1: Psychologists and mental health professionals call it “hurry sickness.”

They label it a disease.  And it’s an epidemic in our modern world, John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

Hurry sickness is defined as “A behavior pattern characterized by continual rushing and anxiousness.”

And: “A malaise in which a person feels chronically short of time, and so tends to perform every task faster and to … continue reading

1: “In the 1960s futurists all over the world—from sci-fi writers to political theorists—thought that by now we’d all be working way fewer hours,” John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World.

“One famous Senate subcommittee in 1967 was told that by 1985, the average American would work only twenty-two hours a … continue reading

1: It’s the late ’90s.  John Ortberg “was working at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, one of the most influential churches in the world,” John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

“John himself is a well-known teacher and best-selling author—the kind of guy you figure pretty much has apprenticeship to Jesus down,” John Mark notes, “But behind the scenes he felt like he was getting … continue reading

1: “It’s a Sunday night, 10 p.m. Head up against the glass of an Uber, too tired to even sit up straight. I taught six times today—yes, six. The church I pastor just added another gathering,” John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

“That’s what you do, right? Make room for people?” he asks.

“I made it until about talk number four; I don’t remember anything … continue reading

“Were we to meet this figure socially, this accusatory character, this internal critic, this unrelenting fault-finder, we would think there was something wrong with him. He would just be boring and cruel. We might think that something terrible had happened to him, that he was living in the aftermath, the fallout, of some catastrophe. And we would be right.” -Adam Phillips

1: “Inspiration is for amateurs – the rest of … continue reading

1: When someone isn’t succeeding at work, they typically fall into one of two camps,  Will Guidara writes in his terrific book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect.

The ones who are trying.  And the ones who are not.

“The end result may be similar, but the two need to be handled differently,” Will writes. 

We have to “move heaven and earth to … continue reading

1: “Everyone who was anyone in Hollywood ate lunch at Spago,”  Will Guidara writes in his book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect.

The restaurant was “the crown jewel of an empire presided over by Chef Wolfgang Puck,” he notes, “who had revolutionized American dining by popularizing California cuisine.”

It was the summer after Will graduated from high school.  He was working … continue reading

1: “When initiating change,” Will Guidara writes in his inspiring book, Unreasonable Hospitality, “I look for the best lever, whatever will allow me to transmit the most force with the least amount of energy.”

In 2006, Will became General Manager of the New York City restaurant Eleven Madison Park, or EMP. He inherited a culture with two warring factions, “the fine-dining squad” and the “old guard.”

“The servers … continue reading

1: The thing about Laura?

“She never complains.” Will Guidara writes in his terrific book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect.

Will was about to assume the General Manager role at Eleven Madison Park (also known as EMP). This New York City fine-dining restaurant was part of legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer‘s Union Square Hospitality Group. 

One “should never waste an opportunity … continue reading

1: “I vividly recall the moment I realized I’d been overcomplicating my son’s fifth birthday party, which had come to feel like a significantly stressful undertaking,” Oliver Burkeman writes in Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts.

“What the stress really signaled, I saw, was that I cared about the project,” Oliver writes, “which is entirely different from saying that it … continue reading