sword because that instant gratification can get you stuck in musical rut. I am an audiophile and I want to discover new sounds. Being stuck at home during a pandemic did nothing for that love of audio discovery.

Individualism–Collectivism Scale
You can trace the individualistic mindset of Americans to its founding. That pursuit of various individual freedoms fueled the don’t tread on me spirit. Whether it was the freedom of religion, the lawless expansion into occupied indigenous lands, or the right to practice morally bereft chattel slavery. Americans have demanded the room to pursue what they solely want no matter the impact to their neighbor. It is no surprise then that "the United States scores highest on the individualism end of [the individualism-collectivism scale ... and consequently] is the only industrialized country in the world that does not provide its citizens with universal health care."

Revisiting Minimalism
I find I have to constantly explain the idea of Minimalism to everyone I discuss it with because their first idea is some Monk like existence, barren of joy or material belongings, wasting away alone in some empty white walled room. That’s the double entendre in the naming this philosophy, Minimalism. In reality, Minimalism should be equated with Essentialism. An essentialist philosophy that is reinforced by mindfulness. The two fuel the thoughtful consideration of everything we bring into our lives and how we allot our time and attention.

Optimizing a Home Office
Work From Home has become what my wife calls, live at work. Each one of us adapting in our own way to a semi-permanent remote worker status. Dining room tables, closets, garages, and empty guest rooms have transformed into make shift offices and classrooms. My experience in working remotely for extended periods of time is not new. Having worked from home in some capacity since 2008. During that time it became clear to us the value of planning office space in your home in some capacity up front.

Gut Health & Stress
Right around the turning point of summer, I started to feel out of it. Tired, grumpy, and more importantly, gripped with intestinal pain. I have had an ulcer in the past and immediately went to the conclusion it was the same now. The byproduct of the 2020 news cycle, along with home & social confinement we have all endured. Fast forward to later in the year, after a series of doctor visits and tests, I did confirm that stress had wrecked my gut health but not how I assumed.

Total Literacy
My father, concerned for the future prospects of his children, pushed literacy hard in our home. This push allowed us to enter kindergarten a full reading level or two ahead of our classmates. I’ve always enjoyed reading but took to it less and less over the years. This year I dove back into reading in way I have not since college; averaging about a book a week at my current pace. More importantly, I have devised a rewarding reading rotation that delivers more than just a good read out of each book. A type of reading pattern that I believe is what is missing from the information flood we get on our digital devices. It is a Pattern Language for reading.

Getaway Cabin Review
It is not unreasonable at first glance to consider Getaway just another form of glamping. Set up in purchased lands near natural preserves, each Getaway location serves as a nearby escape from many major cities. The sites are home to over 20 micro-habitats spaced evenly apart, across serene settings. Ours was located in Suches between Blue Ridge and Dahlonega. The positioning not so remote to draw on survivalist skills; but instead ideal for Turning Off and Tuning Out the everyday monotony. A humble experience lies inside of a small bubble all your own. You can go and not leave the same four walls or grounds for days. Or you may venture out and explore local areas and hike. But you will get to decompress at the very least.

Tribalism and Purpose
In the larger sense, I don't believe the world or at least individual nations have worked collectively to achieve a much larger purpose since the space race. Quarantine orders, though absolutely necessary, have only further isolated and deepened distrust between us. Belonging to a larger collective with a bigger vision is what we could use now. Unfortunately, our leaders and the news media talking heads fail to push an agenda that works to unite. This effort most likely has to start at the individual level. If there is one question we could all ask ourselves that could roll neatly into a greater mission is, "is what I am working at, in a purely objective and secular sense, leaving humanity and earth better than I found it?"