[Life Back West] Early Autumn 2014 – The Big Reset

We might sell our Dolores Park area home, a house we’ve lived in for 20 years.

But then again, if the price isn’t right, we might not.

English: Value function in Prospect Theory, dr...

We might pare down early – accelerating a plan 10 years out – and buy a place in Stanley Saitowitz’ minimalistic 8 Octavia in Hayes Valley.

But then again, if we don’t sell our home in Dolores Park at the right price, we might not.Read the rest

End of the Year Calling: The 90-Day Sprint

2014 is calling. Yes, you.shutterstock_109238105

The words it uses – “bonus,” “performance review,” “promotion” – may be different but the results are the same.

Time to up your game and/or up the game of your team.

Time to get started. If you haven’t been “campaigning” now is the time to start.

And every day counts.

It’s also time to realize that your boss – and anyone else who informs things that benefit you like pay, bonuses, and promotions – are prone to a series of cognitive biases.Read the rest

[Life Back West] August 2013 – “Sometimes a Great Notion”

I could tell you that 23 years ago when I moved to San Francisco I figured out that my neighborhood in the Mission would be the hippest place to live west of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, if not North America.

Dictionary Series - Philosophy: trueI could say I predicted that the Chronicle’s C.W. Nevius would write “The vibe may be more Mission than Marina today” when talking about trendy neighborhoods in the City.Read the rest

De Nile is not a River

shutterstock_95386021Face it, we all do it:

  • The job we’re hopeful we’ll land has no chance of ever showing up in an offer letter.
  • That diet (mine in this case) that we think worked well has the regular 36″ waist size slacks still too tight.
  • The company that’s getting it’s lunch handed to it in the market continues to think and refer to itself as a market leader.
Read the rest

The Perfect First “Real” Job?

Skills Like This

Is there a perfect first “real” job?

Probably not. But there are some real stinkers to avoid if you have the choice.

And I’m not talking about summer jobs, volunteer work, and or that paid – or unpaid internship – that might be out there. All of them, IMHO, are important.

But for serious importance it’s hard to match that first fulltime real job.… Read the rest

How-to-Escape from the Land of Shoulda Woulda Coulda

It’s the rare person who doesn’t want things to be better: better job, better career, better income, better everything.

Is the glass half empty or half full? The pess...

And if only things were better then that person – maybe you, maybe me – would finally have the life that they deserve.

Life, it seems, seldom works that way.

The reality is that you are you, and it’s what you do with yourself that makes all the difference in the world.… Read the rest