My Riffs

Pressure can do two different things. It can strengthen or it can break. You can use the pressure to strengthen yourself or to allow yourself to break. Pressure for sure will test you. It will reveal what you're made of.

Degrees of variance matter. You could start off just one degree off, but the end of that one degree off is much larger than one degree. Course correction is constantly needed. For vision, for attitude, for goals, for truths.

Communication is less of what you say and more of what you do and how you look. Most communication is non-verbal. How your holding yourself, your facial expressions, your body language. That conveys more than your words even. People aren't taken by your words as much as what your body language and example conveys. So if your body language betrays what your words say, people will believe your body language and example, not your words. Remember, what you're saying is louder than just your words.

How important is yesterdays news? That's the same importance we should give todays news. Is today's crisis really worth the toll we let it take? Will today's crisis really matter tomorrow?

Building isn’t a linear process. There’s setbacks and roadblocks. You have to figure out how to get through them to complete what you’re building.

I’m at Disneyland today. It’s struck me that this huge attraction is the grand vision of one man. It is now a huge tourist attraction with a worldwide interest, because someone had a vision of what could be. We need visionaries to move the world forward.

Life has a way of teaching. But you have to be willing to learn. You have to pickup what life gives you.

Don’t underestimate the evil that you’re capable of. We all have capabilities for evil that we have to keep at bay.

Nobody has arrived at success simply from their natural skill. Even if they’ve been born with a ton of skill. But it’s those who may have skill but also work hard that find success.

Momentum is one of those strange things that is hard to create. You can try and create momentum,  but it’s something that has to be caught more than created. You can’t follow a formula to create momentum. Momentum has a mysterious element to it. When it’s there you have to grab it. When it’s not, you have to grind thing out.

With everything you can fan it or leave it to die out. If you want something to move ahead you have to fan it. Leaving it probably will result in it dying.

Truth is so powerful. Truth on it's own can totally decimate someone. And that's not the goal of truth, hence why it always has to be mixed with love. But to speak truth and live out that truth, it's a powerful, powerful thing. There is nothing that can stand up against the truth. A lie may temporarily hold up against truth, but eventually truth will overcome the lie. And when truth confronts a lie, the lie falls apart. The lesson is, always speak truth. Regardless of consequences. Whatever happens when you speak truth is the best possible course of action and result.

In todays age you have to have a good filter. You have to filter so much noise. So much misinformation. So much style over substance. So much spin. The better your filter, the lighter your load.

One of the biggest realizations I’ve ever had is that I can and have to choose joy. That realization brings much power to you to control your life.

Over confidence is just as bad as lacking confidence. Because they both end up roughly in the same place. Confidence has to come with self awareness and honesty. Or else is gets out of line easily. Confidence needs an equal amount of humility.

Sometimes you have to just trust the process. Usually the process is slow though. But sometimes that's the best option. Sometimes processes need to be challenged, and that's okay. But sometimes you can't and you have to trust the process. And if process doesn't work for you at the end of it... Then work at fixing it.

Some people spend their life chasing a dream. But if the dream is really just a fantasy, then it's a waste. Chase dream that stretch you, but that aren't grounded in some form of reality. Also, chase dreams that help others, rather than self serving dreams.

Two opposite things can be true at the same time. Sometimes we take one stance, one side or one fact and discount any other sides. But two different, even seemingly contradictory things can actually be correct. So we cannot dismiss someone who has the opposite opinion of ourself immediately. There could be some validity to what they are saying.

It's true. Time doesn't wait. So don't waste time. It's the most precious resource you have. Every day, every moment is a gift. Use that gift and don't squander it.

Just ask... The difference between those who know and those who don't is often an ask. There is knowledge to be gained, but sometimes we don't ask.

Gaining respect starts with respecting yourself. People won’t respect you if you not respect your self. This doesn’t mean ego or pride, but it means know yourself, knowing your strengths and weaknesses and having good self awareness.

Self starters are generally more valuable in most work fields. But they aren't truly self started. There's some vision they are trying to reach or attain. It's a drawing power rather than a pushing. And there's a huge difference. Pushing someone to do something is never better than motivating someone to do something.

It's hard to start something. If there's no momentum, it's challenging to get something off the ground. But once you get if off the ground, it will at some point most likely catch momentum. (that's if the idea is a good one). But almost as certain, at some point the idea will hit a wall. That's when things really get challenging. That's why many businesses are forced to throw in the towel a few years into operation. That's why so many New Year resolutions are followed through on. So the question becomes, what will you do when you hit that wall?

Accuracy matters.  One inaccurate moment or word can cause a chain reaction that ends up a disaster.  Accrancy is how you stay on course. 

Milestones are made and need to be celebrated. Celebrate then move onto the next milestone. Getting caught celebrating too long is one way to get behind.

Disappointment happens when reality falls short of expectation. We can guard against disappointment by always expecting the least or the worst and then always being pleasantly surprised. Or we can generally expect the best and live with some disappointment. One way is a better way to live your everyday life.

Something the pivot is something innocent. Sometimes we look for major changed, but sometimes littler pivots actually are all we need. Sometimes it's as simple as straightening up a mess. See Jordan Petersons advice to clean your room before you try and change the world. Sometimes it's the small pivot that allows you to go change the world.

Don't underestimate yourself. Especially when you are doing something with conviction. Great things have occurred in history by one person with conviction. The man in Tiananmen square. Rosa Parks. Winston Churchill. Ghandi. Jesus.

Overthinking happens at that point in being methodical where it starts becoming counterproductive. So quick (not impulsive) decision making may be better than thinking too hard. Of course big decisions require more thought. But making quicker decisions for someone with good intuition is better. When analysis paralysis sets in, its time to pause and come back to the decision making. Overthinking causes slowdowns and frightened responses. Quick decisions make for strong and confident responses.

The worst thing is when someone gives up on themselves. Others can give up on you and it hurts, but nothing hurts as much as when we give up on ourselves. Maybe we shouldn't give up on other people as quick as we do. They may be considering giving up on themselves, but our belief is enough to keep a flicker of belief in themselves.