This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Melissa Shaw, a 46-year-old financial advisor in Palo Alto, California. It has been edited for length and clarity. I've been a financial advisor ...

This article follows the Direct Message methodology, designed to cut through the noise and reveal the deeper truths behind the stories we live. It’s a universal truth – most of us learn life’s ...

One of the biggest gripes I have about my academic field of social science is that it explains a lot about human behavior but is very short on prescriptions for how to live day to day. Even when it ...