This week, I am turning to something perhaps seemingly different but when reflecting on it not so much. Decluttering our lives.

When you are reading this I am either preparing for or in the midst of the happiest, proudest and most significant “job” of my life.

This week, I am tackling another foundational theme of this newsletter. Its mission is "in pursuit of elevation."

This week, I am returning to something I have touched upon many times in this newsletter series. The incredible importance of the people you spend most of your time with.

Time flies when you are having fun, doesn't it? Last week went by incredibly fast. We enjoyed so many wonderful experiences…

It's summer. This past week, many of you took some time off. This coming week, we are taking time off to be with some of our kids on the East Coast…

For all of you that love independence, I want to say Happy 4th of July. For those that don't. Well....call me! The last few weeks were pretty intense topics with lots to ponder so I promise to be a bit shorter but perhaps not less intense!

I am returning this week to a very important topic that I have touched on before: OPTIMISM.

I am reflecting on the prefix RE. We typically use it to refer to the notion of "again." A backward motion indicating repetition, the same as the “repeat” symbol on music players, a looping arrow.

This week, I wanted to reflect on the greatest gift to humanity: the written word and the transfer of knowledge.

So. I have written before about the collective frame of mind that New Years' brings about. There is something uplifting, optimistic, and hopeful about turning the page.

This week, I wanted to approach my own mission from an angle I have touched on, but not explored fully in past newsletters. It has been central to much of my own work for decades. Here it goes:

This week I am reflecting on perhaps something entirely different: traveling. This week marked the first time we flew and attended regular meetings and dinners with both colleagues and family in a very long time.

This week, a podcast, a book, and a life event triggered reflections about something that we also need to be reminded of more often: being together is more important than being right. Let me dig in a bit.

As readers of this newsletter must have picked up by now, I love words. Or, rather, I love when words help me extract what I know to be true but haven't been able to formulate.

This week, I will be short. On purpose, nonetheless. If you typically read the entire newsletter, including some links, I wish to give you a few minutes back. But here’s the catch…

This week, I was inspired by Ann-Marie Slaughter’s great NYT Op-ed from last week. I have admired her work for decades and so appreciate her ability to articulate what we need to hear, particularly when it is complicated, nuanced, and most of all, inconvenient.

This week, I want to bring up something way above my paygrade and reflect on perhaps the longest debate we have ever had in society, one that dates back many thousands of years. The topic? Religion.

In order to walk this road less traveled of sharing our vulnerability and accepting life as it is, we need help. Lots of help. Being open with our struggles is one step.

This week, I want to address perhaps one of the hardest things in life. To accept what we don't want to accept. Acceptance of what is might be the very essence of a happier life.