Think You Have Good Judgment? There’s a Test for That.

Farmer standing alone in a harvested field at sunset, looking across the horizon with hands on hips.

Most leadership assessments tell you how you communicate or show up. The Judgment Index did something different. It showed me how I think, where I create friction without realizing it, and why self-awareness matters more than I thought.

What People Who Love Their Jobs Have in Common

A woodworker uses a lathe to shape a spinning piece of wood, with wood shavings flying as the rough material is transformed into a finished product.

Most people who genuinely love their jobs are not doing glamorous work. They are teaching someone, healing someone, building something, or keeping something important from falling apart. I asked a simple question online and got 66 answers back. Underneath the wildly different job titles was the same pattern: people love work that matters, work they have gotten good at, and work they have stayed with long enough to see the impact.

When Was the Last Time You Did Absolutely Nothing?

A person sitting alone on a driftwood log at a rocky shoreline, gazing out at calm open water.

We pride ourselves on being efficient. On getting things done. On keeping seventeen balls in the air without dropping any. And yet the best decisions I’ve ever made didn’t come from meetings or data or planning sessions. They came from doing absolutely nothing — and that’s the part nobody wants to talk about.

Why I Miss Clinical Veterinary Practice Nine Years Later

Chad Brown speaking on stage beside a large presentation screen displaying “From Darrowby to Today: A Modern Veterinarian’s Reflection on the World of James Herriot” during an Iowa PBS event.

I thought I was signing up for some charming British television, a little nostalgia, and a few comments about how veterinary medicine has changed since the 1930s. Instead, I found myself looking backward. Somewhere between Darrowby and Des Moines, I realized that for the first time in nine years, I genuinely missed clinical practice.

March Madness, Wrestling Mats, and the Machine vs. the Mirror

A split image showing a college basketball game on the left with players in gold and red uniforms competing on a crowded court, and two wrestlers competing on a stark mat under bright overhead lights on the right.

This past weekend was a sports buffet of two completely different kinds of pressure. On one side, 68 basketball teams, a million busted brackets, and coaches pacing like caffeinated chess masters. On the other, the NCAA wrestling championships — where the conversation is considerably simpler. There is the mat. There is another person. One of you is about to have a much better evening than the other. What kind of competitor are you — and where did you learn to be that?

Why Side Businesses Are for Everyone—Yes, Even You

Person walking multiple dogs on leashes in a park, representing pet care side business

A side business isn’t really about the money. It’s about changing how you think.
The moment you create something from nothing—a client, a sale, a small stream of income—you start to see the world differently. Problems become
opportunities. You stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an owner.
The money is just the scoreboard. The real return is who you become in the process.

Don’t Sleep on the Mailbox

Pet Butler postcard advertisement showing a cartoon dog in a scarf sitting in a snowy yard with the headline “We Scoop Poop” and a promotional offer of $10.99 per week for pet waste removal services.

In a world drowning in digital ads and overflowing inboxes, a glossy piece of cardstock stopped me cold last Saturday. Direct mail still works. Here’s why I know.

Confessions of a Recovering Club Thrower

Golfer standing on a quiet fairway with a club lying on the grass nearby, reflecting frustration and humor after a missed shot.

Golf looks simple — the ball just sits there. No one is chasing you. All you have to do is hit it. And yet somehow this game has broken the spirit of millions of otherwise reasonable adults, including me. This is what four decades on the fairway taught me about patience, honesty, and the importance of keeping your clubs below shoulder height.

Did You Actually Plan This?

Gravel farm road leading past a red barn and fenced pasture with forested Appalachian mountains in the distance under a blue sky.

You had a plan. We all did. Beautiful, detailed plans that made perfect sense at the time. Then life showed up and rewrote the whole script. Looking back, the unexpected turns, closed doors, and “disasters” often end up being the very things that lead us somewhere better.