It’s either kinda beautiful, or pretty pathetic. I’m going with “beautiful”. But I’m biased. The pathetic/beautiful object in question is my personal values statement from my early 20’s. It’s a long list of resolutions I wrote up to try and give myself some boundaries and guidance—two things that I didn’t have a lot of at […]
The Not-So-Simple Life column
The Not-So-Simple Life: It Wasn’t Me! (But It Will Be)
By now, if you’ve been reading my column—where I variously brag and complain about how un-simple my life is, largely because of my overactive imagination and shaky time management skills—you’re probably thinking something along these lines: “OK Lance, we get it. You’re a friggin’ disaster, and you know it. You’ve clearly got potential, but you’re […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: “Note to Self: Make Notes to Self”
If you weren’t an entrepreneur already, and I met you sometime in the past 10-15 years or so, it’s pretty easy to guess how that conversation would have gone. Within about five minutes, I would try and find out what your passion is, and then, a minute or so later, I would formulate how you […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: You Left Your Oven On
Most things that I worry ’bout Never happen anyway -Tom Petty, “Crawling Back to You” In every life we have some trouble When you worry, you make it double -Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” I don’t think most people think of themselves as artists, but we all sure seem to have an […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: “Quick – We Need This Thing Thingied! Can You Help?!?”
I have a confession to make: I am a screen-a-holic. For a long time I’ve been able to cover it up, by not owning a TV or a cell phone. Most people would think I’m pretty lo-fi…until they see my computer station (and they see that one of my computer’s three monitors is used almost […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: As Simple as Twitter
Unless you’ve been encased in a block of ice for the past two years and just got thawed out this morning, you’ve probably heard of Twitter, the “microblogging” service that’s changing the way people all around the world work, think, and communicate. Wait, that was way too long for Twitter, which requires each “tweet” to […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: Saving Money by Spending Money to Save Time
In one of those ironic turns that sometimes occurs when I let the creative demons fly… Hmm. Maybe I should explain the behind-the-scenes creative process here. What happens is: I let the creative demons fly, then I let some creative angels out to chase after them. (Or sometimes just my dogs, if I’m low on angels.) Anyway, I […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: A Heaping Helping of Self-Help
I’ve gotten a lot from self-help books. Ever since Dr. Seuss helped me discover the hidden value of–and even eat–green eggs and ham, I realized that books with ideas about personal improvement might be able to help me get ahead of the pack. It wasn’t long before I moved beyond eating-endurance challenges—with a stop at […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: Turning the Tables on Time
You know how they say someone is so reliable and consistent, “you could set your watch by them”? Well, I kind of feel that way about my old friend Time. I mean, what’s more reliable than the continuing progression of time? Every second, another second passes—without fail. If 24 hours has gone by, a new […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: A Man of Many Nations
I know some people like to generate controversy regarding the Census, but personally, I’m just honored to be counted. (I may never make it all the way to being President, but I’ve been officially sworn in as “Resident”.) But America’s not the only place that can call me its citizen. There are at least three […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: A Tasty Treat (That Will Consume Your Life)
OK class, I hope you brought your extra-big mixing spoons, because we’re in for a real treat today. I’m going to share a secret recipe that’s been in my family for over 15 years – a little dish called the World’s Largest To-Do List. Cook this baby up right, and it will fill you up […]
The Not-So-Simple Life: Christmas in March
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming, “The World’s Largest To-Do List, Part II: The Mind Mappening” to bring you this live report from a special press conference, being held by notorious procrastinator Lance Brown: This is Chas Chasely, and I’m here with several other reporters outside a small cabin in Grass Valley California, where world-class […]