MSI Press Blog

  I never set out to be a mayor. But then I watched my cat run the household with absolute confidence, and I realized: I’ve been studying local governance all along. Here’s what my cat taught me about leadership, diplomacy, and the art of keeping a community running smoothly. Constituents want to be seen. My cat greets every resident — feline, human, or passing spider — with the same solemn acknowledgment. A slow blink is his version of a handshake. I learned that sometimes a nod, a glance, or a “I see you” is all a citizen needs. Hold office hours. My cat has designated times when he is available for petitions: usually when I’m trying to read, type, or sleep. I adopted the principle, minus the timing. A mayor must be accessible, even if the constituents show up with odd requests. Infrastructure matters. My cat inspects every walkway, windowsill, and cardboard box for structural integrity. He reports deficiencies by sitting on them. I learned to do the same — minus the sit...

  Cats are not children — but they are astonishingly good at teaching you how to be with children. Mine certainly did. Somewhere between the “mwout” debates, the 3 a.m. hallway zoomies, and the silent stares that communicated entire paragraphs, I realized I was being trained. Thoroughly. And with great precision. Here are the lessons I didn’t know I needed: Patience is not optional. A cat will come when a cat is ready. So will a child. You can call, coax, plead, or offer treats, but the moment you stop hovering is the moment they appear. Boundaries are love in action. A cat who walks away is not rejecting you; they’re regulating themselves. Children do the same. Respecting space is part of respecting personhood. Affection has its own timing. Cats give affection in bursts — sudden, intense, and often when you’re busy. Children, too, have windows of connection. Miss them, and you wait for the next one. Routines matter more than rules. Feeding time, play time, quiet time — ...

  This excerpt comes from   How My Cat Made Me a Better Man  by Jeremy Feig. RELATIONSHIPS the approach Finding a date is similar to making new friends, but with a better chance you'll end up in bed together. A few guys are type-A personalities, able to effortlessly schmooze and dazzle the ladies. But for the majority of us, getting a date takes real effort. You have to deal with the anxiety and fear of rejection that come with asking a woman out. That's true whether it's in person or online. Because it can be just as nerve-wracking writing an email on a dating site as approaching a stranger in a club. Once you hit that send button, it's all out there. Women are lucky. They can pick and choose from all the guys with their hokey pickup lines and overabundance of cologne. That's because society, annoying presence that it is, says that men have to ask women out. So the pressure is all on you. And unless you put yourself out there, chances are you'll be going home a...