A Mile at a Time

I just finished a long and tiring kite foiling regatta. Four days, 18 individual races. I did well in some races, poorly in others. I was c...

Cindy and I are spending a few days in Tarifa. What first attracted us to Tarifa was the combination of kitesurfing and a charming Mediterr...

I was reading an article in my favorite sailing magazine about a team that capsized their 60 foot trimaran while training for a round-the-w...

I drove with the boys from SF to Stinson Beach a few days ago. It was the first time just the four of us were together in the car in a whil...

The other day I went to Crissy Field without too much hope of kiting: there was barely any wind and no other kiter was there. Yet a few min...

I thought I had one more year - until Ale went to college. But the end came sooner: Paco decided to go to high school in San Mateo. He take...

Just came back from a fabulous six day mountain biking holiday with Cindy & the boys... The third day was our longest: 7 hours on some ...

During last week's kite race I accidentally crashed my kite into another competitor's kite, wrecking his kite (mine suffered no dam...

Told the boys about financial leverage. Used the example of buying a house with 100% of your own money versus a 20% downpayment and 80% mor...

A few years ago I met a couple of people around the same time. One was more extroverted and charismatic, call him Bob, the other more serio...

Ale was giving Paco a hard time about being late when Nico jumped in saying he wasn't late. Ale clarified he was referring to Paco only...

I am a kite junkie. After a day or two without kiting I start to get pretty desperate. I need my kitesurfing fix to remain sane. I joke tha...

A few days ago I got an email with the subject "Speaker Invitation". The organizer of a conference about start-ups and entreprene...

I explained to the boys the concepts of cash flow and liquidity. These concepts are relevant to organizations as well as individuals. You m...

Someone asked one of my relatives for a favor that he wasn't sure he wanted to do. It wasn't something urgent, but instead of takin...

I have been trying to learn to tack on my foilboard. Progress has been VERY slow... I must have attempted hundreds of tacks by now! The oth...

Watched this great documentary over the weekend. Several take-aways that I discussed with the boys this morning: - The spotlight is not f...

Paco gets his high school application replies today. Some schools also send emails and I was asking the boys what they thought would work b...

I went to hear a shark expert yesterday talk about sharks in the SF Bay Area. His opening remarks were music to my (kitesurfing) ears: the ...

The boys like to play a game they call "Would you rather". They give you two choices (usually each choice includes something good...

An investor friend recently asked me to put him in touch with the CEO of a company that I am involved with. The company is doing very well ...

I read about someone who tries to only work with "happy people". His argument is that most people have an innate level of happine...

Paco spoke to us about time management. He goes from shorter to longer, from more predictable to less. For example, when he has a test he s...

The legalization of marihuana in Colorado got us talking about pot. Difficult conversation to say the least... I made the case that scienti...

A relative shared some potential good news with me yesterday. She didn't want to get too excited though, because it wasn't yet a ...

I read an article recently about the importance of asking meaningful questions that show you really care - and are paying attention. Specif...

I sprained my Right thumb mountain biking and have to wear a brace for a few weeks (should have stuck to kitesurfing! At least the brace is...

Paco spent most of the weekend working on his science fare project. By Friday night he had said that he was almost done, yet he was still s...

Huge success stories often involve bold moves. This is the case with individuals as well as organization. How many of the most successful e...

We talk a fair amount at home about entrepreneurs. I frequently tell the boys about the entrepreneurs that I meet. Today we spoke about a d...

First day of classes for 2014! Started the year with a cautionary tale: a relative used to run a non-profit. While there she opened a credi...

I told the boys this morning about a research study I recently read about. The study found most people underestimate others willingness to ...

Paco spoke to us about people who postpone their decision to "come out of the closet". Most of them discover that things don'...

A few months ago I helped the boys invest the savings they had (from birthday presents, allowances, etc). I used it as an opportunity to te...

Ale was very happy yesterday because he had sold his old iPhone on eBay for a great price. Last night he asked for my help to send the buy...

As I mentioned a few days ago, Cindy and I are trying to purchase a second home. We are negotiating with the sellers and have a serious di...

One of Paco's friends told him he didn't think allowances were a good idea. Why should kids get "free money"? They shoul...

Last Monday I woke up in an existentialist mood. I asked they boys what they thought were the most important decisions in their life. All a...

For many years Cindy and I have been on the hunt for a weekend/vacation home. We recently discovered a promising property. We love the loca...

Earlier this year I learned to kite-surf on a hydrofoil. After plenty of hours I've figured out how to go upwind and downwind. I've...

A few days ago Nico came with me to a party at our yacht club. He went for a stroll around the club while I chatted with my kiter friends. ...

I recently got custom kite board for a racing hydrofoil. The board arrived before the foil and I discovered the holes for the screws to att...

Until yesterday afternoon, the government shutdown was another act of government stupidity that we read about in the news. The closure of Y...

Ale spoke to us today about lecturing people. More specifically, about not lecturing peers, as that can often be inappropriate. I said lect...

Nico asked us to think about the following hypothetical: five poor people need help. Each needs $5 to get cloth and have a chance of gettin...

Serendipity is a huge factor in our life. You bump into an old acquaintance at a party. Turns out he just got involved in a very interestin...

I recently read some research about the negative impact that multi-tasking has on our performance. It has been proven that multi-tasking de...

Paco is reading Atlas Shrugged (required teen read ;-). He told us how he notices the influence the book is having on his day to day life, ...

A relative called me the other day for advice. She was facing an important decision and asked for my opinion. I started to share my thought...

An acquaintance suggested the opposite approach to what I suggested yesterday: spend little time on the subjects that you like and are good...

Should you always focus on your strengths? Today we discussed some criteria for deciding when focusing exclusively on your strengths makes ...

First day of the school year... Boys are excited about seeing their friends and meeting their new teachers. They are also a bit nervous. Wi...

Last Thursday I volunteered to do race committee for the kiteboard racing series I participate in. This means getting on an inflatable moto...

I frequently tell the boys (some more than others) to look at me when we are talking. So I was delighted to read recently about research re...

This week I've been competing the Kiteboard Racing North American Championship. After two days of competition they split the fleet into...

Ale told us how his friends often ask for school related favors, e.g., what is English homework for tomorrow, on Facebook. He normally lets...

Cindy & I came back from a trip early Sunday morning. We knew the Bay to Breakers were that morning but assumed we would be able to get...

Last week I learned to ride a foil kite-board. The first day I tried I could not even get started. As soon as I tried the board would tilt ...

Paco spoke to us about bad habits and how learning something incorrectly can make it harder to master than not learning it at all. He gave ...