Better
It’s better to succeed & stumble

Notes along the way

Connect. Explore. Create. Be. Give.

Ideas, experiences, observations, and questions worth noticing. A few things worth trying, and plenty still worth wondering about.

Begin somewhere
All ideas →

The Five Practices

Not a ladder or a checklist. A circle. Each one makes room for the others. Open any practice to read what it means.

01 Connect Some things are better shared.

People. Places. God. Nature. A long conversation or a quick laugh with a stranger. There seem to be a lot of ways to feel connected, and probably a few we haven’t noticed yet.

  • People
  • Place
  • Creation
  • Spirit
Enter Connect →
02 Explore There’s more out there.

New places. New flavors. Different cultures. Strange ideas. Familiar places seen differently. Exploring can take us across the world or a few blocks from home. Either way, there always seems to be something else to discover.

  • Travel
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Curiosity
Enter Explore →
03 Create Make something.

Ideas. Art. Food. Businesses. Families. Gardens. Solutions. Terrible first drafts. Humans seem to have this strange urge to make things that weren’t here before. CREATE is where that impulse gets interesting.

  • Ideas
  • Art
  • Work
  • Making
Enter Create →
04 Be Be here for it.

Life moves fast. Pay attention while you’re here. Find some quiet. Listen for the still small voice. Notice the beauty, sit with the sorrow, and make room for the mystery of a life that is happening right now.

  • Presence
  • Stillness
  • Peace
  • Wonder
Enter Be →
05 Give Pass something along.

Time. Money. Attention. A meal. A skill. A ride. A second chance. There are probably more ways to give than there are things to give. Some cost a lot. Some cost almost nothing. Somehow, both can matter.

  • Time
  • Attention
  • Gifts
  • Generosity
Enter Give →

Connection can lead to exploration. Exploration can inspire creation. Creation can become a gift. Giving can deepen connection. Being makes space for all of them.

Recent Field Notes

Explore Review

Waffle House

Nearly 20 years since my last visit to this Waffle House, I walked in on a Tuesday morning around 10am and the place was packed. Clearly, I am the one who has been doing breakfast…

Explore Review

Sunrise Family Restaurant

Incredible. And I mean an *incredible* chile relleno omelette. The kind of breakfast that makes every regular omelette you’ve eaten feel like it lacked ambition. The giant satellite dish out front, complete with bacon and…

Explore Review

Route 66 Travel Center

Sometimes a road trip review isn’t about the food, the ambiance, or the service. Sometimes you just need a safe place to answer nature’s increasingly urgent call. Route 66 Travel Center delivered. Our panel conducted…

Explore Review

Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails

We ate here twice during our stay at the Kimpton. Once is trying a restaurant. Twice while traveling means Blue Hound earned it. Blue Hound is tucked away on the second floor, accessible from the…

Just be present

No app will help, no book to read, no distraction is needed. Just be present.

Start Here