Focus, Luck and the Zone.

No. 1,627 Everywhere we turn, we are being advised to focus. I read recently that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet were asked the secret of becoming a billionaire at a party. Without hesitation, both instantly and simultaneously replied, “focus.” Wonderful. But have you recently tried to focus your total mind on something for more than […]

Power Trips

No. 1,626 Allegheny County Controller Elsa Wagner is a powerful politician. She is used to shaking things up, making noise and making the news. But she just endured a few painful, public lessons in the use of power and the pain is not yet over. • When the police come to the door in the […]

Being In the Emergency Business

No. 1,616 The country is now enthralled in a discussion regarding whether a porous Southern border constitutes a national emergency. A common definition of an emergency is a serious condition that requires immediate action. Whether the open expanses along the national border constitute an emergency under a 1976 statute will now be addressed by the […]

Sunday Morning Meditation: the Bird of Paradise

No. 1,615 Pirate pitcher Chris Archer is a rare bird. He has a mindfulness coach who sends him messages like this Zen proverb: “The bird of paradise lands only on the hand that does not grasp.” Archer is not likely to ever forget this maxim, nor will it stray from his mind for very long. […]

What We Think Is and What Actually Is.

No. 1,610 Nasim Nicholas Taleb has made a career in explaining to us that some things we think we control are random and some things we think are random are really under our personal control. When we win, too often we call it skill. When we lose we call it bad luck. Of course, there […]

Starting Fresh

No. 1,532 We don’t know much about the future, except that it begins today. The Pittsburgh Pirates made it back to .500 late last night. It took a 7 game winning streak to do it. Only ten games back they were at rock bottom. But today they are playing as well, maybe better, than when […]

If you wait until you think you are ready, you may never know what might have been.

No. 1,517 “If we wait until we’re ready,” said Lemony Snicket, the kid with legendary bad luck, “we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” Yes, there’s a price to be paid for doing nothing. It is never knowing. If that’s you in the photo on the left, here’s a little encouragement. Slaters Intellectual […]

On Being Quick to Learn and Slow to Judge

No. 1,509 It is worth a reminder not to draw conclusions with less than full information. Information is being communicated to us with incredible speed. Yet, too often, what reaches our eyes and ears first is incomplete or worse, presented to further the interests or biases of the communicator. If the communicator is also a […]

Intelligence is Like Beauty, in the Eye of the Beholder.

No. 1,506 A friend of mine, who is my age, has been tested several times recently for symptoms of dementia. He asked his wife why the tester always asked questions about the date, day of the week and the like. “Is it important?” he asked. It was a good question for him, since he had […]

Skill v. Luck

No. 1,491 Last night the Pirates won in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off hit batsman. The bases were loaded. Tony Watson, who now pitches for the Giants, hit the batter, Jordy Mercer, forcing in the winning run. Was it luck? Well, from the Giants’ perspective, it was a lack of skill, not […]

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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus.

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