When I struggled with a depressive episode in 2013, I realized that I had a glitch in my thinking about my own motivation. I had separated learning and teaching into different concepts.

While I've had plenty of ups and downs, dealt with my share of failure, and struggled through emotionally difficult periods, I'm fundamentally an optimist.

I too have my own demons, and I have struggled. I've made my own mistakes, and I'm not proud of them.

I start asking a lot of questions about my own life, and it's not necessarily fun, but it's a good exercise.

What I'm looking for in my interaction is critical thinking on the part of the person pitching to me.

I think it was when I ran into Kerouac and Burroughs - when I was 17 - that I realized I was talking through an empty skull... I wasn't thinking my own thoughts or saying my own thoughts.