The power of persuasion — Have you ever wondered how hard to push for something? You don’t want to irritate your friend, or for me, it was my mom, by being too forceful. My mom will sometimes tell me in a rather stern voice, “Alfred, don’t be too insistent. It won’t serve you well.” Since…

The best Covid listicle yet — By now, any Medium reader who has followed me knows that I just released a book whose “Coach” offers ten simple rules to being better liked. I know the release is real because my official launch is at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this Sunday (3/19). Small background: I…

Meet the people in my village behind “Alfred’s Journey to Be Liked” — In basketball, when a player has scored a basket while simultaneously experiencing a foul, it is called “and one.” In a loose interpretation of “and one,” when it comes to scoring a book, there is the author driving down the lane, and there is the “and one,” only it’s not…

How to irritate less and engender more love — Imagine this. A modern-day Moses is walking across the country on foot. When he arrives in California, a flock of reporters greets him. He is Moses, after all, and he has been making the news. Reporter 1: So tell me, sir, what was the hardest part? Reporter 2: Was it…

A different kind of medicine to heal the hurt — Author’s note: This was one of my early pandemic pieces where we weren’t feeling comfortable and I was in search of a laugh…just one little laugh. While my jokes aren’t very funny, writing them made me laugh. Sometimes it can be hard to find a reason to laugh, and —…

Humility and friendships round out a rather good day — My long-awaited launch of “Alfred’s Journey to Be Liked” finally happened. You plan for months, and it goes by in a “whoosh,” but not so fast that I didn’t have some observations to share. This is where listicles shine. I don’t have to organize my thoughts from first to last…

If Naruto can do it, maybe I can too! — Along with Naruto, I need to add “Coach” who has motivated me to conquer my fears. He has also added a few tricks, which he calls “tools.” Let me start with two moments where I was sure I’d fail. As you know, my mom had this “great” idea (notice the…

Or did the pandemic take that away too? — Imagine this. You and your spouse, fully vaccinated, invite another fully-vaccinated couple for dinner. You’re excited. You haven’t had an evening like this in over a year. You plan your menu, you shop for groceries, you pick out your wine. All is set. “We’re back in business,” your spouse says…

We all got ‘em — I couldn’t help notice that a middle-aged man, driving only himself, car windows rolled up, was fully masked. I was walking on the sidewalk, unmasked and in a “thinking” kind of mood. When the light turned red and seeing as his car was in the right lane and me on…