My Riffs

Learning on it’s own is pointless. The are many educated people who are no better off with an education, maybe worse off in fact. What you do with your learnings is all that matters.

One of the best ways to find fulfillment is in helping others achieve their goals and dreams.

Life can get complicated and busy. Feel free to drop out of unnecessary things. For sure let go of unnecessary things you don't need to handle. Drop out of the competition. Drop out of grudges. Drop out of pettiness. Drop out of ladder climbing. Join love. Join community. Join giving. Join sacrifice. Join fun. Join empathy.

I was super annoyed at the large tractor digging next to my house this morning. It was loud and woke everyone up before we had planned on waking. Then I learned the tractor operators wife had passed away and he was actually a nice person. Suddenly I wasn't annoyed like before. Lesson learned. Our annoyances and irritations are often a lack of understanding on our part. Understanding often leads to empathy and empathy leads to compassion.

If today isn't going so well, it may likely be because of past lack of sacrifice. There is sometimes an arbitrary nature to life and bad things happen regardless of what we've done. But by in large, if we've sacrificed enough in the past, the future will be better. So if things aren't going well today, start sacrificing what is necessary for a better tomorrow. It likely won't change today, but it will for sure change your tomorrow.

Failure isn't the worst thing you can do. Not trying at all is the worst thing you can do.

I'm all for change. Naturally I dislike it, but there is much value in change and much danger in being static. Of course it depends on the situation. But generally speaking, it's dangerous to remain static and safer to keep changing. One risk of change though is erosion. Smaller changes sometime seem insignificant, but over time can be eroding. Erosion never happens overnight, it happens over long periods of time, and bit by bit. Erosion is slow. In making changes, make sure they are productive, not destructive. Even in a situation where something should be destroyed, erosion isn't the best method. So even in small changes, pay attention to the long term consequences. And make sure the small changes aren't eroding something important.

Doing something for more visibly is always a wrong reason. If the objective is to be more visible, it's a shallow reason. If you find yourself doing something simply to get noticed, stop it immediately. There may be far nobler reasons to be doing exactly what you're doing. So stop, and take time to find a more noble cause. Doing something for visibility takes away from effectiveness. The two cannot equally co-exist. The more we do something for visibility the less effective we are. The more we do something for good reasons, the more effective we are. The irony is, doing quality work gets you noticed in a much better way than simply trying to get noticed will.

This is an interesting phrase. In it's purest form, it has nothing to do with status or position. Being a bigger person has to do with what level you are operating on. Being a bigger person means, refusing to operate on a level that includes pettiness. Being a bigger person does not mean, belittling someone because you're bigger. Being a bigger person means, operating in love. Operating in grace. Operating in generosity. Operating in kindness. Operating in deference. Operating in humility.

You probably won't remember the things you got, but you will remember the events you were part of. We often go to great length to accumulate something else, but it's the event rather than the thing we remember. Investing in memories is much more valuable than material goods. The memories we accumulate make us richer than the goods we accumulate.

Get caught up in the details, when they matter. But don't get caught up in small stuff. You can't do big things when you're entangled in the small things. So separate what's a detail and what's just small stuff. The small stuff will weigh you down much more than big things.

Pure intentions produce love. Evil intentions produce destruction. Keep you intentions under constant critical examination.

Ugh! Don't we hate getting the dirty work, that nobody notices? Those jobs are usually very menial. They seem to provide little value to us or anybody else. But those jobs are the real test. The big noticeable jobs don't really show our work ethic, our attention to detail and our motivation quite like the small menial jobs. Those who will do the dirty works, will succeed long term in the big jobs.

Integrity is integral to functionality. Here is the definition of integrity from dictionary.com [in-teg-ri-tee] noun 1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moralcharacter; honesty. 2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Without integrity structures collapse. Physical, social, and personal structures will all collapse without integrity. Corruption of countries and social structures starts with the collapse of integrity within individuals first. Maintaining our integrity is of utmost importance. Because our integrity helps hold up systems even larger than ourselves. We may be able to contribute certain skills and talents, but without integrity they're of little value.

There is a difference between criticism and constructive criticism. Criticism generally is offered up with destructive intentions. Constructive criticism is generally offered up with constructive intentions. Most people dislike criticism. So we tend to put all feedback into the criticism pile. But that should be done very carefully. A lot of what we would disregard as criticism has some value. Some of that feedback should be put into the constructive criticism pile. If we throw everything into the criticism pile and disregard it, we rob ourselves of many clues and hints that could be making us and things better. I’ve learned that even some of the more distasteful criticism often has a measure of validity to it.  So even in what feels like vile criticism, there is something I can gain from it.

Emotion often causes us to lose perspective. We can be having "the worst day ever" then hear a story that makes us feel in fact fortunate. That's what perspective can do. We can take something so hard and it can cause our day or even life to be ruined. And often that "thing" derailing your life can be eradicated with some perspective. In every situation, maintain perspective. Don't trust the emotions. Take a birds eye view of the situation and find that perspective. Up above the storm clouds, it's calm and peaceful.

Sometimes we try so hard. We try to push things. We try to change things. We try to force things. We try to bring things together. We try and tear things apart. We build. We tear down. What is there’s often a better way? Have you ever thought, the most efficient modes of transportation are ones where we aren’t in control? They are the ones where we’re still in fact. Airplanes, trains, cars, all require us to be still. Yet they transport us further than our biggest physical efforts could take us. What if we found vehicles in life that did the same for us? Success and life takes work. There aren’t shortcuts. But there are efficiencies we can tap into to make our life a whole lot better. The trick is finding them. The trick is in not pushing against things that won’t budge. Find the efficiencies and ride them as far as you can.

Balance all three. Any excess or deficit of the three causes life imbalance. Set aside time for rest and play, just as your work schedule is set for you. When all three are in balance, you have a more fulfilled and healthy life.

You can play it safe within your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is that safe circle in the middle of your strengths. But the comfort zone circle doesn’t go to the edge of your strengths. There’s plenty of room to get outside your comfort zone, yet stay within your strengths. Get outside your comfort zone, but stay inside your strengths. (Yes, work on your weaknesses). When taking a risk, pushing yourself, or trying something new, stay within your strengths. Trying things where you’re weak is a recipe for disaster.

A solid foundation provides for a strong structure. Your ability to stand is greatly dependent on what your foundation is built of. Make sure you fully know what your foundation is made of.  Make sure that foundation is something solid and reliable. 

It is easy to look down at someone who is at a disadvantage to us. We forget though, that could be us. And it may be us someday. We’re all responsible for our actions and dealing with what life may sometimes unexpectedly throw at us. However, sometimes life deals us undesirable things. We can’t look down on those who aren’t doing the same as ourselves. They need to deal with their undesirable situation, but if we feel any type of moral superiority, we’re wrong. Always remember when seeing an unfortunate person or situation, it could be you. That should help us be more compassionate and understanding.

You're either contributing to the problem or the solution. There is one good way to know if you're contributing to the problem or the solution. That being, if you're contributing love. If you're contributing love, you are not part of the problem.

The best way to handle people is with tact. From dictionary.com: tact [takt] noun - a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations. - a keen sense of what is appropriate, tasteful, or aesthetically pleasing; taste; discrimination.  Those lacking tact can only lead from a place of authoritarian rule. Which is limited and lacks mutual respect.  Those who have tact can lead from a place of  earned trust and respect. The scope and potential of leading from this position far outweighs the alternate.  Things to remember: - respect is earned, never demanded.  - trust is earned, never demanded.  - kindness goes further than demands.  Tact doesn’t come natural for everyone. But it can be developed. EQ can be developed, and must be in order to be the best possible leader. 

Ego happens when confidence goes too far. Ego is always misplaced confidence. Confidence is necessary, but carries the risk of turning into self destructive ego. Ego destroys ourselves first, then those closest to us. Ego has different manifestations, but the same end. Curb your confidence and keep it in check.

Sometimes you have to make your body do something before your mind and heart will follow it. Usually this happens when we don't want to do the right thing, but force ourselves to do it.

What’s your pet peeve? I’m sure we all have an answer readily available. We’ve somehow made pet peeves acceptable, as long as they’re termed just that way. But pet peeves aren’t a free pass. If you have a pet peeve (or pet peeves) you’ve likely uncovered something that needs to be fixed. Don’t let yourself off the hook by calling it a pet peeve.

You can know for sure, the storm is coming. You can either prepare and at your peril ignore. Some form of a storm is coming to you or someone close to you. And if you're not in a storm right now, be extremely grateful. This isn't intended as a negative post. It's reality. And it doesn't have to be negative. These storms engage us and make us better. They seem to be a critical part of life. So you can try and go around the storm (won't work) or you can do your best to prepare.

Someone has to be in charge. They won't always be right, and they won't always make the right decision, but someone has to be in charge. If you’re not in charge, support the one who is. The team will only do as good as its cohesiveness allows for.

Sometimes we focus or dream of a platform. So many today want a platform. It seems the platform is worked for at the cost of the message. Some people have worked hard for a platform but have nothing substantial to share once the platform is built. What you have to say and contribute is for more important than what kind or size of a platform you have. Building, creating and obsessing over the platform can mean weakening the message. Work on what you have to offer. Your message. Your value add. The thing that only you can contribute. Focus a whole lot less on creating or working for a platform. If you have developed and built something great to share, your platform will be built for you.

Without vulnerability you get hypocrisy. Allow for vulnerability and be willing to be vulnerable. The alternate is bleak.