I’m sitting in John Wayne Airport, waiting for my flight, reflecting on my first faculty summit and commencement ceremony with the University of Massachusetts Global. And honestly? My cup is full again. Not performatively full. Not temporarily inspired. But genuinely, deeply refilled in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. Why We Do This Work … More Refilled
Something feels off lately… Not catastrophically off. Not broken. Just… misaligned in a way that’s difficult to articulate. The kind of feeling that sits quietly beneath the surface of otherwise good days. I find myself feeling connected and disconnected at the same time. And maybe that contradiction is more common than we admit. Friendship in … More Connected, Yet Somehow Disconnected
This past week didn’t go according to plan. Both my wife, Alison, and I have been sick—and not the kind of sick that knocks you out completely, but the lingering kind. The kind that sits just beneath the surface. Enough to slow you down. Enough to make even simple things feel heavier than they should. And … More Slowing Down When You Don’t Have a Choice
There’s something different about traveling back to a place that helped shape you. Not visiting.Not passing through.But returning. Recently, I made my way back to the University of Tennessee at Martin for Alumni Day—and more specifically, to reconnect with my brothers from Sigma Chi. And what I was reminded of almost immediately is this: Time changes everything…except the … More Returning to Where Brotherhood Began
I’m a little tired this morning. Late Sunday nights will do that—but this one didn’t feel like procrastination or avoidance. It felt like something else entirely. It felt like not wanting a really good weekend to end. Starting With Connection Friday began simply—coffee and conversation with my friend Steph. No agenda. No pressure. No underlying … More When You Don’t Want the Weekend to End
The Official Author Page of Dr. Rick L. Mask (The Social Capitalist) and the Home of Social Capital 2.0 