As Mark contemplated his future — his legacy and the coming year’s personal challenge — I think he came to this dark conclusion: if Trump can do it, so could he.

After all, not only does Mark now have Trump’s playbook, he owns the tools and sets the rules. And he has something no one else has, the ability to control the algorithm with zero transparency or oversight.

There is one indisputable way to identify a cult, one characteristic they all share. It is the notion that anyone who does not agree with the group’s beliefs or choices, who expresses concerns, who simply dares to ask questions, is deemed “unsafe.”

We live a life dominated by stress and are too busy to really take notice of who we are, where we are going and what we want from life. We are now at a moment where technology will disrupt our minds and bodies more than we can begin to imagine.

We bring up kids to make their own choices. We don’t teach them to place all their trust in external authority - political, religious, or philosophical.

The American Dream’s narrowly defined paths to happiness and success rely on an acceptance of prescribed roles, and a lot of accumulation and exhibition.

Whether wicked or well-intentioned, language is a way to get members of a community on the same ideological page. To help them feel like they belong to something big

“Why make anything if you don’t believe it could be great?”

“Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits. That’s it in a nutshell.” - Twyla Tharp

Halfway through the year already! Here are the best books I read in Spring (or Q2) this year.

“Because who are you to bring someone else down with your bad mood?” The Atlas of Happiness by Helen Russell is a wonderful book to see how countries around the world incorporate happiness into their cultural norms.