Escape Adulthood

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Archives for January 2020

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Time Machines Are Real (and How to Make Them)

Last November I took a retreat at a monastery. I brought a box of old journals, some almost twenty-five years old, and read through them. I jotted down things that struck me. I call it "reverse journaling," although I’m not sure that's the best name. It’s basically journaling about what I’ve journaled before. Pretty meta, I know.But surprisingly useful.People say there’s no such thing as time machines. I don’t know about that. Re-reading my old journals brought me back in time to events and feelings I’d long forgotten. And I uncovered a few instances where my past self had written insights …

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Brian Colgan, January 2020 Adultitis Fighter of the Month

An Adultitis Fighter is someone who rallies against rules that don't exist and engages in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. Once a month, we shine a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against a formidable enemy. Brian Colgan brings smiles to the faces of all who come in contact with him. He has a powerful outward focus on making people’s lives better. One of the ways Brian stands out is that he makes sure to engage with …

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How to Change the World

Over the holiday break, my family bought a cow, two goats, and four chickens. No partridge, but we did also buy a fruit tree. In what has quickly become my new favorite tradition, after a turkey dinner on New Year’s Eve, my family sat around the table to discuss how we’d spend money we’d be donating to Compassion International. When we started our business twenty years ago, I knew I wanted it to have a charitable component. Most companies give from their profits. I didn’t know how long it would take us to be profitable (spoiler alert: seven years!), so I came up with a different plan. …

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How Weird is Too Weird?

Many fruits have a similar vibe. You get some variations in color and texture, but "round" is pretty much the regular shape. Even the tomato, which I grew up being taught was a vegetable, wants to get in with the fruit group. And upon a quick glance, we say, “Sure, whatever, you seem to fit the description." And then there’s the pineapple. Compared to most fruits, pineapples are weird. Unfortunately, weird isn’t usually a compliment. Before I take the stage for a speech, at the very end of my introduction, there is a passage that talks about me "spending time with my beautiful …

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Here Goes Something

“Here goes nothing.” It’s a phrase we often use when we’re not sure how something will turn out. In fact, since it tends to come from a sense of desperation, we use it to admit that there’s a pretty good chance of it not working. It’s our little way of softening the psychological blow of failing. It makes me think of the pass play in football referred to as a “Hail Mary.” The team with the ball is losing, and time has nearly expired. They need a touchdown but they’re so far from the goal line that their only hope is to launch a long pass into a sea of waiting defenders. It’s a …

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