My Riffs

You have to live with yourself 24/7. Why not make yourself someone who is enjoyable to live with? Make yourself someone who you can spend 24 hours a day with and be happy with them. Why spend a second being miserable when you don't have to be :) 

Your network is your net worth. It’s a true statement. We can go far alone. Your network though will either propel you forward and bog you down. Strengthen your network. Strengthen it with those who will propel you forward by whatever means. Strengthen it by connecting with those you resonate with. The stronger your network the stronger you are.

Here is a really simple principle that would literally revolutionize our world... Treat others as you want to be treated. If we all operated with that principle the world would be a different place.

If you're strong and courageous you can handle anything and do anything. Be strong and courageous.

Waiting for the perfect time often paralyzes us into inaction. We strive to catch opportunities as they come to us. When that happens we catch a momentum beyond us that carries further than we could have from a standstill. But those type of opportunities aren't predictable. We are wise in learning how to discern and capture those opportunities. But for most of our life, we have to learn to just start. It may not be the perfect time, but it's an nearly impossible task to find that perfect time. Often the perfect time is now or asap. Inaction has a high cost.

Not everyday is equal. Today will be one I’ll remember for a long time.  As it type this Russia is invading Ukraine and earlier today Canada ended essentially a War Measures act.  Times like this quickly sharpen your focus on what really matters.

We all need a safe space. That's where you can let the guards down, relax and recharge. Hopefully your home is that place. That's ideal. Find activities in that safe space that recharge you. For some no activities is what recharges them, for others there's activities that recharge. Find these things are you will be able to refuel at will to face life challenges.

When something bad happens it gives you a chance to regroup and figure out a better plan. So bad things can be opportunities for you to be and do better things.

Yesterday I wrote about the waste of time arguing is. Today I realize why arguing is usually a waste of time. It’s because we’ve all forgotten how to really listen. We no longer listen to what someone is saying and try to understand them. We listen to give a rebuttal. We listen for a weak point to jump in. And in doing so, we totally miss their heart.  Now amplify this problem with reposts, likes and comments and you get divides like we’ve never seen before. 

How many times has an argument led to something positive? Don't argue, just show them.

Today was a very sad day in Canada. Doesn't matter what side of the political fence you're on, we're all human and today was a sad day. I found a quote from an unknown source that says "Hate is easy; Love takes courage". Love can bridge divides and gaps if we get humble and courageous enough.

One of life's most difficult lessons is in learning when to wait and when to act. It may be a lesson we never fully master. Sometimes we act when we should have waited and vice versa. We learn though. We learn to never act if it's coming from negative emotions or anger. We learn to act though when opportunity arises.  Wait when you're unsure or not balanced. Act when you're sure and level.

Hypocrisy is easy to spot in other people, but very hard to find in ourselves. Not that were without hypocrisy but rather we cannot see ourselves as others do. Before judging the hypocrisy in others we should rid ourselves of our own hypocrisy first. That would be a better use of time and energy anyway.

Roads have ditched on both sides. Life without balance will leave us in one ditch or another.  Balance keeps us on the road, lack of balance pushes us into a ditch.

When frustrations come up the mature part of ourselves knows that it's me again that has to change. How many of our frustrations are either self inflicted or things we cannot change. Both reasons call for us to change. It's usually the person in the mirror who needs to change to improve the situation.

Every relationship seems to have a connection point. You connect on some thing or some level. And this is what determines if it’s a healthy relationship or not. What are your connection points in your relationships?

Trust is the foundation of every relationship. No trust, no foundation. Trust can be lost in an instant, but takes time to build. Guard your actions so you don't cause loss of trust.

It’s valentines weekend and we’re all reminded of “love”. And love is the best part of life. Any part of life without love is miserable and not worth partaking in. Stay in “love”. 

It’s impossible to receive without giving. This can be taken two ways. You must be a giver in order to receive. Also, someone must give in order for you to receive.  The moral? Be a giver. The more you give the more you will receive. And sometimes we receive things we didn’t even give. We receive in areas different from where we gave.  Be a giver. 

Where do you derive value from? The more external sources you derive value from, the more volatile your value will be. It will rise and fall with your usefulness to other people. Value should be determined by how much you love. Value should be determined by internal factors so it doesn’t rise and fall. 

What you deeply desire will always happen. Desiring good things will ultimately produce good things. Desiring unhealthy things will ultimately end up getting unhealthy things. Constant checking of our desires is necessary to keep ourselves heading in the right direction. 

You need the right tools to accomplish most jobs. Raw materials alone won’t get the job done. It’s frustrating trying to accomplish a job and not having the right tool. It will stop the job dead in its tracks.  Putting together the right materials and the right tools is the connection that allows the job to get done. 

Culture trumps vision. To implement a vision, ensure the culture is supportive of the vision. 

Energy (our energy) is a finite resource. We can only do so much in a given day. Why put energy into one single negative thing? It's more than a waste, there's also an opportunity cost associated with it. You could have used that energy for something positive, so it's more than just a waste. Use your energy wisely.

You asked for strength and you are given tough circumstances.  You asked for patience and you were given hard challenges to work through.  You asked for love and you were challenged to learn what true love is.  You asked for wisdom and you were given pain.  Sometimes it feels like we’ve been given the exact opposite of what we’ve wanted. But I’m fact we’ve just been given the means to the end. 

The best thing you can do is stand up when you see wrong. The worst thing you can do is be silent. For in silence you become complicit.

Healthy things grow. But unhealthy things can grow too. Unhealthy thing won't have longevity, but they can grow. So how do you know the difference between healthy and unhealthy? Love.  Love never comes from unhealthy sources. Love only comes from healthy sources.  So the best measure of health is love.

Negativity is like a magnet. News sources survive almost solely on negativity. And we’re drawn to news sources. Social media can be very negative and we’re drawn to that as well. Then we just shrug off positive news like it’s no big deal.  The real problem with that is we’re drawn to junk food. Negativity, make no mistake, is no different from food. What we consume becomes who we are.  It takes a lot of positivity to balance out all the negative things we’re prone to consume on a daily basis.  Limiting the negative inputs to a minimum is how you maintain a healthy life.