Archive for October 2026

The Identity We Create…and Struggle to Shed

By Jim McLaughlin | October 28, 2026

Illustration of a man climbing a ladder while roots from his other foot hold him to the floor.

I began third grade at a new school. I remember crying that first day when the bell rang because I had no idea where I was supposed to go. When I got to the classroom, the first person to greet me was the kid who sat right behind me: Jerry Shapiro. We became good friends.…

The Freedom to Fail

By Jim McLaughlin | October 27, 2026

There’s a bargain we sometimes make with ourselves: I’ll go after what matters, as long as I don’t have to risk failing. It sounds reasonable. But notice what it asks you to give up. The conversation you haven’t had. The idea you keep postponing. The goal you’ve adjusted until it asks nothing unfamiliar of you.…