My Riffs

We can't sit back in life and wait for things to happen for us. We have to go do it ourselves. Help is needed and we need other people, but that doesn't negate the need for us to go do it. Good things come to those who wait, but only who wait for things out of their control. What's in our control we must take ownership of.

Make your head a nice place to live. We can’t escape our thoughts so we may as well make it a nice place to dwell. The mind can be trained. Train it and shape it into a great place to live!

Honesty isn’t just the best policy, it’s the only policy. Dishonesty may be easier in the moment but it will cost you later. Follow honesty, you will pay the price up front but the reward will follow later. 

What everyone has in common is 24 hours in a day. Some people choose to do wiser things than some others with that time. And those are the ones who have better lives usually.

It's best to err on the side of mercy with people. There isn't a person who isn't dealing with some type of issue in their life. So what may come off as them doing something wrong to you may simply be a manifestation of something they're struggling with in their life.

Worry robs us of today. So much of what we worry about doesn't even happen. We should know that worry isn't a good use of time or energy, but we are seemingly wired to worry. If we can learn to worry about todays problems we can use that energy so much more efficiently.

The world needs more good examples. Thats one of the best things you can aim for, to be a good example. There’s a deficit of good and good examples, offset that and you will be doing a good work!

We all have so much to be thankful for. But those who live in gratitude are the ones who take time to count up all their blessings.

Develop your character before anything else. Develop it before your skills. Develop it before your physical strength. Develop it before your career. Your character will be what carries and sustains you as you develop other areas of your life. Talent, strength or hard work will only go so far without the underlying bedrock of character. 

Experience costs a lot. But it’s the only way to get better. Experience can also make us worse if we don’t use it properly. So turn your experiences into growth. 

Secrets are weakness. Secrets don't make us stronger they make us weaker. The cost of revealing secrets is worth it because the consequence of revealing a secret isn't worse than the weakness it's costing.

Some people talk about doing a lot of things. Others do a lot of things instead of talking. Actions always speak louder than words. Many times it's better to just show by doing rather than telling. 

I run into a lot more problems when I make everything about me. When I let things happen and realize that it’s not really about me, things get a whole lot easier. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the thoughts and feelings that everything is about us. But letting go of that and letting things happen without it being personal is so freeing. This isn’t saying to be aloof. It’s to say don’t take so much personally.

The saying says if you can believe it, you can achieve it. This is true. You rarely attain anything you don’t believe in. Belief comes first. So practice believing in yourself! You need people to believe in you but you have to believe in yourself too!

The closer you are to something the better you can see it, but you lose perspective. From far away you have perspective but can't see it clearly. A good and balanced view can merge those two views together. You want the details but still maintain the perspective. 

If you can explain it, you understand it and have learned it. Thats why communication skills are so important. They help us with our learning and also help others. 

Pick a crew that lifts you up. Chose your friends very very wisely. One of the most defining decisions you can make is who you are close to. 

We can do something once or twice but can we do it consistently? Many things that are worth attaining require consistency. Consistency will help us achieve our goals, dreams and ambitions. 

Rest is where we recharge. We have to know certain things that help us feel better. We can’t neglect those things for too long without there being a cost. As humans we need to recharge in order to stay balanced and fulfilled. 

Seasons come and go. What’s important is recognizing the season and acting accordingly. One action may be wrong in a given season but right in the next season. Recognize the season and what action is appropriate for the season. You can make the seasons work in your favor if you do this. 

Do quality work. You will absolutely stand out if you do quality work. Many are looking to get by doing as little as possible, those doing good quality work are the exception to the norm.

It’s an amazing thing, when you pour into others, you grow. We need to invest in ourselves and take care of ourselves. But when we pour into others we grow by leaps and bounds.  

Those who have mastered communication are the most powerful. Communication is a skill that can be learned and tuned and it's worth doing so.

Be brutally honest with yourself and about yourself.  Say sorry fast.  Don’t make assumptions.  Keep learning.  Give.  Love. 

Every time we reach another year it’s a time to reflect. Reflect on the past year and also what’s to come for the future year. Everytime we reach another year; we have so much more to be grateful for. 

Good memories are priceless. As you get older memories become more precious and important. Spending effort to create memories is more worth it the older you get. And the simpler it gets. The best memories are usually because of the people we were with as much as the things we did. So find good people and spend time with them making memories!

I know some peoples love language is gifts. But I think the best and most long lasting gift we can give people is our presence. A connection with someone will make more of a difference than our gift could. So let’s be present for other people, that’s the best present we could give them. 

It's so easy to get the important things wrong. Jobs, material goods, time wasters all can take place of the important things in life. The important things are really the simple things though. If we can keep the simple, important things our priority than we are feeding the more valuable things in life.