On Solid Ground – Latest Blog Posts
Jeff Bezos’s Framework for Making Smart Decisions
For more than twenty five years, Jeff Bezos has revolutionized the way we use technology to improve our lives. Recently, I came across a video of Bezos from 1998 in which he shares some of the key decisions he made to found and grow Amazon.com. These decisions...
How We Strengthened Our Relationship in Times of Lockdown
We had just started our long-distance relationship when governments closed borders in response to COVID-19—with one of us in the United States and the other in the UK. The pandemic and the lockdowns imposed in response to it could not have come at a worse time for...
God vs. Ayn Rand: A Fireside Chat with Dennis Prager and Craig Biddle
Craig Biddle recently joined Dennis Prager for a wide-ranging discussion about religion, Objectivism, and American values. This is the conversation our culture needs to have—and a model of the civility with which we need to have it. Check out the video, and share...
Introducing OSI’s Republic of Letters
I’m excited to announce Objective Standard Institute’s brand new “Republic of Letters.” This is a meetup group for active writers who have taken (or are taking) one of OSI’s writing courses or have published an article with The Objective Standard. I will host...
Cal Newport to Speak at TOS-Con 2021
Exciting news! Cal Newport—author of Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and the forthcoming A World Without Email—has joined the roster for TOS-Con 2021, this July in Boston. In his talk, "Your Superpower for Success in a Distracted World," Dr. Newport will discuss...
Maximizing Your Creativity with Productive Meditation
Deep Work: “Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.” —Cal Newport What if you could produce...
Cracking the Code on Team Performance
Daniel Coyle, in The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, presents a compelling case for why some teams are more successful than others. His one-word answer is “culture,” which he defines as “the way that people interact within an organized...
Art as Inspiration: Lang Lang at the Prado
Great musicians can inspire students of music to improve their own playing and artistry. I experienced this myself in 2017 when, as a novice piano student, I went to see the world-renowned pianist Lang Lang on tour. I was awestruck by his technical skill, fluidity,...
Cara E. Yar Khan on the Value of Courage
“Courage and confidence are practical necessities . . . courage is the practical form of being true to existence, of being true to truth, and confidence is the practical form of being true to one’s own consciousness.” —Ayn Rand I love listening to people...