One Guy's Truth
The first coach I ever had was my Dad. When my buddies and I turned five in 1984, someone decided that we should all play soccer. The only problem was, no one had a Father (or Mother) who knew anything about the sport. My Dad aka “Coach D,” stepped up and took the reins. After […]
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For Part I on “What To Do If You’re Fired,” click here. Part 2 addresses what to do to find your next job. For readers who currently have a gig, but are looking for something “better,” this post is for you too. Day 3 Post Firing – Your New Job Even though you just lost […]
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Recently, I had two friends who were “let go” from their jobs. Knowing something about getting fired, I thought it would be helpful to share my experience on what to do if you ever find yourself, “looking for your next opportunity.” If you are fortunate enough to be currently working “for the man”, don’t forget […]
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In the United States, it’s one of the most frequently asked questions, “how are you doing?” Passing someone on the street – “hey, how ya doing?” Getting ready to order your daily coffee from the Starbucks Barista – “how you doing, can I have a…?” Bump into a neighbor at the grocery store – “what’s […]
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I recently finished the book, Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari. In my humble opinion, this should be required reading for all humanity. Harari provides an easy to read summary on the 200,000 year old history of our species. Throughout this time, these ancestors were nearly identical to our present selves in terms of cognitive and […]
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I’m not usually someone who thinks about birthdays. However, for those frequent readers of the blog, you have seen a mention here and there that I will be turning 40 in a couple of months. I’m not freaking out about the big FOUR OH, but it has given me an awareness that a middle point […]
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On Saturday, I achieved a feat so remarkable, they should probably write a book about me (or a blog post). For 30 straight minutes, I “played Legos” with my 5-year-old without checking my phone, glancing at a magazine or talking to another person. My daughter had my complete focus and attention. I was fully present […]
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I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. My thinking has always been, if I need to make an important change, then I should do it today, rather than wait for an imaginary moment on the calendar. Therefore, I completely surprised myself when I spent nearly 6 hours on Wednesday planning out 2019. I […]
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My last post, Craving Community, wasn’t the most uplifting to write. Maybe you are someone who enjoys reading about the loneliness of a random blogger, but it didn’t feel great admitting to the internet that I’m a bit lonely during the hours of 9am and 3pm (when my kids are at school). With that said, […]
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This post probably won’t be funny. It might not teach you much. But, I promise this post will be real. I have been off track. No, I’m not spending my days drinking beers, playing video games nonstop, or wandering around town like a zombie. I just haven’t been using my time with purpose. I’ve been […]
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Recently, I made an update to my LinkedIn page. Under the employment section, the update reads as follows: Dan D’Agostino, Principal at The Redland Companies Because of these seven words, I received a nearly overwhelming outpouring of CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW JOB emails, text messages and phone calls. All of these communications were extremely nice […]
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When I proposed to my wife, I wasn’t sure I loved her. We had been together for a little over a year and gotten to know each other pretty well. I enjoyed spending time with Jenny, but did I really truly madly love her? In hindsight, I probably rushed into proposing to her, but at […]
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I haven’t written a post in a while mainly because I haven’t been feeling creative. Even now, I worry that this attempt will turn into yet another draft in my MS Word docs that never sees the publish button. Where has the creative juice gone that brought you such epics as Last Life and Marry […]
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In 2006, my girlfriend and I were driving back from a skiing trip. During the car ride we dreamed aloud how it would be fun to live in a foreign country one day. In hindsight, I was probably just agreeing with her to sound equally impressive with grandiose plans for the future. The next day, […]
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The first self-help book I ever read was Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Without overstatement, this book changed my life. At the time of my first reading, I was in my early twenties trying to determine what I wanted to get out of my existence here on this planet. I’m still wrestling […]
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Have you ever heard something so profound that your life was changed on the spot? Maybe it was a powerful sermon in church or a motivational speech from a coach. Or, maybe it was the first time a crush said they, “liked you”. Or, maybe it was the first time you heard, “Luke, I am […]
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“What do you do all day,” is a question I get asked somewhat frequently. If I had to speculate, I’d guess friends and family are curious what one does all day long when there is no job to attend and no real retirement to enjoy. It’s not an unfair question and I’d probably ask the […]
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Growing up, I loved video games. Probably not in a 2018 sense where kids spend 23 hours out of the day playing Red Dead Redemption 2, Metal Gear Survive or God of War (this list courtesy of the google). If my 9-year-old self had his way, I would have spent every waking hour burning my […]
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I’m the luckiest person you’ve ever met (online). Seriously. No one has more luck than me. What gives me this confidence? Well, for starters, I’ve got a wife who’s willing to fight for my honor, supportive parents, beautiful and healthy kids, wonderful friends, solid health, a nice home and enough money to pay for things […]
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In college, I had my first “real” girlfriend. No, I didn’t have imaginary girlfriends in high school (well, maybe a couple Freshman year), my first longer term and significant relationship just happened to be in college. This relationship was tough for me. While I knew what it was like to have a girlfriend based on […]
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