From Daily Thoughts to Strategy: Welcome to the CSO Chronicle

Somewhere along the way, a lot of us started treating life like it owed us something. Not out loud, not consciously, but in the quiet assumptions we carry around: that hard work gets noticed, that kindness gets returned, that things will just work out if we're good enough people. We don't say "I'm owed this." But we act like it. We wait for it. And then we're confused, sometimes bitter, when it doesn't come. I had to unlearn that slowly, and mostly the hard way. Here are five

I was at Costco this week and noticed the Halloween decorations were already out: skeletons, fog machines, giant inflatable pumpkins. It caught me off guard for a second, and then it gave me a moment to pause and reflect. Fall is coming. And with it, the whole back-to-back stretch of holidays many of us look forward to: Halloween, Thanksgiving, the December holidays, New Year's. It also put things in perspective: there are only about five months left in the year. Five months.

I've been going through a transition for a year now. It's not the brief kind that lasts weeks or months, but one that deeply embeds itself in your body, influences how you face each day, and compels you to confront what is within your control and what isn't. I'm switching jobs, and honestly, this is one of the most challenging transitions I've faced. It's chaotic and probably will stay that way until the end of the year. I've accepted that reality. That acceptance wasn't born

It's that time of year again, commencement season. There's something genuinely moving about watching graduates step off the stage and into whatever comes next. The speeches that accompany these moments can range from forgettable to truly inspiring, and I make a point of seeking out the best ones each year. While I don't get to all of them, three stood out for me this season: Eric Church, Fareed Zakaria, and Tom Brady. What surprised me most is how, taken together, they paint

I hope you all have had a great first four months of 2026 so far. We are at the start of another month, and honestly, I am excited for what's to come, especially the weather, and everything else ahead. I have been thinking a lot about hope these days. I know it can be a difficult word for some. Maybe it even causes you to pause and ask yourself, "What is hope, really?" And that is a fair question, one worth sitting with. Being a CSO, a Chief Self Officer, is truly about havin

We just closed out the first quarter of 2026. Ninety days gone. And if you're anything like most people, you looked up and thought: wait, already? That's the thing about time, it just moves. The question is whether you moved with intention, or whether you got swept along. In my daily thoughts this quarter, I've been dropping reflective questions to keep you thinking. Today I want to slow down and really expand on that because 90 days is a significant milestone, and it deserve