My Riffs

What a good team in place, there are times to take your hand off the wheel and let the team perform. They will come up with things impossible with a leaders hand on the wheel. There is obviously a time and a place for this, and it needs to be done at strategic times. But when it's time, something magical can happen. Happy New Years!

The amount of publicly available information today is staggering. And it's not slowing down at all. The rate of ignorance hasn't improved with the rate of knowledge. Today it could be argued we have as much or more ignorance than ever. Whether educated or not. Ignorance at so many levels too. The access to knowledge doesn't cure the problem of ignorance. People who have knowledge still often lack wisdom. So today in a world of so much knowledge, we need to teach people how to use the knowledge they have available to them, have to process it and how to put it to good use. If knowledge doesn't lead to wisdom and ultimately to betterment, it's a complete waste. Don't assume having knowledge will make you or anyone less ignorant. Gaining knowledge doesn't push out ignorance, the two can live quite fine together. Wisdom will push out ignorance though. So seek wisdom and understanding to overcome ignorance.

Never has the world moved faster. Never has there been so many possibilities, so much potential. From where I am sitting now, I can literally reach around the entire globe. That's absolutely mind blowing. We now even take this unbelievable fact for granted. With all this speed, potential and possibilities though, there are still no shortcuts. To be successful, to do good work, to be effective still takes the same amount of work. What's changed is scalability and speed. But the required work hasn't changed. Many have mistaken these changes in potential as shortcuts though. No shortcuts have been discovered, the rewards for good work have just increased. Even with big rewards comes big responsibility, so in many ways things have not gotten any easier. Don't make the mistake many have in thinking technology and the connectedness of the world allows for shortcuts. If anything these global changes require better work to get noticed and to succeed. The endless op...

So many things can irritate me when I let my irritations rule me. I've realized that oftentimes these irritations are actually revealing something about myself. The irritations are revealing less about the situation, thing or person that I am finding irritating, but more about myself. Irritations are real and rational, however many are the result of a problem or weakness in myself, not others. So exploring your irritations is a fun way to discover areas to improve in :)

There are two primary ways to make changes, incremental or wholesale. There is a time and place for both approaches. The more common and safer way is incremental change. This is the way most humans change. People make wholesale decisions and changes happen, but by in large, most change is incremental. So in making goals and decisions for the new year, the best way to ensure they are attainable is to set them up in a way you can meet them incrementally. Incremental change doesn't jolt systems as much as wholesale change. We don't often make large jumps in thinking or behaviour, but a series of small steps. So handling change in such manner makes for better, more realistic change management.

Strong and weak people surround themselves with different groups and types. Weak people generally surround themselves with people who don't challenge them. People who don't provoke thinking and growth. People who just affirm them. (in balance we all need this of course) Strong people surround themselves with those who may be smarter than themselves. Who may provoke different thinking and who challenge them. The weak group will remain weak, and the other group will get stronger and better. You will be the sum of your closest friendships and relationships. Surround yourself with friendships and relationships whose sum is higher than yourself, it will cause you to level up.

Some days we set aside needed time to celebrate. Today is such a day. Merry Christmas to all!

The more important you feel you are, the less you will need to let others know that. The less important you feel, the more you will feel the need to let others know how important you are.

Soren Kierkegaard said, “most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.” In this holiday season let’s not get in a rush to get past the important moments of being together and sharing memories together. That is where the pleasure is to be found. Memories and connection is where the pleasure is to be found during the holiday season.

All leaders are selling something. The product is usually a vision for people to buy into. But people won't buy into the vision if they can't buy into the leader. So what really backs what you're selling is yourself. If people can't buy into who you are, they won't buy into your vision. You could have a great vision, but it won't go anywhere if people don't buy into you.

The barriers are fewer than ever. Social media and technology has removed many of the barriers between creators/voices and the public. Now the voices/creators have direct access to the public. We could say this has watered down the talent level. Or we could say this has uncovered much more talent/voices than previously possible. As with all technology/information, sifting through the junk becomes the important thing.

Every rule has an exception. But we cannot let the exceptions become the rule. This will skew the rule and not allow the rule to benefit the greatest amount of people possible. The rule will cater to the exceptions and alienate the ones the rule is to help.

Decisions generally are polarizing. Appreciate the few times when a decision is looked at favourably by all, it doesn't happen often. Most decisions will make some people mad and some happy. The decision criteria should be less focused on who will be happy and who will be upset, and more on what's the right decision. Trying to move a particular person/group into the happy camp will more than likely push a different person/group into the upset camp. So making the right decision is more important than ensuring the happiness of a single person or group.

The more junk I carry the more junk I will attract. Junk is magnetic. Learning to put down the junk is one of the most important lessons and disciplines one can learn.

Our words have power to build or destroy. Most of our words and conversations can be classified into two caragories. Strengthening or Weakening. The more weakening words we say, the weaker we make ourselves and those around us. The more strengthening words we say, the stronger we will be and those around us. The thing is, more often than not, weakening words don’t need to be spoken. So speak strength.

In doing something simple this morning I realized something profound that I somewhat already knew, but hadn't quite thought of in this way before... I was grinding my coffee beans using my Hario hand grinder and realized, broken isn't always bad. The coffee beans were being broken, and that was a good thing. In the "whole" state, they were of little use. But in their broken state, they were suddenly much more usable. As humans, sometimes we break. Sometimes there are hard edges on us that should be broken off and they do break, simply because they're hard edges. The areas of ourselves that are like unbroken coffee beans need to be broken to allow the new and better life underneath to come out. When something breaks, something new comes to life. Not all breaking is good, but oftentimes even in bad breaks, something good and new will come. So at the moments and times we break or feel completely broken, there's opportunity for the new to blossom. Breaks a...

To get what you’ve never had, to go where you’ve never gone and do do what you’ve never done you have to give something up. To get something new or different you have to give something up. What’s the extra’s we’re carrying that we could give up for a better more prefered future?

If you’re not looking for the good, you’ll never see it and it will never happen.  Because even if something good happens you’ll miss it. 

In order for your product or message to have mass appeal it will need to be standardized and processsd to become bland or tasteless enough for everyone to be able to digest it. I’m thinking of McDonalds and Subway. Almost everyone can every now and again stomach one of the two. The problem with mass appeal is quality. There’s a correlation between mass appeal and quality. It’s hard to maintain quality as something is produced for the masses. It’s hard to maintain uniqueness and creativity as something is made for the masses. Oftentimes finding your niche is much better use of resources than trying to appeal to the widest audience possible. Find those who will see the value of your product and message without compromises. They will value the specialized version over the version for mass appeal. A specialized product may be available to all but only appreciated by some. And that’s okay. Making an impact and engagement is more important than appealing to all.

We know that hindsight is 20/20. But it only is real 20/20 vision if it informs and guides the future. If foresight isn't effected by hindsight than hindsight isn't 20/20. We can use hindsight to provide better foresight. Hindsight on it's own isn't valuable until acted upon for the future.

Sometimes it’s only one small pebble that disrupts. Small things really matter. A pebble a fraction the size of what it’s disruptung can cause complete havoc. Dealing with the pebbles can often have much bigger reward than the size of the pebble would suggest. It’s important to not minimize the details and small things. They have big consequences both when attended to and when left alone.

Sometimes what’s right isn’t apparent. That’s when you start identifying what is wrong. Cross off enough wrongs and some rights will start making themselves apparent.

Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . What are you doing with yours?

A few times recently I've found myself saying or being sorry because I didn't mean to do something. I think while you can never eliminate all mistakes, you can live intentional and eliminate many of them. When I'm moving too fast, I don't take time to think through by actions or words, and there is very often unintended consequences for doing so. To live intentional means to take time to think about every action and word. Your mistakes will get fewer doing this. So when we unintentionally do something we didn't mean to, it's time to slow down and become intentional.

What we eat is actually very important for our health, both physically and mentally. The same came be said though for non-food diets. What we feed will grow and demand more. If you feed laziness, it will grow and grow. If you feed negativity, it will grow and demand more negativity. If you feed your desire for junk food (junk music, literature, video) it will grow and demand more. So it's just as important to be careful what actions, thoughts and tendencies we feed. They will grow. Feed the positive thoughts and actions; starve the negative or potentially dangerous. What you feed will demand more and grow accordingly.

We all have things we're good at. Some things come naturally to one and much harder for others. The tendency is to really rely on the things we've become good at. These best attributes can become weak points though. We can become too reliant on that one attribute or skill and stop developing others. We can become so good at that one skill or attribute that we overuse it. Make sure your best attributes do not become points of weakness. Keep them in balance and they will remain your best attributes. Don't lean on them too much and allow them to grow and morph as needed to remain relevant with where you are in life.

Add an extra second to it. To that text, add a second to see if you could be a bit clearer or kinder. Add an extra second when you greet someone to look them in the eye and inquire how they're doing. Add an extra second when typing your email to review it. Add an extra second when conversing to someone to listen, to really listen. Add an extra second to make sure of things when learning or taking in instructions. Add an extra second to enjoy the sunrise/sunset. Add an extra second to be grateful for what you have. One second can make a big difference.

Our natural tendency is to see how little we can do to accomplish a job. Or how little we can get away with to maintain something. But what if we started trying to understand what's the most we can do for it? Quality would most likely go way up. Move from least amount to most when doing a job. Not to the point of being inefficient, but how much value can you provide, how much quality can you contribute, etc. These are the questions to ask.

For long enough to cause a problem, people have been focusing too much on image and not enough on their character. We have a deficiency of character today and we’re seeing this be revealed all the time in the news right now. When we worry more about how we appear than who we really are, we see morality failure. If we focused on our character instead of image, it would make ourself and the world a better place. A return to character development is needed to stem the tide of image driven action that leads to moral failure. Work on your character and your image will follow. Let your image be the quality of your character.

With the closing of so many news sources in recent times, it has brought to light the importance of public discourse. While not perfect, public discourse is critically important. Once it’s lost, communities and societies suffer hugely. Public discourse provided a level of balance, fairness and forward ness that doesn’t happen without it. Stifling public discourse leads to tyranny. There is more safety in public discourse than closed systems. It’s in public discourse where bad ideas can be eliminated and better ideas can rise. But they have to be hashed out in public discourse properly. When this avenue closes, the balance of power and equity becomes lopsided and those in power rule without checks and balances. When possible allow public discourse. It’s not perfect, but it acts like a self regulating filter and incubator. It filters the bad from the good and provides ideas that can advance. Wisdom from an individual is never better than team wisdom. Public discourse allows f...

We live in a busy, busy, busy society. With very little free time. But want some insight into yourself? What you do with your free times tells you a whole lot about yourself, your priorities and your interests.

A completely cohesive team is likely a team absent of critical thinking. Some level of conflict should be allowed, and even thought of as normal and being a sign of a healthy team. Of course there has to be balance, too much conflict and there will never be enough cohesion to accomplish anything. Too much cohesion and there will lead to stagnation. Allow some conflict and see it as healthy. Beware of group think.

We know words are cheap. Yet, we know words can build or destroy. The value of the words primarily seems to be in the hands of the speaker. If the speaker doesn't mean what they say, the words are cheap. If the speaker means every word and plans to stand by what they say, the words are meaningful. Words are important, whether cheaply said or meaningfully said. If words are said with no intention of being acted on, they're still important. Just in a bad way. Listen to the words that are spoken to you. But... Watch the actions behind the words. What a person says, only means so much. What they do means a whole lot more. It's easy to say we support someone or something. It doesn't cost anything much to say that. But it may cost a whole lot for our actions to back that up. So listen to people, but watch them even closer. Pay attention to what they actually do moreso than what they say. That's where you will find out what they really are.

When it comes to problems or progress there are only two positions, adding or taking. Unfortunately there is rarely middle ground. Because a neutral position almost always pushed you one direction or the other. A neutral position in a problem often means you're adding to the problem. Or a neutral position in progress often means you're taking from progress. Remaining neutral often doesn't accomplish what we desire. You're gonna either add or take, decide which path you want to pursue and follow it.

The best response when you’ve been wrong done, mistreated or hurt? Love despite. Hating back furthers the problem.

When is it okay to be okay with being okay? I'd say when okay is as good as it gets. It's not okay to be okay with okay when okay could actually be great.

I’m a hypocrite and you most likely are too. Most everyone holds conflicting ideas that don’t add up. Humans are quite capable of holding two opposing ideas and not even realizing it. Maybe it’s best to explore our own hypocrisies before we start pointing out others.

Our actions are usually governed by a few principles. The principles closest to our heart. These principles will be revealed by our actions, moreso than our words. I propose that one of the highest principles to govern your actions is, doing the right thing. When that principle governs your actions, you will speak truth, you will build and contribute. When we let other principles take precedent we act out less than our capabilities. Principles such as, who can I impress to move forward, or what's the fastest way to get what I want or how do I make it seem like I am ______, and etc.... So evaluate your actions and that will lead you to understand your guiding principles that we hold closest to our hearts. If our actions are lining up to a "less than" principle, start changing your actions to line up with a higher aiming principle.

This is a phrase that get's throw around a lot with little thought. But what does it really mean? It means living out in practice your inner beliefs. For a multitude of reasons, this is difficult for many people. The problem when you don't though is you become fractured. Fractures are small cracks, not major breaks. But it's a point of weakness where at some point there will be a complete failure. Allowing these fractures to occur means allowing our belief system to be weakened. Allowing these fractures to occur means creating the beginning of a belief system collapse. Allowing these fractures will ultimately cost those relying on us, our close friends, family and anyone within out sphere of lnfluence. If there are fractures in your belief system, repair the fractures by starting to live out your beliefs. The fractures can almost always be repaired if you catch them early enough. Being true to yourself is also the beginning of being true and a good influence on thos...

A loss can hit you hard. It can knock one right off their feet. Sometimes it takes a long, long time to recover from a loss. But a loss is not a defeat. A loss is a setback, but not defeat. When we take a loss we can feel defeated, but a defeat is a final state. And the thing to remember about defeat is, it's something we usually concede, it's not usually forced on us. So make sure losses don't become defeats, by not accepting them as defeats. A loss is only a setback. A loss isn't a defeat.

If we treated other people as if they are bearing the same burden as ourself, how would we treat them? Generally, we treat others as if they aren't dealing with anything and except much of them. But what if we gave them the grace that we give ourselves? We know what we are dealing with and understand the challenges it presents us. Extending those same considerations to someone else will allow them grace, just as we allow ourselves. Their burden should be considered as much as we consider our own, then we can understand one another. Or at least have compassion on each other.

Who relies on you? We all have people who rely on us in one way or another. At work our co-workers rely on us. At home our family relies on us. In every role we hold, someone is relying on us. Leaders, spouses, friends, parents, etc all have someone relying on us. What are people relying on exactly? As a father my family is relying on me to provide for them, so we could say they are relying on my provision. Which is completely true. But what I think people are actually relying on is our character. People are relying on you to do the right thing, to have morals and character. That's really what they're wanting and needing from you.

Being a one trick pony won't get you far in life. At some point that one skill will no longer be needed, or won't be appreciated like it once was. That's the danger of relying on one skill. If you rely on the one skill, it may be that one skill that causes both success and then failure. When you get into a situation where you need more skills that one skill won't suffice. Develop as much as possible a well rounded skill set. Don't invest too much time on skills that just aren't a fit for you. But everyone has multiple skillsets where they can perform at a high level. Develop these, not just one of them. Single skills are good for short term, multiple skills are good for the long run.

You can do work to get noticed or you can get noticed because of your good work. They’re two separate things and you can only do one or the other.

When it comes to ignoring the things that drain life from us... All the things that don’t matter that capture our attention and drain energy from us are worth ignoring. Learning to ignore those things is difficult, but important. Willful ignorance of insignificant thing is bliss.

How often do you blindly stumble onto something profound or important? If you don't look for something, chances are you won't find it. When you look for something, you're chances of finding it drastically improve from almost zero. What we search for is often what we find. Look for what you want or need. It can be found.

Self-awareness is one of the most valuable traits one can have. It's almost the most difficult too. It is impossibly to fully see yourself from within. That is why it's so important to solicit feedback from those who love you as to your weaknesses. People who are extremely self-aware have a huge advantage of those who don’t. Self-awareness is a basis with unlimited growth potential.

It’s a wonderful thing that the best things in life are free. This is why we see people all over the world with less than us, but they’re happy. Smiles, laughs, honesty, positivity, etc. They’re all free. So get these things liberally. They’re free.

There are times you can’t see spots on the road and you have to trust your mirrors. Make sure the mirrors you set up in your life are capable of navigating you in those moments you can’t see the full road.

A very underrated skill is being willing to be wrong. It takes honesty, self awareness and confidence. The more we're willing to be wrong, the more we can make space to get right. Great leaders keep working on themselves. Bad leaders get stuck being one thing and never change or improve. Being wrong doesn't disqualify us, it merely means there's a lesson to learn. Being willing to accept that in itself is a sign of maturity.

Welcome the adversity. Do it. You won’t regret it. Adversity makes us dig in if the cause is worth it or abandon it if it isn’t worth it. Adversity causes us to up our game. Welcome the adversity, it will only make you better.

Do people want to catch what you have? The better question may be, what is the character of the people who are wanting to catch what you have? If people aren't wanting to catch what you have, you need to change what you have. We all have an attitude to share. Is mine worth catching?

Those who are super successful are often though to possess super human abilities. Some of them do have some special talents, but that is usually not what got them to where they are. The successful are usually the one who possess the most mundane of human abilities, showing up and putting in the work. And doing it over and over again. So there is nothing to be ashamed of in just showing up and putting in the work, diligently.

What activities make you forget what time it is? Engage in those activities more. The ones where your constantly checking the time or your email or other notifications probably isn't the best use of your time. Forget what time it is as often as you can.

When is the right time to sacrifice quantity over quality? Probably when the product is cheap. When the product is valuable, sacrificing quantity over quality is the wrong choice. Most the time we should be preoccupied with quality over quantity. Unless it's those little things that truly don't matter. Make sure those things are produced quantity over quality.

What do you take time for? Or said another way, what do you make time for? The answer(s) to that question reveals a whole lot about your priorities and where you're heading.

You're likely more blessed that you realize. I know I'm more blessed than I deserve and more than I often realize. So, just count them up. You'll quickly remember how blessed you are.

It seems when we give and expect things in return, we get disappointed.  But when we give and don’t expect anything in return, then the big returns come in. 

Analogy alert! Boats have anchors. Retail spaces have anchor tenants. Buildings have a foundation that may be similar to an anchor. What are your anchors though? Most of us have a few things that anchor us. Those who don’t, will have trouble being stable. Find some anchors and tie yourself to them.

What do you do with the things that are hanging over your head? They typically aren’t good things. They’re usually guilt and unwanted reputation leftovers. There’s only one thing to do, be an example and prove them wrong. It’s amazing the power in being an example. It can overcome those negative things we all have hanging over our head.

There's a lot wrapped up in those words and instructions. Those who always leave something better than they found it, usually possess a number of character traits that are above average. Leaving something better than you find it means at least the following things: - You have a good sense of self awareness - You are good at reading people and situations. - You have enough self respect to take pride in your work. - You have a positive view of the world around you. So, always leave things better than you find them. You may just inherit some great character traits as you make things better.

Do the halloween masks and costumes hide who we really are or reveal who we really are inside? Do our everyday masks cover who we are, or reveal who we are striving to be?

Some things break when you use force and other things require force to be used. Knowing when to apply force and when to use finesse is one of lives great lessons to learn. Those who master this have the ability to work with people on a whole other level. The decision of which to use is always situational. There is a time for both, but using the wrong one at the wrong time can be a mistake that takes much effort to recover from. Pro tip: always err on the side of finesse.

We like when we have the upper hand. We like being in a position of strength. It's what's regarded as success in society. You work until you are in a strong position. Then what? It's an empty goal if that's the only goal. How does having the upper hand help society? It seems to only benefit the one with the upper hand. The position of strength seems to only benefit the one in the position. The only way these positions are beneficial is if they're used to strength others, or to help others gain the upper hand as well. We only win when everyone has the upper hand, not when only ones does. When only one is strong, the rest lose. When all are strong, all win.

The energy it takes to prove someone wrong is quite something. Courts of law are busy and essentially exist in a large way for the purpose of proving someone wrong. We will go to extreme lengths to prove someone is wrong. But where does that leave us? Proving someone wrong doesn’t validate us. If someone is wrong, it seems the laws set forth in nature will take care of the wrongdoing more often than not. What if energy was instead focused on showing that what we’re doing is right. Not in a “I told you” kind of way, but in being a steadfast, self explanatory example? That energy is far better spent. Leave the proving of wrongness to someone. Invest your focus and energy on building what’s right.

There’s times when your best just isn’t enough. Your best will fail you. But only for that task. Giving your best may lead to losing some battles but will ultimately lead to winning the war.

When you have been done wrong (and we all have been and will be) do you make them pay? The tendency is to make them pay for doing us wrong. But does extracting "payment" even the score? It's safe to say that is doesn't. It makes both parties lose. If we can resist the urge to make them pay, we can turn a negative into a positive. Making them pay increases the negative.

There comes times in life where the only reason you do something is simply because it's the right thing to do. And that's fine.  Sometimes things get tough and doing the wrong thing is a temporary easy escape. But it's not the right choice, ever. So you do what you have to do, simply because it's the right thing to do. That will keep you and pay with long term results. Set things into proper order by doing what's right. The more you do this the more things around you will fall into their proper place.

If history is written by the victors, who will write your story? On a personal level, the victor is either ourselves or circumstances. IF we allow them to, circumstances will write our history. But it doesn't have to be that way. WE can write our own history and not let circumstances dictate our history.

Opinions are cheap. Most people are willing to give you one for free. Action isn't cheap. Most people aren't willing to back their opinion up with action. So find someone willing to help, then ask them their opinion.

Value is an interesting thing. For example, an old piece of seemingly junky furniture can hold much value for someone and zero for another. Value is often quite arbitrary. Possessing something that someone else considers valuable doesn't alone make it valuable. If one owned a precious diamond or jewel but placed no value on it, what value does it really have? To them, almost none, but to someone else, much. What makes money valuable? Simply the fact it generally has been agreed upon as valuable. It doesn't have much intrinsic value on it's own. The point if to be aware of what we have, and to value what we have. Also, to not always expect someone else to value what we value. What we already have is valuable, but we have to recognize it.

More and more we are seeing people becoming disillusioned. With everything from government, to politics and religion. There is for sure no shortage of options, and no shortage of disappointments in having such options. How do we prevent disillusionment? It seems to be an epidemic. Has the information age changed us so we no longer can hold something in good standing? Is everything a ploy or a conspiracy? The truth, as previously mentioned, is somewhere in the middle . Not everything is an evil plot. But nothing everything touted as idealistic is just that. Sifting through information, hype, jargon, propaganda become increasingly important. You can read and find whatever facts you wants. If you want to hold a position, you can likely find information to back up what you think. It's better to let the facts and truth define what you think. Be slow to judge, study, and learn to effectively parse information. Disillusionment seems to happen when we don't know what we...

When we label someone or something, we’re inevitably leaving some or much out. So when we label, in essence we’re ignoring a whole lot. Labels reduce and don’t represent the full truth. Being slow to label comes with wisdom. Most things are too complex to reduce down to a singularity.

It's easy for the white water rapids to catch and hold our attention. They're loud and eye catching. But they're shallow. The expression says "still waters run deep". When we want the profound or the deep, it likely won't be found in the loudest place. The loudest voice may not be the place to find depth. The loudest place may not be the place to find depth or ht profound. Try the still, the quiet and the calm. Those waters run deep and are much more still. They don't jump and grab attention like the shallow, fast waters. But there is depth and wisdom in the still.

We can't always do huge heroic things like saving the world :) But there is a lot we can do everyday. Holding the door open, saying thank you, showing appreciation, sending a kind text, etc. These are things true heroes do. And they are what will be remembered. People remember how you made them feel over all else. More that what you did for them, they will remember how you made them feel. Be a hero by doing the small, simple things everyday. It requires no cape, only paying attention.

The future requires certain things. It seems to requires many deposits from the past and present to build something of value in the future. Or else you end up in the future with nothing. You cannot withdraw from something until you've invested into it. Or the result is it becomes bankrupt. So you have to invest in something before trying to withdraw. And you have to invest in something in order to find value in it. The more you've invested, the more future value it will have. And when it's time to withdraw, there will be more than enough to withdraw from.

A snowball starts out tiny. In fact, it starts out as a snowflake. Then it grows and becomes a bigger and bigger snowball. One action is like that snowflake. That one action often triggers other actions of a similar nature. Kindness causes more kindness. Confusion causes more confusion. Lies cause more lies. Patience causes more patience. Good and bad, one action cause more of the same action. Start a good action today and see what it can snowball into.

I read a quote that hit me really hard. It challenged me in defining what success truly is. "Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter" - Francis Chan Certain successes have little value. So the goal(s) shouldn't always be simply success. Certain successes are just dressed up failures. The goal should rather be, success in the right areas.

Its horrible. It’s not bad at all.  Two views, and often you’ll find the truth somewhere in the middle of the extremes.  The truth in many situations is rarely found in the extremes.  Don’t believe the hype and don’t believe the doomsday reports. Believe what you see, hear and feel, all combined.  The truth usually sits somewhere in the middle of the reports. 

Sometimes we search so hard trying to find the problem. We will blame circumstances, history and people so often. What’s strange is, we very rarely assign blame on ourselves. People generally act in a way that they feel is best, so assigning blame on oneself is a difficult task. We feel like if we’ve been acting in ways that are best, how could we do something “wrong”. But how often should we take a hard look in the mirror, trying to find some blame there? Problems generally have more than one factor. What role have we played in the problem? Or better, what could we have done to alleviate the problem? Finding the problem may be done best when starting from ourselves and working outward.

One of the most fulfilling things we can do in life is to help others. But we can't accomplish that if we don't have ourselves sorted out. So in order to help others, we must first get ourselves to a place where we can be of assistance to others. Our ability to help others when were in a diminished capacity is severely limited. There is no shame in "working on ourselves". Or investing in ourselves. Or building ourselves. It's the only way to truly help others.

It takes a large and diverse group to build something. A commercial building for instance takes many trades and many skills. But how do you bring together all the different people and skills to make sure they build the right thing? That's what vision provides. It provides a constant that everyone aims toward. It keeps everyone on the same page. Without that vision you will have everyone pulling different directions. To build you need vision. This applies down from a personal level out to the largest of corporations.

Being intolerant of things in people around us seems to increasingly become the normal. What if we decided to give those around us the same allowance we have for ourselves? We all have our rough edges, but don't allow others the same. We all have our weaknesses, but don't allow others the same. We all have our bias, but don't allow other the same. Etc, etc. We can have a double standard in not allowing others the things we allow ourselves. The world would be a better place if we afforded other the things we allow ourselves.

The more thankful you are, the more joy you have access to. The less grateful you are, the less joy you have access to. It’s not easy to have joy when you’re ungrateful.

Are we investing enough time in the big things? Chasing small stuff and insignificant issue can seemingly take all our time up and leave us with nothing for the bigger more important things. The short term seems to grab for our attention and energy. The long term and more important doesn't have the same gravitational pull. We have to create that gravitational pull and move away from the small things that seem to have a bigger pull. Investing in the highest aiming thing you can is the best way to combat the insignificant. Aim for the highest realistic thing you can, and don't allow the louder unimportant things to distract.

Evaluating using emotion will distort.  If the tendency is to evaluate using emotion, make sure to also evaluate minus the emotion.  That way a balanced conclusion can be made. 

Frustrations are very interesting things. When you distill them down, they're essentially something we don't understand. More or less, when we understand something, it doesn't frustrate us. So when we bump into a frustration, there is some untapped value there. We should explore our frustrations. Especially when the same frustration keeps popping up at us. There is clearly something to learn there. Explore it. There will be some knowledge or wisdom found if you dig deep enough.

The more concerned we become with rank, the less concerned with quality we seem to become. Rank is about making noise. Quality is about longevity. Rank is temporal and provides short term gratification. Quality is long lasting and provides meaning and purpose. Quality is what should be noticed. Not rank. This applies to products, organizations, and individuals. Quality > Rank.

Good is good, and so often it ends there. The problem is, good left alone steadily degrades's until it becomes not good. Good gives a false sense of security. Good makes us comfortable. Good makes us feel we can let our guard down . Good lulls us to sleep. Good makes us complacent. So while good is good, it's not good enough. Pushing to be great is what keeps us awake and away from the dangerous ground of good. When it's bad, it's obiovusly bad and needs improvement. When it's good, the feeling is often, "why improve?".  The answer is, to stay relevant and to stave off failure.

The best things are almost never enjoyed alone. Travel, food, fun, etc are all enriched by sharing them. If something is consumed only by yourself, you can almost guarantee that it's not being enjoyed as much as it could. When we share our lives with others we enrich our and others life. The more we give, the more we receive in value, significance and meaning. It's the experience that makes us rich. Value experience over stuff. Really contentment comes in experience not material.

When something happens completely senseless and illogical, you struggle to understand the world. Today is such a day. What used to be rare acts of senseless violence and hatred are becoming a daily event. The world I grew up in isn't the same my children are growing up in. Today more than ever the important things in my life are people, not things. The relations and family we have should be held closer than ever and valued more than ever. The lessons to learn are hard to even sort through the emotions and senselessness to find, but the immediate lesson seems to be value and love those around you.

A lot happens in life outside our control. We could document each unpleasant thing and they would become an ever growing weight. Or. We could document every unpleasant thing as something that happened for us. And the unpleasant things would become a staircase instead of a weight.

Before planes, the way to access oversea lands was via the harbour. Some harbours needed to be protected when people intending harm were approaching. Other times the harbour was open and inviting, welcoming to people of far away lands. What is in your harbour is important. Is it welcoming? Is it full of junk and debris and unwelcoming? Have you let harmful people into it?  Protect your harbour, and keep it clean. It's the entry into your world. What you let in your harbour will overtake your entirety eventually. Don't harbour hate, bitterness, resentment. Allow the right things and people into the harbour and the land will be rich.

Truth and love are two of the most powerful forces out there. Truth has the ability like nothing else to correct and straighten things. (it always has to be done with love as I wrote about here ) If something is off, crooked or wrong, it needs truth. Truth needs to be spoken and we need to allow truth to be spoken to us. Truth is a lot like opening a new window and seeing a new view to something you never knew existed. So speak truth and allow truth to be spoken, you're opening windows and helping thing straighten.

Perspectives should self regulate. There is always group think and always ideas that get taken too far. But over time and in large, perspectives will self regulate. The major caveat is if all perspectives are allowed. It doesn't mean every perspective is equal, it just means every perspective should be at least heard. The bad perspectives will be weeded out naturally by the better perspectives. Shutting down perspective takes away the natural ability of self regulation and gives way for less than ideal perspectives to take hold. Everyone's perspective is important in playing a part in a group of perspectives that each provide balance to the whole.

My morning commute (and thousands of others) was delayed from one stalled car. That one incident/person had an effect on thousands of people, given it wasn’t intentional. But we’re all interconnected. We effect others around us whether intentional or not. This is powerful, because if we live and breathe positivity and truth, we do make a difference. Sometimes we can feel insignificant, but nobody is because we’re all connected. Taking ownership of and being intentional with our actions can change our world.

You have to keep your guard up. When it’s down is inevitably when you’ll be overcome by what you’ve been guarding against. What’s your guard? It’s your attention. Pay attention to what matters, pay attention to what could overcome you. What’s trying to overcome you? Nothing good essentially. Complacency, vices, etc. Good comes with being intentional and paying attention.

The gold is never at a superficial level. It has to be mined out. It takes work and refinement to make it sparkle. Gold isn’t easy to find, but it’s extremely valuable. There’s gold to mine and refine in everything. Find it. Dig.

Energy has to come from somewhere. We often need to tap into an energy larger than ourselves to drive us forward. It takes energy to power a person or a team. Where can we get energy for ourselves, our family, friends or communities? Vision. Vision is energy. Clear vision can be converted into energy. Running low on energy? Renew the vision.

In order to discover something, it has to be uncovered. Uncovering starts with doubting what we already know. Doubt leads to questions. Good questions lead to answers. Answers are discovery. Discovery done right should lead to positive action. The rich areas are the unknown areas, the unmined areas. Wringing value out of what we already know has diminishing returns. That's why we must continue to grow and discover by uncovering what we don't know.

How do you paint the world around you as good, bad, ugly or beautiful? With your thoughts. Your thoughts are like paint, and you can make the world around you as beautiful or as ugly as you wish. Choose bright and beautiful colours. Colour over ugliness and hate. Colour when you feel down and dejected. Colour your world as beautiful.

Kids who grew up with little or no control of things in their young life often turn into adults who control too much. Kids who grew up with too much control often turn into spoiled adults who can't handle the challenges of life. As adults the more we try and control, the more we risk frustrations. As adults with kids, we have to balance with kids how much control they should have. And they definitely should have some, and learn to handle it and make decisions. If we only allow kids to make decisions when they turn 18, they have no practice and will make more damaging decisions than if they learn decision making when they're 5. As adults we have to separate that which we can control and that which is outside our control. If we allow the things that we can't control to consume us, we will become frustrated and stalled. If we focus on the things we can control, there is freedom there.

I love simplicity. If things aren't simple, people won't do them, follow them or understand them. But life is very complex. Caution is required when distilling things of life down to a singularity. Life and people are complicated. When we say definitive things about a person or situation, we are often reducing it and taking away from it. The complexity of life is what makes it so full and rich. It's a fact that things are tied together far more often than we realize. And things are connected that we take for granted and maybe even overlook. So to reduce complexities is to make them poorer.  If we reduce someone to a singularity, we reduce them. If we reduce a situation to a singularity, it becomes less valuable. The thing to remember is this, if you have reduced something or someone to a singularity or if you've been reduced to a singularity, much was overlooked and the singularity is only at best partially true.

There's an exception to every rule. This is the reason the world isn't black and white. We have to bear in mind that for almost everything that is a surety to us, there may be an exception. The problem is when the exception becomes the rule. We can't make decision or form our lives based on the exceptions. We have to form it around the norms. Accept the exception, but let the rule govern.

Endurance. Courage. Example. Perseverance. Saying No. Risks. Adapting. Flexibility. Forgiving. Loving. The more of these you’re good at, the stronger you are. The things above (and I’m sure some were missed) are what strength is comprised of.

The best view into yourself is through others eyes. Some of the feedback will be through non verbal cues. People will tell you a lot about yourself, you just have to pay attention to how they treat and approach you. The best way, but most difficult is to solicit feedback from your closest friends and family. What if we explored our weaknesses through others peoples feedback? We would be able to use the feedback to better ourselves quicker and with more support.

Routine isn’t to be despised. We rely on routine more than we often realize. Ensuring we have good routines to follow is important. With a good set of routines one can have the strength to deviate from routine in a small way to discover new ways and routines. But the solid routine provides the base to explore from. Be deliberate with the routine. Stick to routine. Explore from the routine. Grow from the routine.

Without much thought, most people will say happiness is the goal. The thing about this is, happiness is fleeting. Contentment is a much more realistic goal. It's an impossibility to live in a constant state of euphoria. So maybe happiness shouldn’t be the goal. Other maybe better goals could be contentment, purpose, fulfilled life...