Tag: LIfe Lessons

Life

The Power of Perspective

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”

— Socrates

I take a long walk nearly every single day.

It is one of the many reasons I was able to lose 40(ish) pounds, but I don’t do it only for the health benefits. I also do it for my mind. The walk allows me to get away from the spreadsheets and Zoom meetings, work on solving problems that seem unsolvable, and helps me generate ideas and breakthroughs, for both my personal and professional life. It helps my mental state as much as — if not more — than it helps my physical state.

Of course, there are side effects to everything and my daily stroll is no different.

Tags Envy, Happiness, Life, LIfe Lessons

Business Career Learning Life Work

The Worst Boss I Ever Had

“Having a bad boss isn’t your fault. Staying with one is.”
– Nora Denzel

There are three people I think about virtually every single day:

My late mother
My late best friend
My former boss

Tags Boss, Career, Leadership, Life, LIfe Lessons, Work

Hip-Hop Lessons Life Rap

13 Lessons Learned from Griselda Records

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date March 15, 2022
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The approach of Westside Gunn and his crew offers valuable wisdom for not only music, but business, writing, and even life

“I really like that whole, like, cliquing up, Griselda shit. It’s just ill to me…I think what they’re doing is great. It just reminds me of a different time and it’s not easy to do. To make that music and just come off wavy and be interesting.”

— Drake

The 2010s was a decade in which the line between rap and other genres became not only blurred, but largely nonexistent. Referred to by some as the “melodic era,” it was no longer a rarity or even a surprise to see a hip-hop artist transition into harmonizing, and while that had certainly been done in the past, it now became de rigueur as Drake, Young Thug, and many others rode that wave to stardom.

At the same time, some dudes stepped onto the scene and began flooding the market with their own music that sounded fresh but at the same time reminiscent of projects that had been released in the mid-’90s. No singing, no theatrics, just grim street tales of drugs and violence delivered over grimy, pounding basslines, creating a “gnarly sound inspired by the slimy criminal underbelly of Buffalo, New York.”

Tags Griselda, Hip-Hop, Life, LIfe Lessons, Rap

Writing

My Best Writing of 2021

This is the post where I lay out the best things I wrote this year. Maybe, in a year like this when my productivity was lower, it might include everything I wrote. We’ll never know (don’t check).

Tags Books, Children, Don Winslow, Fatherhood, Health, Hip-Hop, John Grisham, Life, LIfe Lessons, Love, Rap, Reading, Ryan Holiday, Time Management, Time Maximization, Weight Loss, Writing, Zack Snyder

Books Lessons Life Nostalgia Reading

The Magic of “The Tender Bar”

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date November 22, 2021
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My personal “Tender Bar” collection — first edition hardcover; audiobook; paperback

“Kid’s a scribbler…”

Film adaptations are tricky. How can you boil down 400 or more pages of story, themes, and character development into a two hour film without losing the impact of what was on the page?

Anyone that has had their favorite book turned into a movie knows the feeling of being simultaneously excited and anxious, hopeful and terrified, at what the outcome will be.

Now it’s my turn, as the film adaptation of The Tender Bar, the book that completely changed my life, is set to be released in theaters and on Amazon Prime Video.

Tags Bar, Books, Drinking, Life, LIfe Lessons, Quake Book, Reading, The Tender Bar, Words

Learning Life

The Gift of Being Forgiven

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date October 30, 2021
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I was recently listening to a podcast and the closing question was “What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?”

The guest had a great answer. Did I?

Tags Family, Fatherhood, Friendship, Happiness, Learning, Life, LIfe Lessons, Parenting

Health Life

The Last 20 Pounds are the Hardest

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date September 6, 2021
No Comments on The Last 20 Pounds are the Hardest

“I thought about losing weight once, but I don’t like to lose.”
— Unknown

The Decision

It was not a New Year’s resolution per se. As the ball dropped on the strangest and, in some ways, most difficult year most of us had ever experienced, I didn’t make a grand pronouncement to lose weight. I didn’t write it down or post a status update about it or scream it to everyone I encountered in January. Rather, it was more of a hazy, general goal.

It’s time to get healthy.