My Riffs

It's so easy to get stuck in the mindset of having to do something one certain way. I've learned that you have to stay open to alternate ways to get something done. If we get fixated on doing something one way, we close off other maybe better possibilities. Plus the one way we think it should be done often isn't even doable. 

We spend more time destroying people and ideas than building. We throw stones at those building and doing but so few actually build and do. Be a creator. Yes, you will be attacked, but it will be mostly by those standing on the sidelines.

You have to trust a lot in life. From trusting that your lights will turn on to trusting the person driving towards you won’t swerve into your lane. We go about our days largely trusting and not thinking about so many things. Trust is also the true currency of relationships. You trust and from there you love and build and have a relationship. When trust erodes everything else crumbles. Losing trust can be something that irrecoverable. So hold trust in the hugest regard, don’t breech it, don’t treat it lightly, it’s the most fundamental and foundational thing you can hold. 

Idle words lead to trouble. Those who are careful with their words are much less likely to get into trouble. Don’t speak idle words. Instead speak accurate, precise words that carry much more weight and are far more effective. 

I think one of the best things a person can do is create. The more creative you can be and the more you can create the more you can contribute to the world. 

Good listeners are smarter than good talkers. But if you truly want to know what someone thinks or believes, don’t really listen to them. Observe what they do with their resources. That will show you what they truly believe. Same goes for yourself. Do you want to learn what you really believe? Observe where your resources go. 

Some thing in life you won’t know until you actually do it. We can be in a state of fear and it freezes us and we will never learn. Sometimes we just need to go through it to get the experience. Of course there’s certain things we don’t have to experience to know but lots of lessons come from having gone through it. 

It’s hard to turn off thoughts. What you can do is get better and quicker at recognizing negative and toxic thinking. The better you get at recognizing it the quicker you can turn them off. 

You can only do so much, carry so much and invest so much. Your capacity in those areas has to be guarded by saying no. Saying no is so hard. But it's a must to save our capacity for the things that really matter.

Get it right. It doesn’t have to be the first or second try even. Just keep trying until you get it right. Don’t leave it not right. Once you allow that you have set a bad precedent for yourself. Get it right and hold yourself to that standard. 

One of the biggest mistakes we make it thinking we have lots of time. Time is a very finite resource and we are constantly losing it. It’s best to use it to the maximum. 

Not much feels better than giving to a need. It's better to give than to receive. But not all giving is equal. Giving to ungrateful people isn't the same as giving to someone in need who is extremely grateful. Finding and giving to real needs is a great part of living.

Speaking clarifies what we’re thinking. So does writing. Both are great ways of sorting our thoughts out. The better we get at articulating our thoughts the better we understand ourselves. The better we understand ourselves the more we’re able to shape ourselves. 

Positive thinking can sometimes can a bad rap. Because can you think as positive as you want but if it doesn't turn into action, it's almost meaningless. And that's the part that may get a bad rap. So start with good thinking and let that thinking turn into meaningful actions.

Some things just don't need to be said. Wise people know when to withhold their words. There's times when saying something compounds a matter and makes it worse.

Every day is unique and requires something a little different from us. If we’re good listeners and observers there’s something to learn and glean every single day. Some days you need tenacity. Some days you need rest. Some days you need challenges and some days you need simple routine. Learn something every day and perfect each trait needed for that day. 

People who say they need motivation are usually lacking vision for their life. People who have good, big, long term vision for their life don’t need motivation for today. They have long term motivation in the form of vision. 

You can only think as good as you can listen. Bad listeners are inherently bad thinkers. Listen good and then you can think good. 

You can succeed from anywhere. That doesn’t mean you can stay where you are and succeed but you can start from where you are. No place is too bad as a starting place to succeed. 

The unexpected will happen. Rolling with it is the art of living. 

Some things are worth fighting for. Some things aren’t. Fight some things and fly over other things. Don’t engage in others’ battles unless it’s something worth it.

We often think strength is muscle. And that's somewhat true. But the real tough strength is other things. Real strength is being able to say sorry. It's being able to ask for help. Real strength often looks like giving mercy instead of judgement. Strength is smiling. Strength is showing up. A lot more people should get credit for truly being strong.

Don’t judge is a lesson I keep needing to learn. It’s amazing how instinctive our judgement becomes. We can look at someone or some situation and come to complete conclusions without having spoken to the ones involved. We can come to complete conclusions about people not even knowing them. I’ve learned to not judge. Things aren’t always as they seem and things continually change.

Some people have grit. Some have determination. Some work hard. Others are gifted at singing, playing instruments and writing. There are gifted business minds. Gifted scientific minds. Gifted intellectual minds.  But none of these talents and giftings matter without love. So whatever you do, whatever you’re good at, do it with love.   (This is a paraphrase of biblical principal)

It’s a new year and many are working on better health. Either by hitting the gym or eating healthier. I would submit the best thing you can do is detox your mind. Audit your thoughts closely and filter out anything that’s toxic. You can’t have a better quality life than your thoughts. So eating good, exercising and other health activities won’t do as much for you as cleaning up your thought life. 

You won’t ever get if you don’t give. Holding onto everything with a tight fisted grip isn’t how you get. The real way to get is to give. 

You become literally what you take in. Food, books, video, audio and even thoughts. These are the things that form you. If you intake garbage, unfortunately you’re not going to become anything quality. You can’t have a life any better than the quality of your thoughts. So only take in high quality things.