Writing
Short stories about making work fun. Lessons from running businesses, the books I’m reading, and the occasional popsicle recipe.
We’ve been going through the exercise of capturing our brand voice. Re-capturing to be more precise. It is something we’ve done before, but in the world of internal documents, regardless of your formatting skills, they like to be reinvented. Layers are added, and the perspectives and experiences o
ReadIt’s an ongoing joke my wife and I share when we see other parents and their babies. After the standard “how cute,” we quietly wait for the meltdowns. The screaming. The kicking. The running into walls. The knocking-everything-off-the-table behavior. Sadly for our psyche … it comes far less often t
ReadI’ve been workshopping this line for the last five or six keynotes. It usually gets a laugh. But the more I say it, the more I realize how true it is for me. When we come home from work, how often do we describe our day as anything better than “ok”? Based on my experience so far this year, most d
ReadBad things are happening all around us. Some are subjective, like politics, where it almost always seems like there’s an opposing perspective with plenty of support.
ReadHumble brag alert. My mother-in-law is proud of me. My wife is proud of me. And maybe most importantly, and rarely publicly stated, I’m proud of myself too. Life is busy. A couple weeks ago I was walking up the stairs to my office, a big hurricane actively hitting Jamaica, feeling a strange mix
ReadThese Are Still the Good Ol’ Days Bad things are happening all around us. Some are subjective, like politics, where it almost always seems like there’s an opposing perspective with plenty of support. And then there are the things we all agree on — natural disasters, disease, violent crime — jus
ReadIt’s 2014 — our fourth year doing the King of Pops thing. We felt blessed, and still terrified that each winter might be our last. When sales started to slow (and we were bone-tired), it made sense to take winters off. We called it Surf Break and tried to figure out a way to make the economics wor
ReadNo Thanks to $650 Million. This sounds made up, but it’s a real thought. Real in action? We’ll almost certainly never know. I think I’d turn down the $650 million Powerball. It’s a nice number — not the gaudy $1 billion that gets everyone worked up every now and then. But I don’t think it would
ReadOur focus has changed. We once imagined opening bars (and farms, and distribution companies, and ...) across the South to complement our carts, but it became clear that these things are not what we do best. For this reason, we've decided to close our Colony Square Pop Bar location. We’ll
ReadYeah, I’m talking about you — the reader. I had this strangely intense moment while getting my family set up for a weekend at the lake last Friday. It felt part déjà vu , part imposter syndrome. In my mind’s eye, when I picture my dad handling something like this, he’s got it completely under c
ReadAt Inman Park Co-operative Preschool ( a few open spots right now, which is rare—if your 3–4 y/o is interested ), you do a handful of parent-helper days. You bring the snack, assist the teachers, and mostly get a front-row seat to what your kid lives through each day. The new friendships. The specia
ReadThere’s a super family at our co-op preschool. They have four kids ( three boys and one little girl ). Both parents have amazing jobs they care about. They’ve volunteered on the co-op board for nearly a decade and are now the presidents. They coach all their kids’ soccer teams, and bake sourdough to
ReadOn Saturdays, if it’s cloudy, rainy, or cold, anything that isn’t great for pop sales, my wife knows I might be a bit sensitive. But sometimes the opposite is true. Last week I was giddy looking at the forecast. Shaky Knees, one of our best events of the year, was coming up and the weather looked
ReadIn case you’ve missed my over-the-top ( bordering on humble-brag ) dad content, I’m fully leaning into the cliché Atlanta dad lifestyle. The latest escapade: teaching my 4-year-old daughter, Leigh, how to ride her bike ON THE BELTLINE.
ReadThe weather will not get better than this. That thing you have no control over, the thing that can wreck a day and never seems to act right, is suddenly on its best behavior. And it looks like it might stick around.
ReadRemember when summer felt endless and free? Steve Carse shares how to reclaim that feeling—even while juggling work, family, and growing a business.
ReadMost of my adult life has been at King of Pops. And for that reason, most Labor Days I labor. That is the nature of a business built on gatherings … you work when the gatherings are happening. Not this year. I left the pop slinging to the very capable team (who hit a homerun at DragonCon) and went
ReadJuly 4 feels like the buzzer that says summer is here. Steve Carse reflects on perspective, presence, and finding joy in the now.
ReadTip 27/100 from the “Work is Fun” seriesw Post
ReadMost LinkedIn posts about exits aren’t about small or even medium-sized businesses. They’re about the big ones—the rapid-growth, billion-dollar, market-disrupting kind.
ReadFun at Work Isn’t an Accident—It’s a Choice
ReadToday I turned 41. Kinda a throwaway year.
ReadLessons from Regnault Sanders (and Leigh Carse)
ReadTips to Put Effort into Enjoying Work
ReadHow Embracing a Little Absurdity Can Turn Work from Mundane to Magnetic
ReadWe need to start saying that Work Is Fun
ReadQuestions to ask yourself, or I'll ask em' for ya
ReadUsing positive language is one step towards making your work more than a job
ReadFamily Beach Trip + Sales Call
ReadIn his Work Is Fun mindset, Steve Carse reminds us that recharging and setting boundaries isn’t selfish—it’s what makes great work possible.
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