Skip to content

Month: April 2025

On Being Surrounded By Great Oaks vs Buried Seeds

Published on April 23, 2025

Most people are so busy with their own lives that they have no time to imagine the immense potential in others.

And so they simply live their busy life and wait for others to realize their own potential before they notice, hire, invest in, honor, or reward.

And sure, nobody should be more concerned with realizing another’s potential than their own.

But…

And this is a big but…

If you can zoom out from the busy madness of your own life and… notice, hire, invest in, honor, and reward the untapped, unrealized, unharnessed potential in those around you…?

…Not only will you create a sunlight on the buried seed of a plant effect—

…But you’ll start to see the quality and strength of the plants—people—increase around you.

Why? …Because plants (and people) grow only with and towards the sunlight.

…Having a hard time seeing the seeds around you? Of course you are—they’re buried.

Do what the sun does and shine down indiscriminately.

Double down on the ones that respond and peak through.

…Soon you’ll be surrounded by great oaks instead of buried seeds.

What’s Interesting About Every New Relationship…

Published on April 23, 2025

What’s interesting about every new relationship is that with each one, you get to look closely again at who you want to be.

It’s as though you get to look into this person’s eyes as they look back at you and paint each stroke of your character and color in your personality as they fill the blank slate that is you…

It’s as though you get to decide if you want to start telling yourself a new story… about who you are and how things have come to be… whether or not you want to invest in new ideas… fresh thought processes… in shadow work that’ll allow you to more calmly be…

It’s as though you get to more prominently feature a more evolved version of you… a more brave version… a more loving version… the version that maybe wasn’t ready or far enough down the path to count as a whole number upgrade… because maybe you were closer to a 1.1 version than a 2.0.

…What’s interesting about every new relationship?

It’s that with each one you get to meet a new—hopefully upgraded and better—version of you.

Don’t Let “Supposed To” Rob You Of Serendipity

Published on April 22, 2025

I’m learning to be more fluid… more flexible in my approach… more comfortable in the present… even when it overlaps with something I was “supposed” to do.

Because what I’m learning is that what I’m “supposed” to do—at least from an evolved perspective—is be where I am… in whatever form and shape that takes… as fluidly and as comfortably as possible.

Which is why it’s so important to be intentional and deliberate with planning and premeditating. It’s the person who isn’t aligned… isn’t where they’re supposed to be or doing what they’re supposed to be doing… who tightens up… becomes rigid… and crashes, bangs, and ricochets from one task, off the next, and into the one after that.

They aren’t able to be present because they’re never allowing themselves to be where they are. And the way that happens is by not figuring out where that is ahead of time. Which is one fault.

But a second fault, that’s just as important to consider, and is maybe more to my point, is they haven’t done enough reflection or inner work to recognize when moments of serendipity should supersede “supposed to” moments.

…Because there are definitely some moments that are made easier when they’re planned, deliberate, and thought of ahead of time… but there are also unexpected, surprising, serendipitous moments that come up throughout our day that deserve our undivided attention and full presence.

…Today’s message is just that: don’t let your “supposed to” tasks rob you of serendipity—which should always be experienced undivided and in full.

Human Touch

Published on April 21, 2025

This coffee shop I’m sitting in—

…the one with the crooked neon signs, big bold sharpie-drawn posters taped to the front windows, and thrifted furniture where no two pieces are the same

…the one with Santa on the cabinet in April, that displays Amy’s soup cans for sale right across from the Pope Francis action figures, and has the dying indoor plant next to the thriving bamboo growing out of an elephant’s back

…the one with the over-baked cookies, where the smell of crushed coffee beans lingers next to the hipster Spotify tunes, and instagram QR codes are posted throughout so even when we leave their art isn’t something we just forget

—the one that reeks of human touch…

Is something I’m not so sure us humans will ever be able to program into 1s and 0s and artificially recreate.

In a world that threatens to replace humans like cogs in a machine… be so much more than 1s and 0s.

Have you heard the good news?

Published on April 18, 2025

…Probably not.

Good news doesn’t sell.

Good news isn’t algorithm friendly.

Good news doesn’t bleed so it doesn’t lead.

…But here’s something to consider:

You get to choose your news sources.

You get to train your algorithms.

You get to unfollow, block, mute, and click on and turn up what you want more of in your life.

…Today’s defaults won’t serve you.

…Going with the societal flow is mostly going backwards.

…Taking no responsibility for what comes in through your senses is senselessly ruining your perspective of life.

Have you heard the good news?

If you haven’t in a while… it might be time to take a closer look at what you’re letting in.

P.s. This post was inspired by this picture.

Dots

Published on April 17, 2025

One of the benefits of daily reflection is you can more quickly identify slumps… plateaus… ruts.

The daily space created for inward looking allows you to more easily notice repeated patterns, downward trends, boring and monotonous ways of living.

…And you can more quickly act on this information and shake things up. You can change a routine, take a different approach, book a trip somewhere different, go and see a show or performance, set up a conversation with someone you haven’t chatted with before or in a long time, and so on.

When you’re fully immersed in the ceaseless urgent… it’s hard to notice any kind of trend. Trends are only noticed when you zoom out… when you can widen your vision from being focused only on one dot at a time to finally being able to see two… three… five… ten dots—only then can you see how they relate to one another.

Don’t get lost or lose your way looking only at one dot at a time.

…Make space to see how all the dots relate.

You May Not Know This But…

Published on April 16, 2025

Bring to mind somebody who helped you but you never formally thanked.

…Somebody who maybe inspired you indirectly via their presence or example they set.

…Somebody who might’ve casually said something that deeply resonated with you and had a big rippling effect on your life.

…Somebody who you follow online who you’ve never officially met who created (or creates) content that regularly impacts and improves your life.

And then… open up a blank email, text, or piece of paper and complete the following sentence: “You may not know this, but you really helped me by…”

Only take as long as you have available to you right now to complete this—whether that’s 1-minute or 10 minutes or longer. But, don’t wait to do this until later.

Once you’re done, send it to that person.

Unprompted. Imperfect. With no expectations of return.