Erik's Blog​

Here’s a link to a recent podcast I did for Srini Rao’s podcast, The Unmistakable Creative. Enjoy! The Power of Perceptual Intelligence with Erik Van Alstine

This week I joined a small group of leaders for a two-day stay on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of the Navy’s ten nuclear-powered supercarriers known as “The Big Stick,” as its team of 5,000 workers conducted training exercises 150 miles off the Pacific Coast near San Diego. Here’s a picture of the phenomenal people in my group that I

Every time we make a decision, we say yes to one thing and no to another. “Yes” to a burger and fries is “no” to a trim stomach. “Yes” to driving north is “no” to driving south. “Yes” to an afternoon with a friend is “no” to an afternoon at work. Yes and no are the two sides of the

Do you often feel unsatisfied? Like something’s missing? Like you don’t have enough of something? There’s a deep human need for fulfillment. Certainly, this can be a deep philosophical and religious need. I’m reminded of a saying by Saint Augustine of Hippo, the fifth century Algerian church father: You have made us for yourself, and Our hearts are restless, until

This is the second in a series that asks the question, How much money is enough? Click here for part one. Last post we looked at the “Inverted-U Graph” and money. The point of the graph is, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. There’s a relationship between the amount of good we get out of life, and

For several posts lately I’ve been writing about the idea that too much of a good thing is a bad thing. There’s an Inverted-U relationship between the amount of good we get out of life and the quantity of things that contribute to the good. Here’s the Inverted-U graph: Take vacationing as an example. Vacation time is good. But too

Imagine trying to water ski without the pull of a boat. We bob in the water, pushing ourselves up, trying to raise ourselves to the surface, but sink right back down because the boat isn’t moving. This is often a picture of our emotional lives. We want to be happier, but fall back into doldrums and despair. We try to

Our team just released a video interview, it captures my heart to help leaders be more effective. Enjoy!

Vacations are supposed to make us feel happy and refreshed. In many ways they do. But there’s other stuff in the mix that conspires against the goodness, creating vacation stress and post-vacation blues. Last week I vacationed with family and friends in La Quinta, California, a resort city in the Coachella Valley, about a hundred miles dead east of Huntington

Want to make the world a better place? Want to help people live better? Want to improve things anywhere and everywhere for everyone? One way is to see the powerful and pure magic of trade for what it is, then promote and advocate for it as much of it as possible.  Trade is pure magic. Why? Because every time it happens

Most people want to write a book. I’m an author, so the conversation comes up a lot. “I’ve got a great idea for a book. I’m thinking of taking a writing vacation some day.” “How did you write your book? I’d like to write one myself, and am having trouble getting started.” “Do you ever have writer’s block? How do

How do we get more good out of life? The best way might be to take a “less is more” approach. A story from twenty-four years ago illustrates. My wife Sandra suddenly shouted, “Erik! James is throwing up!” We were driving the freeway. Our son James was two, in a car seat in the back. Ahh, for crying out loud. I