The Current Conversation
Reflections, field notes, and shorter writing from the movement.
On what values can do, what virtues can do, and the identity that forms when you practice both I recently found myself coaching a business leader through articulating their company values, a process I've guided many times at MAC6. We identify what matters most, then build behavior statements: "We do X" or "We do Y," [...]
Field Notes,From the Founders,Heroic,Identity,Solid Ground,Values,Virtues
Some thoughts on election-night speeches, and what comes after Of all the things I read after Tuesday’s election, the line I remember best came from someone who lost. Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew had just lost his South Jersey seat to Democrat Zack Mullock, the mayor of Cape May. He conceded in Sea Isle City [...]
civility,election 2026,Fear and Love,Field Notes,Founding Salon,From the Founders,The Practice of Dialogue
Originally published on Psychology Today: Which is worth more: a million dollars today or a penny that doubles each day for 30 days? At first, the million looks like the obvious choice. The penny begins at one cent on day one and doubles each day afterward. By day 10, the balance is a [...]
Appreciation,Gratitude,Jason Viyar,Positive Psychology,Psychological Wealth,The Psychological Millionaire
On agency, responsibility, and the privilege of having a voice Next week, Americans will go to the polls. We will make choices about the people who represent us, the policies that shape our communities, and the direction of our shared future. I hope we recognize what an extraordinary privilege that is. We live in a [...]
Field Notes,From the Founders,The Practice of Dialogue
Nobody who signs the Human Flourishing Pledge knows how to do everything it asks. Neither do I. I think that may be the point. When Dave and I got engaged, we made promises about a marriage we had never lived. We had no evidence that we knew how to keep them because, of course, we [...]
Field Notes,The Practice of Dialogue
Last month, Martin Seligman published Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress. For those of us at Human Flourishing, and many of our friends at Heroic, this is exciting news. Seligman helped establish the field of positive psychology, and his work has profoundly shaped how we understand human well-being and what makes a good life. [...]
From the Founders,Worth Reading
Dave and I have been married for more than three decades, and there are things we are still working on. I mean still. There are tensions we first encountered years ago, have talked about more times than either of us could count, understand much better than we once did, and have not resolved. Some have [...]
Field Notes,The Practice of Dialogue
Heroic just published a new Philosopher’s Note on Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia. It takes about 20 minutes to read, and it condenses the heart of the book. I’d like you to read it this week.Read the Philosopher's Note Michael Balchan, [...]
From the Founders,Worth Reading
Dave and I have been married for more than three decades, and I cannot give you the story of the fight that almost ended us. There isn’t one. That is not because we learned how to avoid rupture. We hurt each other’s feelings. We got angry. We walked away. There were tears, sometimes sad and [...]
Field Notes,The Practice of Dialogue
Last week we went underneath the argument and looked at identity, at what happens when something we believe gets tangled up with who we think we are. Emotion lives in that same territory. It can arrive before we have had time to decide what we think, and once it does, it changes what we hear, [...]
Field Notes,The Practice of Dialogue
