My Riffs

We need repetition to learn. Any people need varying degrees of repetition to learn something. But over repetition can cause someone to tune out. So there's a balance of how much repetition is useful.

We like linear paths in life. The ones that are clear cut in which direction they’re going.  But life’s paths are never linear. They are full of stops, starts turns and backtracks.  These are the paths that lead to growth though. Linear paths wouldn’t help us grow. 

Life can get so fast paced and our minds can get so preoccupied with work, relationships, problems, goals and on and on... that we miss the beauty in the simple things. We’re surrounded by beauty, but sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. 

Who wants to skin a cat? No me for sure! :) There's a saying though that says there's 1000 ways to skin a cat. It obviously means there's probably 1000 different ways to accomplish the same task. I've learned that if someone chooses a different way to accomplish the same task as me, that it's fine. Maybe my way is better, maybe it's not. But if they get the task done and aren't struggling, let them be.  If they're struggling, then help out :) 

The position of victory is never reached by accident. You will never accidentally fall into victory.  Victory only comes through vision, determination, hard work and steadfast resolve. 

Fighting is good thing when you’re fighting the right things.  Fighting people is never good. But fighting against evil, negativity and injustice is always good.  Save your fight for the right things. 

This is some of the best advice you could ever give or receive. It's simple, "do hard things". They need to be the right things. It can be hard to beat your head against a wall and entirely useless. But there are many hard problems that need to be solved. There are many hard tasks that bring great value. There's little value in easy. If you're always looking for the easy path you're selling yourself short.

You repeat mistakes that you don't learn from. The most times you repeat the mistake the less chance there is of learning from it. The danger is you will incorporate the mistake into your thinking of what's right.

Effort is relative. Sometimes it takes the greatest effort to do something. Other times it takes little effort.  Effort is relative to how much strength you have. More strength, less effort. Less strength, more effort.  Build strength so you don’t need to constantly exert maximum effort for the same tasks. 

The important things are not things, but they’re people. And the important people are the ones you’re closest too. Everyone is important but your family and closest friends are of utmost importance.  Pursue things that benefit you and your closest relationships. Don’t pursue stuff. Pursue what has impact. 

You have to know your limits. The reason is twofold: 1. You have to know where your limits are so you don't go past them. 2. You have to know where your limits are so you can go past them. There's times to stay within your limits and there's times to push past them. Knowing the difference is wisdom.

You find out what someone is made of when they go through the battle. A battle will show you what you're made of. Let the battle be an opportunity for personal growth and strengthening. The strongest materials go through the most pressured and hot procedures to make them strong. It's no different for people.

If you want to change a habit or create a new one, do it in increments. There's a time and a place for going all-in or going cold-turkey. But generally you're more successful when you do things incrementally. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't try and boil the ocean. It's an exercise in frustration.

Don’t be a cynic. A cynic doesn’t contribute. They only exist to tear people and things down.  If you want to be a contributor you can’t be a cynic. 

To understand someone you need to know their story. You can come to a limited knowledge by observing or even talking to them. But to truly understand someone you have to know their story. I saw a couple people arguing in a line. I would wager if they knew each others story there wouldn't have been an argument though. If we can look at everyone through that lens (of needing to know their story) we will be a whole lot more merciful on people.

You can be a victim of your own success. Usually you become a victim through complacency.  Success very often causes us to feel comfortable and complacency creeps in. Complacency is the biggest threat to success.

If we stop nature will take over. Metal will rust as it returns to a more natural state. Weeds will take over your garden as is returns to a more natural state. Humans too have to watch that our natural state doesn’t overtake us. We all have those natural traits that we have to fight. It may be natural to get angry and we have to make sure we don’t allow that to overtake us. We may naturally be introverted and have to make sure that doesn’t overcome us.  Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s good. We have to fight against nature all the time. And by doing nothing, you’re letting nature win. You have to be proactive again nature. 

You will fail if you don't have a plan. But you have to also know your plan will need to be adjusted. So... Have a plan, and plan on it changing. But don't skip the plan.

You don't know if you can do it until you try. And if you can't you've gained experience and are more likely to be able to next time.

You can, if you want to. It's usually more a matter of wanting to rather than being able to. Don't allow yourself to be lied to with "I can't" when the real reason is "I don't want to".

Daring is necessary. You have to dare to dream. It’s daring because your dreams can be dashed.  You have to dare to step out. It’s a dare because you could fall.  If you don’t dare, you don’t go anywhere though. 

I found the anecdote for a bad day. It’s called gratefulness. In fact gratefulness is the anecdote to many other conditions like: ungratefulness, loss, physical ailments... 

 I’ve learned judgment should be reserved until all facts are know.  But it’s easy to jump to conclusions and then judgments. But it’s flawed to do so. 

We all see the same thing(s) more or less. But what causes us to have different views on things? I think our world view is our lens into what we see. And the world view is also called our perception (how we perceive things). Our perception is developed by what we’ve been taught, who we surround ourselves with and what we consume.  This means we can shape our perceptions. If we have a negative, pessimistic world view, we should try and start shaping that to be more positive. By changing what we consume or who we spend time with, we can accomplish that. 

The most important time to stand tall is when you don't feel like standing. Because that's when it's most important.

It used to be thought that you couldn't change your thinking and mind. It was thought you wore patterns into your brain that couldn't be changed. But then something pretty amazing was discovered, that being, you can in fact change your brain. It takes three basic things: 1. Willingness. Of course you have to be willing to allow new thoughts to shape you. 2. Focus or Pressure. You have to focus on something to learn or change. Another way this can happen is through an intense situation which I've called pressure. 3. Good sleep. Good sleep is when the new information and paths actually take shape. Without the proper rest this process isn't possible. Don't like something about yourself or your thinking? Then don't accept it. That's the focus and the pressure. Re-learn or re-think it. Then get good sleep. Then repeat. You can form a new way of thinking!

I've seen one quality that sets apart good employees from bad ones. The good ones ALWAYS do a good job, no matter the circumstances. Even if they're unable to know everything, they have the problem solving skills to find the right information.  You don't have to know everything, you just have to know how to deliver a good product. That could be an email, a presentation or a phone call. Always do a good job. Even on the most meaningless seeming tasks like sweeping a floor. Set the standard of always doing a good job, no matter what you're doing.

People love the word free. You tell people free food will be at an event and you likely will have a good turnout. We love giveaways and the idea of lotteries. The thing is, nothing like this is actually free. There's a cost to all these things. It's good to remember when you hear the word free to think a bit. Think about if it's free for you, then who is paying. Sometimes you're paying with your own personal information or privacy. Because your "free" email account isn't actually free. What's interesting is that the truest free things are the more important. Joy is free. Kindness is free. A smile is free. Those are the type of free things we should focus on.

What you wish for doesn’t always give you what you want.  What you want and what you get can often end up different things.  Meaning of this, be careful what you wish for. You may get it, but it may be more than what you wanted. 

It’s a waste of time and energy to try and get your life problem free.  Doesn’t mean you should accept problems. I just wrote about confronting things before they get too large.  But don’t set the expectation that you will be problem free. We’re always trading problems for problems.  And this isn’t a negative and defeatist post. Because I think we need problems. We need them for improvement reasons. We need them to stay sharp and engaged. 

Appeasement is only a delay tactic. Appeasement isn't a true solution. If you're appeasing someone or something, know fully that you haven't put an end to the issue.