My Riffs

The home is the base. If there aren't healthy homes, there won't be healthy communities.  Maybe some of the issues we are seeing in todays world can be attributed to the erosion of the home. Families used to gather around the table, or in the living room. Now they gather around a screen, be it large or small. More and more families are broken. There is no doubt that some of the erosion we have seen in our society can be attributed to the erosion of the home.

Needing help is generally thought of as a sign of weakness. But many times it's a sign of strength. And that is the strength of knowing where you're weak. Or the strength of knowing where you're at. Or the strength of realizing your boundaries. Reaching for help is a sign that you're not too full of pride. Yes, there's a balance between those who won't stand on their own and always want help. Needing help in balance is that "strong" place between weakness and pride.

Momentum comes sometimes, and you want to ride that as far as you can.  But you don’t want to make the mistake of relying on the momentum. Because momentum has an end. And when it ends, if you’re not pushing, you’ll come to a dead stop.  So ride momentum, but keep pushing too. You’ll go extra far that way. And when the momentum ends you’ll still keep moving. 

The key to satisfaction is in things outside yourself. Satisfaction is found in being part of something larger than yourself. Or it may be found in helping someone, but it rarely will be found when we consume things for ourselves.

Power is sought to control. Some spend incredible effort in trying to attain power, in order to control, in order to feel significant. The irony is that significance is found is vulnerable spaces, not in powerful ones. Power makes us feel big, but it's not real, it's a mirage. The most powerful people are the ones who are the ones who don't seek it. It's the Mother Teresa's of the world who are powerful. Some may obtain power and the only thing they achieve it being a tyrant. Seek spreading the most love, help and support possible. That's true power.

Scatter plots are used to observe trends. But they can’t be used for anything definitive. Focus is the opposite of scattered. It’s not worth much of your time to chase things based on trends or scatter plots. Find areas where you can focus and not be scattered. Because following trends is never a good long term plan.

We all know the basic needs: food, shelter and clothing. But there are more advanced needs that humans need to thrive. Purpose. Responsibility. Routine. Relationships. Rest. These advanced needs are what actually determine whether we are living effectively or not.

Your knowledge will be limited by your desire. You learn what you want to learn. Especially today with modern technology and access to information. You can take free university courses. You can learn languages for free. How much desire do you have for new knowledge?

No one person can have all the good ideas. Some of the best ideas turned into reality were actually "borrowed" ideas. Apple wasn't the first to make a computer, music player or phone. But they did do it better than anyone else. Ego can get in the way of some good ideas. Let your idea factory include many people and avenues. If you're the only one with ideas, you will be passed by. The larger your idea factory, the better. Also, make sure you're good at sorting bad from good. No use storing bad ideas.

I think the most courage you can have is to be what you’re supposed to be. And in doing so, there will be many acts of courage in your life. So be what you’re supposed to be.

The pen is mightier than the sword. Wisdom is more powerful than force.

Renewal is an interesting thing. It’s necessary, yet we all find different ways of doing it. Some like books, some music, some nature... Whatever the method to renewal is, we all need it. And it amazing that we have the ability to renew. Recognizing it’s time to renew is important.

My youngest daughter is 3 years old. She's learned how to get things she wants. I've seen her move chairs to get things she can't reach. I've seen her open the fridge and climb it to get things on top. When do we unlearn that skill? My three year old knows how to go for what she wants. But at some age we seem afraid to climb and get what we want. We are scared of falling, or we're scared of those who are watching. But not my three year old. She doesn't care whose watching or the risk of falling. And she usually gets what she wants. Maybe we need to learn to start climbing and not being afraid again.

Today is valentines, maybe it's a bit cheesy. But any day the world is focused on love, instead of all the hate we so often see, it's a good thing. So Happy Valentines. Let's spread love tomorrow too!

We're creatures of imitation. Have you ever been around that friend who picks up an accent on a vacation? Or have you ever caught one of those super contagious yawns? Or have you found yourself repeating a phrase a close friend often says? It's amazing what we pick up just by being around other people. A lot of it we aren't even conscious of. This means we need to be careful with what environments we place ourselves in. Careful of who we are spending time with. We will be picking up things and seemingly moreso if our guards are down. Be in environments and around people who are giving you great things to pickup.

Potential is an interesting thing. Usually is starts with an idea or a spark in someone's mind. It could be a building, and event, a program, something creative, something destructive... on and on.. Then that idea or potential has to be made manifest in order to see what you truly have. Ideas are great, but until it's manifest, you don't know what you really have. Once it's manifest, then you have something. You may have something different from what you dreamt, but you have something to work with. Sometimes potential manifests different than the intended idea and that's okay. We don't really know how an idea will actualize in reality, but getting it out there is the important part. The process of using potential is this: - an idea to start the process - actualization of the idea, turning the idea into reality - Reshaping or adjusting your expectations of the realized potential

In this part of the world, it's been a deep freeze. It hasn't been overly fun. Life is mostly lived indoors. We make a mad dash to the car and then into our home or place of business. Seems the primary focus for most is simply to stay warm. I don't think this has made many people happy. Except... those who have been fighting a destructive mountain pine beetle that has been wreaking havoc on our forests. This cold snap has helped them in a way that they were unable to in fighting them. So this cold snap has helped our area. It hasn't been fun, but it's helped us. Sometimes what we regard as frustrating, limiting, etc.. It's really helping us in some other areas that we didn't immediately realize. Some seasons of life are for killing off the "mountain pine beetle's" in our life. It may be inconvenient and irritating in other areas of life, but let it kill off those pesky, destructive areas.

If you listen and read to many prognosticators today, it's all doom and gloom. The state of the world may not be super healthy. But the opportunity for light when things are dark is unparalleled. When it's dark, a dim light may shine bright. The doom and gloom forecasts assume there is no light. But anyone who speaks truth, who loves, who cares and who forgives is a light. And today these people can outshine the darkest night.

Those who speak truth are amongst the bravest of individuals.  Truth speaking requires courage.  Only those who are brave dare to stand out and speak truth, no matter what the potential impact of their words.  Truth speakers often are people in the margins. It seems the larger the crowd and brighter the spotlight, the less truth there is being spoken. Not always, but often.  

It's a strange paradox, but the way to strength is through weakness. You can't just go to the store and purchase more strength credits. Like doesn't quite work like video games. To get stronger, you have to go through some form of weakness. And, if handled properly, you come out of those weaknesses being stronger. Attitude during weakness determines the strength gained. Make sure you don't lose your bearings during weakness, or you may lose your strengthening opportunity.

Information is critically important. We need it in order to make decisions, communicate and learn. But you have to know what to do with information. Buried information is rendered useless. So the information has a value, but where the true utility is found is in its use. In other words, informations true value is only found in how it's used. Learning how to filter information, clarify it and spread it is a range of skillsets that aren't easy to master. The ones who master these things have a distinct advantage over those who don't.

If someone or something is giving you the gears in getting what you want or need... They likely don't want you to have it. Make sure of what is giving you the gears.. Is your wish or desire a worthwhile one? Are you going through the right channel? How can you work through this?

We don’t have to be sure of everything. Because the person who is sure of everything is suspect. Not knowing, or not being sure is okay. It’s not a preferred mode of being, and if it’s used too much you may come off as being disengaged. But it’s okay to not be sure of everything.

In most groups you need a healthy tension. You need tension between the known and the unknown. You need tension between the comfortable and the uncomfortable. You need tension between order and chaos. This is why so much of life is about proper balance. You have to hold things in proper tension in order to maximize life.

People assume something like the following formula: me + "object of my desire" = happiness. We also assume:  other person + "objects of material" = happiness. So, if I get “that” I’ll be happy. Or since they have “that” they must be happy. The true happiness formula looks more like this: me + decision to be happy = happiness.

The things about being a complainer is, you're always going to complain. It's a non-ending cycle. No matter what, complainers will complain. A previous post shared a great life hack, stop complaining. You will see immediate benefits!