I recently added a new data point to my weather watching that has transformed how I think about summer days. It’s called the UV Index and I encourage you to track it, too.
Category Archive: Advice
Why Time is the New Wealth
I believe that a new perspective is emerging that’s based on time being a form of wealth. It will be the element that people strive to control and design into their lives because it’s a source of real satisfaction and freedom.
Choosing Recessed LED “Can” Lights
A friend who is a few months behind us in their home project reached out to ask a few questions about choosing recessed LED can lights for their new home.
Designing a Network for New Home Construction
When building a new house, it’s worth considering whether or not to run ethernet networking and if so, what products may work best. This is our plan.
The Time Capsule 💊
The post below was sent as an issue of my newsletter, Ready for Rain. I’m ready for spring. I’m ready to be done with 2020, done with the election, done with the pandemic. I’m ready to feel a sense of hope along with longer, warmer days, with friends. And those days...
How BIG ENOUGH Made the Front Page of Google
Ten things I did to help links to my book appear on the first page of Google for the term “Big Enough”.
The Trick is Not Minding That It Hurts
If you spend your whole life working to avoid the things that might hurt, or that represent a challenge, you risk becoming an entitled and oblivious prick or someone so fragile that reality feels like injustice.
Before Drywall -Did We Get It Right?
The race is on. A couple of weeks ago, Drew, our contractor, set a date for our house to be insulated. We’re using spray foam insulation, which creates a hardened shell in the spaces in the walls. It also locks into place years of decisions and the work of...
What to Consider Before Drywall is Installed 🤔 🏡
Once the drywall goes up, a lot of decisions become harder to change. We tried our best to think ahead and avoid any changes.
How to Help the Author in Your Life
Why do pre-orders matter? The answer deserves a clear explanation, so I made the 90-second video below as a resource for any author or publisher. Please feel free to share it or use it in your campaign.
12 Years of the BIG ENOUGH Perspective
We’ve been working on the the central ideas in Big Enough for 12 years. This post shares how the Big Enough perspective looked to us in 2008.
Rolling Out Our Metal Roof 🏡
Our house was designed to have a metal standing seam roof and I was not clear about how, exactly, the roof panels would be delivered and applied. It turns out they are formed on-site.
Mindfulness and Just One Thing 💦🌲
I decided to try being more mindful and focused on one thing at a time. It didn’t go well.
A Cabin the PNW Woods
It's a familiar story. Two friends decide to build a cabin in the woods where they can get away from desk jobs and spend time away from the city. These stories often cover the same territory: the dream runs headlong into reality. The story below is no different, but...
Should Authors Buy Their Own Books?
In my experience, publishing a book means owning at least a few boxes of the book. These can be given as gifts, sold, used in promotions, and more. I have boxes of Big Enough sitting beside me right now. The copies I have came directly from the printer and don't have...
Watching The Book Data for Big Enough
I am often preoccupied with data about our business. I spend a lot of time checking websites and dashboards to see how our projects are going. I love it, but it can also become an obsession. This is especially true for my book, Big Enough.
Stepping Away from the Seattle Bustle
Now that we’ve moved and my life has changed in fundamental ways, I can’t help but see that there is beauty in stepping off the treadmill of city life and professional expectations and reevaluating what success means to me.
Betting on Blurbs for Big Enough
If you pick up just about any modern book, you’ll find short quotes from influential people saying nice things about the book and/or author. These are called endorsements or blurbs and they provide a bit of social proof.
Changing Course in House Planning ➡️
When we saw the construction estimate, we knew we had to change course and small changes weren’t enough. This was the path we took.
Sharing a Brain 🧠
Any big project comes down to relationships. This is especially true for couples who are working together on their own house project. It helps if you share a brain.