Beyond the Ordinary

The world is full of extraordinary. Join me in exploring all that sparks creativity and change.

Mindset by Carol Dweck

You can have the most sophisticated strategy in life or in business, but if you don’t have the right mindset and positive attitude, you can still prevent yourself from achieving to the height of your potential. Dweck details the difference between those with a fixed mindset, and those with a growth mindset, demonstrating how having a growth mindset can dramatically enhance your talents and success in all facets of life.

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Until reading this book, I was unaware of how truly critical sleep is, not only for the basic health of our bodies, but also for our problem solving, creativity, learning, memory, logic, and inspiration. Essentially, sleep is one of our greatest allies in reaching our goals in our personal lives and in our businesses. A must-read, especially for us workaholics that may be convinced sleep is a waste of time.

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg

Effective communication is everything. In times of crisis, in everyday relationships, and especially as a business leader. Rosenberg’s revolutionary text is one of the most insightful books of our times, offering stories, information, and exercises to change your approach to communication and help you get what you need in a peaceful way.

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

Written as a portrayal of the future of humanity that is coping with the devastating effects of global warming, this book doles out a large dose of reality by describing our possible future in terms of what our daily lives might look like. While guiding us through how we might make sense of such a crisis, Wallace-Wells ends the book by suggesting we find empowerment in our ability to contemplate and act upon what might otherwise be the demise of our existence.

Death of a Riverguide by Richard Flanagan

I rarely dabble in fiction, but this book is beautiful and well-written. I really loved it. Through the death of the main character, Aljaz, the reader is taken through a journey of his ancestors, his life, and most of all—his resiliency and ability to push through despair and start over. Other important themes touch on immigration, culture, and imperialism.

December’s Artist of the Month: Jerrell Gibbs

A provocative artist whose work I admire is Jerrell Gibbs. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he was self-taught. Despite never completing a bachelor’s degree, he earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2020. When he was still a student, four of his paintings were chosen to be part of the 2019 exhibition “Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power, and Narrative” at Galerie Myrtis. This was a significant turning point in his career. His first solo exhibition was Sounds of Color: Recorded Memories at the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in 2021.

Inspiration

I have always had an insatiable curiosity

What causes me to get out of bed every morning is driven by inspiration. Ever since I was a little boy, I was inspired by my insatiable curiosity, which caused me to be a reader, a thinker, and a dreamer.

I can remember being inspired by seeing Bobby Kennedy on TV and watching videotapes of Martin Luther King Jr., and being deeply saddened by their assassination even though I was only 10 years old when I experienced all of this.

As a little boy, rocket flight was a big thing. I remember being fascinated by the moon and the stars and the astronauts exploring them.As humans we are achieving remarkable things that only a handful of years before were just in the imagination.