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grin and bare it

A blog by Matthew Dicks

Big, fat religious liars

By mattyd | April 19, 2024

The National Bureau of Economic Research has made a shocking discovery. Polling data routinely indicates that about 22 percent of Americans report attending religious services on a weekly basis. However, by analyzing geodata from the…

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Only $250?

By mattyd | April 18, 2024

I was teaching a storytelling workshop last month when one of the participants lamented that his parents had “only given $250 in pocket money” per month while he was attending college. And this was in…

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Sometimes golf is perfect

By mattyd | April 17, 2024

The weather has finally turned. I stand on the precipice of the golf season at last. A time of unknown, unimaginable possibilities. Golf can often be frustrating, disappointing, and even ridiculous. But there are also…

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First Prize?

By mattyd | April 16, 2024

While performing in Schenectady, New York, a couple of weekends ago, I drove by this restaurant, which, as far as I can tell, could be: “First Prize Mike’s Frankfurts along with First Prize Hots with…

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Creativity cannot be defined

By mattyd | April 15, 2024

“Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the iconic song from Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 album Appetite for Destruction, has a fascinating creative story. The opening guitar riff—possibly one of rock and roll’s most famous guitar rights—was not…

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Take care of your future self

By mattyd | April 14, 2024

A friend sent me a photo of this post-it, written by his daughter. __________________________ Dear Future Self, Have a good lunch. Hope you did well on your science test 2-day. Sincerely, 7:30 AM Alana __________________________…

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Four life lessons

By mattyd | April 13, 2024

I visited my friend’s high school English class this week. I talked about storytelling, writing, and creative productivity. I also answered questions about my life. But as I often do, I also shared life lessons…

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Best gift is a great movie recommendation

By mattyd | April 12, 2024

Years ago, my friend Shep told me to watch the movie “Hot Fuzz.” I had never heard of the film or its director, Edgar Wright, but knowing Shep, I decided to give it a shot.…

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Anonymity means a lack of psychological safety

By mattyd | April 11, 2024

Here’s a good rule of thumb for your business or organization: If you need to allow the people in your organization to remain anonymous while completing an employee satisfaction survey, a professional development evaluation, or…

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First rule of unkindness

By mattyd | April 10, 2024

The number of times when you say something unkind about a friend or colleague – and then that bit of unkindness makes its way back to the person to whom you directed the unkind remark…

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