My Riffs

Give credit to where it's due. Deflect praise but accept constructive criticism. That's a healthy formula to keep your ego in check.

Count your blessings. We want to dwell on what’s missing but we need to count our blessings. It takes our focus from what’s what we don’t have to what we do have. And chances are we have enough. 

Prevailing winds will shape the way a tree leans. It will shape the way the branches reach. Your mind is the prevailing wind of your life. You’ll lean the way of your most pervasive thoughts. Adjust your course by adjusting your thoughts. 

Find good friends. You’ll become the people you hang around. So intentionally find friends of good character who challenge you. Find friends who tell the truth no matter what but do it in kindness. Find friends who are amazing and you’ll be amazing. 

How easy can you laugh? How easy can you laugh at yourself? The closer you are to laughter the closer you are to a light heart. A heavy heart weighs us down but a light heart is like wings. 

Stay true to your values. Values are something that defines how we live. What are the traits and behaviours we want to take after? These things are our values. When we compromise our values we do more damage than having ignored the values altogether. Compromising values is damaging to our person. But living out our values makes us into the best person we can be. 

Planning and preparation should always include things going wrong. When do plans go exactly as expected? Rarely. So plan for the unexpected. 

Easter Sunday, a reminder that it’s not too late for another chance. That tomorrow can be different. That you can start again. That everything can be okay again. Trust and follow. 

Being present is harder than ever before in history. So much is trying to grab our short attention spans. Our brains are so rarely focused on the present task for any significant length of time. It’s gonna take training and intentionality to remove distractions and to become ever more present. But it’s possible. Be present with the ones you love. Be present with the things you love doing. Push aside the distractions. Because you only have now. 

If you had today you had what you need. Did you use it wisely? Or did you let it slip away? Did you spend it on negativity or jealously? Don’t let tomorrow slip away. 

 If you appreciate someone or something they’ve done, tell them! Don’t wait until it’s too late. Encourage their good works. 

Speak clearly. Live transparently. Love fully. 

Are you driven? What drives you to do the things you do? Are you driven by discipline and goals or driven by other things like bad habits or even ego? Ask yourself why you do the things you do and you'll quickly find out what drives you. Good drivers will take you good places. Bad drivers will do the opposite. 

Your life will become a product of your habits. Have very few and sloppy habits? That's what your life will resemble. What if you have disciplined and healthy habits? Your life will produce things of discipline and health. Bad habits will produce bad results, good habits will produce healthy results. Take stock of all your habits. List them. You will quickly see a picture of where you're heading.

Real truth may confront, but it will always love. Truth that's used as a weapon is simply meanness. We can speak truth but it has to be wrapped in love.

You gotta jump in. Standing on the sidelines has to end at some point. Learning really starts once you jump in and do. So jump in and give it a try. If you get it wrong, fix it and try again. But jump in, the sidelines have little to teach. Do and learn. 

Making the right choice is the important thing. It may not be the easiest choice or the most expedient one. But the right choice leads to the best possible outcome. Even if the outcome isn’t what you hoped for, it’s still the best possible outcome because you made the right choice. 

Life is always revolving through seasons. But we have to learn to read the season. Sometimes it’s time to plant and sometimes it’s time to sow. We have to use wisdom to determine the season and appropriate action for the season. 

Love more. That means care for other more. The rewards are many when you pour into others. It's the only way to truly live. Holding in your love shrinks your world until it suffocates you. Love big and expand your world.

It’s impossible to get what we want without hard work. If you’re not willing to put in the work, don’t hope for the results. Work hard and then hope for results. Skipping the work means not getting the results. Want something? Work for it. Don’t wait or expect things to fall into your hands. 

Your time if your most valuable resource. But it's your attention that matters. You can spend time in place, but what has your attention? Your attention is really the place you spend your time. You truly pay for attention. Paying attention has the highest cost. So spend your attention ever so wisely on things that are worth it. There's a very long list of things that aren't worth spending your attention on. It's a smaller list that's worth the spend. Don't give away your attention easily, spend it on things of value.

Sometimes it’s as simple as just asking. How many things have we left on the table simply because we don’t ask? You’ll never know unless you ask. Use your voice, ask, negotiate. You may end up getting what you want or need. 

Be your best. Not their best. Be your best. Your best looks different from others. Level up to your best. Others can help challenge you to be your best, but make sure it’s you best, not what they want for them. 

Are you patient? Are you kind? Are you gentle? Can you endure good and bad? Can you continue to hope? Are you jealous?  These are good measurements of love. 

The internet has ushered in fake like nothing before. You must learn to discern and vet information. You have to question and validate things for yourself. Taking things at face value may lead you astray. So learn to question what you see and read. You can find opinions in everything contradict each other. Do deep research and learn to find the truth.