My Riffs

Being honest doesn’t mean being rude or mean to people. Being honest can be done in love and kindness too. Honesty without love probably won’t even be accepted. 

If you didn't learn, was it even worth it? Every experience is a chance to learn, but we have to be conscious and curious to learn. If we're not paying attention we don't learn anything new and there's little point to the experiences we go through.

Most of us think we need to do more. But maybe we all need to do less. Then we can do what we need to, better. 

Complaints are rarely worth the energy they take. It's difficult for people to truly care about our complaints. The reason is, we all have our complaints and so we don't usually have the capacity to care about others complaints. So instead of spending energy on complaints, try just doing something about it. And if you can't do anything about it, complaining won't help either.

Doing the right thing so often isn’t the doing the easy thing. The right thing often costs more. The right thing often is much more difficult. But it’s right and whatever happens from a right thing is always the best possible outcome. 

True experience brings competence that no textbook or theory could. When you work with someone who is experienced they bring a confidence and competence nobody else can. You can have an educated person with knowledge and smart, but they can't perform like someone with experience. So get experience, don't just theorize about things, do them, learn, practice, perfect.

Lift people, don’t put them down. Putting people down is never the right thing to do. Lifting them always is. 

The way forward is to discuss then do. You have to communicate and then follow through. Ideas don't take formation unless they are spoken into existence and then actioned into existence.

If you use pain right you will gain. If you use it wrong you will lose. Pain will come, you get to choose what you do with it and learn from it. 

Curiosity is a necessary ingredient to learning. You have to explore to create and learn. Curiosity can get you in trouble, but the right kind of curiosity will lead you to much knowledge and wisdom. 

The best way to lead people is to appeal to them to do it for themself. You can force, coerce and manipulate people, but that doesn't lead to good long term results. If you can get people to want it for themself, you won't have to force, coerce or manipulate them. They may even do the same for others and start leading.

In todays world things can go viral. So speak up, there’s a lot of voices and clutter, but speak up. Make sure you have something to contribute, then speak up. Your voice matters and what you have to say may resonate with enough people to make change. 

Sometimes showing up is enough. Some don’t show up when they need to. So showing up is often the biggest step. 

If you don't put in the work, you won't get the results. There's no shortcut to good results. Good results always require hard work. You skip the work, you can skip the good results.

Two people with unity can accomplish far more than one person. Two people divided can't accomplish what one person can. So together is better, but you have to be on the same page.

Sometimes we don’t know what we have until it’s gone. Try to take stock and appreciate what you already have so you don’t have to lose it to appreciate it. 

Difficulty can equal value. If something is really hard to do, it's likely of value. Shying away from anything difficult in life means doing less things of good value.

Getting above things puts them into perspective. Things around you can be overwhelming, but when you get above them they are put into their proper perspective. 

If someone offers you a chance to battle or invited you into their chaos, respond with peace. Peace makers will be blessed. Those who choose chaos or combat won’t be blessed. So respond with peace and break the cycle of battle. 

Wealth on its own doesn't mean much. Health is true wealth.

Give love to everyone around you. The more your give the more you’ll get.  

Be patient. As long as you're moving in the right direction, be patient. If you're moving in the wrong direction, don't be patient with it. Make a quick turnaround. But if you're heading in the right direction, be patient with yourself. Good things take time to grow.

An unfortunate reality is that we often get more out of going through things than avoiding them. Going through tough things is what can make us better people. Going through challenges makes us more adept and facing future challenges. So maybe instead of avoiding it, just go through it and learn.

It’s okay to disagree. There has to be room for different ideas. Allow people to disagree with you. Allows your ideas to be challenged. That’s how better ideas are birthed; by discarding old ideas. 

The best attitude is gratitude. Train your brain to be grateful. 

Tearing people down is weak. Build people up. Encourage them. Let them know they can do it! Building others up makes everyone better.

Those who didn't learn end up repeating the same mistakes. As we learn we shouldn't make the same mistakes. Growth and learning launch us into new areas where the past mistakes are no longer made.