Nathan Branson
Whatever you read here is a way for me to hash out ideas until I can talk about them in real-time with whoever is willing to join in.
Can a 50 Hour Work-Week and a Weekend Hiking Adventure Co-Exist?
Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” Inspired a Weekend Trip to Linville Gorge
I like reading the stories of amatuers trying achieve their dreams. Bill Bryson, a writer from New England, decided one day that he wanted hike the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail. After a day hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire Bryson thought “Why not?” This was the beginning of what would become his best-selling book “A Walk in the . . .
Posted in: executionhikingplanningself-controltravel
Millennials: Addicted to the iPhone but Wanting to Know How to Live Without It
Are Millennials really in love with technology?
About 3-4 years ago my dad told me that some of guys who worked at his auto shop were so distracted by their IPhones that it was affecting their productivity. The "tire guys," who put new tires on cars and do the oil changes, were the ones he was concerned about. As a high schooler, I was a tire guy every summer, where, like NASCAR . . .
Posted in: david foster wallaceeveryday survivalfighting distractionludditesmillennialspeace of mindself-control
Two Questions: How does a person develop a good work ethic?
Question #1: Who taught you how to work hard?
I’ll first off tell a story about how my friend John helped teach me what it means to have a work ethic. From the time I was 15 years old, in the summer and after school, I worked at Branson’s Auto Service. I was the tire guy/stock-room organizer. The auto shop had a small split level . . .
Taylor Mali's Reasons Why It Has Become Uncool to Sound like you Know What You are Talking About
The Consequences of Repetitively using "Like" and "Ya Know What I'm Saying"
"It has somehow become uncool to sound like you know what you are talking about" is the opening line to a short Youtube video (with nearly 2 million hits). I've shown this Taylor Mali speech to over 20 sections of English composition over the last 3 years. That is, I show it to all my composition classes. This semester I showed . . .
Posted in: community collegeeng 101millennialspublic speakingself-controlteaching yourselfwriting tips
5 Quotes for September 18th
David Foster Wallace
I saw David Foster Wallace's famous "This is Water" speech about 3-4 years ago. Ever since I saw that speech I've been watching and listening to the interviews he gave while he was alive. He's is an excellent conversationalist and critical thinker. And when he talks, he does not sound jaded, he sounds sincere. I've . . .
The 5 Year Process of Learning How to Wakeboard
Why Being Aware of How You Learn Makes Everything Easier to Learn
I tried wakeboarding in 2006 for the first time at High Rock Lake outside of Lexington, NC. At the age of 22, I believed I could do anything. In terms of social, physical and intellectual confidence, I was at a peak. Along with that, I knew how to snowboard. The transition seemed like a given. Snowboarding and wakeboarding begin the same way . . .
Thoreau's 1854 View of America and America's 2015 Anxieties
On The First Two Chapters of Walden
The best thing about a carefully crafted mix CD is that it often contains your friend's favorite songs or a band's best songs. The mix CD cuts out the process of having to work hard to find the good songs and just allows you to hear what is worth your time. If I were to make a mix CD from Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," . . .
Posted in: consumerismcreative nonfictionself-control
