The list of subjects you don’t bring up in polite conversation is growing. The adage about not discussing religion or politics is now insufficient. We can add vaccines to the list of taboo topics. It’s too difficult to predict where someone stands. And it can be terribly divisive to find out.

I’m a painter. I paint because you can’t think about anything else while you do. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Our work, be it art or changing behavior, follows a consistent arc with three phases. If we know where we are in the process, we can facilitate our way through them.

What we can learn from those we’re trying to help.

Shills, pills and five essentials for fighting the good fight.

It finally caught up to me. For most of my life, I’d been able to eat pretty much what I want and still fit the description “tall and thin.” Then one day, my pants were too tight in the waist. It was so gradual I didn’t notice. Until it became too uncomfortable not to notice.

If your cause is a long haul rather than a quick fix, this post offers some important considerations.

If your work feels like an uphill battle, remember this — big problems don’t have simple solutions. And the societal issues most of us are working to address are complex. But that doesn’t mean they are insurmountable. Program design is key.

I recently attended the Collective Impact Forum’s Action Summit. There were a thousand attendees in the business of change gathered for a three-day agenda packed with multiple sessions during any given hour.

Reminding your audience that immediate actions have long-term consequences is a waste. Right now is all that matters.

You trust that people are good. That they’ll do the right/smarter/better thing for themselves, for their children or grandchildren or for their neighbors if they just got the message.