The Ruthless Elimination of Rushing

Lessons learned from a weekend trip with lifelong friends

Plane flights are a great place for revelations.

There’s something about the recycled air, droning background noise, and lack of mobility that focuses the mind.

Or maybe it’s being trapped in a metal tube hurtling through the sky at 600 mph that does the trick. Some part of our reptilian brain must be convinced that this is the end while turning up our reflective capabilities typically reserved for end-of-life.

Whatever the mechanism, some of my best thinking happens on planes.

Last weekend, I flew to Oregon to visit some of my best friends from high school. Somehow, the death-defying situations and debauchery we have co-created over the past two decades have brought us closer together.

A quick note on lifelong friends:

There’s something special about them. The obvious part is knowing they will always be in your life. But a subtler, equally wonderful part is the ability to make fun of each other for absolutely everything.

When life punches your best friends in the face, everyone else will share their “condolences.” This is nice on the surface but doesn’t help them get out of a funk. What they need instead is a…