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Month: October 2025

Using Inconvenience As A Guide

Published on October 13, 2025

Remember that when it’s inconvenient to do something… it may be in that exact situation that you prove another thing’s (or person’s) priority.

…Is it inconvenient to go out of your way to do an errand for someone else? Does it also prove that person’s priority?

…Is it inconvenient to cook a full meal vs microwave something frozen? Does it also prove your health’s priority?

…Is it inconvenient to wake up early before your dependents so you can have some “You Time”? Does it also prove how you prioritize self-care?

We are wired to take the path of least resistance. But sometimes, the long-term path that results in the least overall resistance is the higher resistance path now.

Waking Up Blanketed In Legacy

Published on October 12, 2025

I visited a friend this past weekend who has Alzheimers.

It was a bit of a shock to show up, announce his name, and give him a hug only for him to stare blankly back at me and ask me who I was.

…Granted, we’ve only spent three Burning Mans together as a part of the same, larger camp, which maybe amounts to 15-25 interactions buried inside a rich and long-lived life… but still… we have some rock-star memories together.

And this was coming from a once very sharp guy.

…He was an educator.

…He was a pilot.

…He built his own home from the ground up.

…He was incredibly well read.

…He had remarkable taste and skill in the arts.

And so when he asked me who I was… or when he couldn’t remember the word for “wood”… or when he asked what “cantaloupe” was—as he finished eating it off his bagel (yes, you read that right)… it was heartbreaking.

And yet…

…As I looked around his home—the one he built from the ground up—and felt the warmth that radiated not only from the loving visitors that shared his space for the weekend—but from the decades of love that was proudly featured in every available space, that was crafted under each step and met with each touch, that was baked into every possession and crevice and quirky detail…

…It made me feel better.

…Knowing that when he forgets—at least he’s blanketed with evidence of a love and legacy many of us would kill to have lived and remembered even just once.

Add “Letting Go” Time To Your Day(s)

Published on October 10, 2025

When I meditate, I tend to remember or think of things I don’t want to forget.

…It’s one of the beautiful things about meditation—it settles the mind and gives you a chance to fully process and bring to light the things that have been buried under the mudded-ness.

But, trying to remember things during meditation is counterproductive to the meditation—the point being to let go… not hold on.

And so when this happens, I write down a word or two that’ll trigger the thought/memory later—using old fashioned pen and paper—and get back to the letting go.

It’s important to use a non-stimulating medium when transferring these thoughts from your mind so as to not trigger any new, mind-mudding thoughts.

Opening your phone, seeing new notifications, reading messages, taking a peek at the pings—all while trying to record a thought on the Notes App not only flings you back to square one… but might even catapult you back further than you were—from a mind-mudding perspective—when you started.

Keep it simple.

Cushion. Butt in cushion. Pen and paper close by. Phone on silent and face down. Eyes closed.

Then, simply breathe… notice your thoughts… let them go… write down what you want to hold onto… get back to the letting go… and repeat for as long as your schedule allows.

I promise… doing this inside your day will make most any day—better.

“If They’re Half Ready… They’re Ready.”

Published on October 9, 2025

Over the past year and a half, a martial arts friend of mine went from one martial arts school… to four.

And it all started when he was challenged to open a second location at a mastermind meeting. When asked why he hadn’t done so already, I remember him questioning—amongst other things—whether or not his people were ready to take on that responsibility.

And one of the responses from the people in the group was… are they half ready?

To which he replied with… “Half ready?”

To which their reply was… “Yes. Half ready.”

To which he paused and waited blank faced for their more complete explanation…

The mentality offered was that you can only prepare yourself up to a certain point to do a thing without actually doing the thing—possibly only into the ballpark of around 50%.

The other 50%? …Comes from experiential learning that can only ever come as you’re doing it.

…And running into unforeseen problems, handling unexpected requests, managing variables you didn’t even see coming… and trying, failing, learning, growing, regressing, building, falling, standing, crying, laughing, mistaking, succeeding, stumbling, stepping, slipping, gripping—clawing—your way forward one day at a time.

Yeah… that’s where the other 50% can only ever come from.

Remember this when you’re questioning whether or not your ready to do that next big thing.

Ask yourself: …Am I half ready?

“There’s No Success Without Succession”

Published on October 9, 2025

If the martial artists who founded the styles I practice kept everything they learned to themselves… and the art died with them… even if they were incredibly successful as individuals… would this be a success?

If the experts who have innovated, built, and molded the world into what it eventually became… instead decided to innovate, build, and mold only their own property and personal world… and all of their knowledge, wisdom, and insight died with them… would this be a success?

If the greatest artists who have ever lived, across every domain, never shared their art, creations, or techniques with a broader audience… and instead only hung the fruits of their labor within the walls of their own homes… and it all died with them… would this be a success?

…My thought is that there’s no shame in living a private life. But it’s also hard to imagine success without contribution and/or a carried on legacy.

Most of the success metrics people chase in our modern world do nothing for succession—and only but tickle our egos. But, if we can change that and focus on real contribution… and on teaching people how to fish rather than just on how we can leave them bigger and bigger piles of fish after we’re gone… maybe our daily efforts won’t leave behind that sometimes questionable/ fishy smell.

“Me-First Sundays”

Published on October 7, 2025

An excerpt from something I read today:

“I realized that I have been living for the emotional scraps of approval—not from strangers, but from my husband. He loves slow, lazy Sundays; I love Sundays that feed me—meditation, a run, reading, a workshop. To keep the peace, I’ve been bending toward his rhythm: cramming ‘me’ into Saturday and then drifting through Sunday beside him. The cost has been a low-grade guilt and the quiet ache of self-abandonment; I end too many weekends disappointed in myself. So I’m recalibrating. I’m not asking him to change; I’m choosing to keep one promise to myself before I keep any to anyone else. ‘Me-First Sundays’ start now: 7–11 AM are mine—long meditation, a run, a chapter, and one learning block—then shared downtime together. I want my weekends to end with pride, not apology. I choose aliveness over approval.”

One more time for the people who skimmed: “I’m not asking him to change; I’m choosing to keep one promise to myself before I keep any to anyone else.”

Because keeping promises to others at the expense of keeping promises to yourself leads to “cramming”, “low-grade guilt”, feelings of “self-abandonment”, “disappointment”—and those are just the writer’s words…

…Think about what it leads to for you.

Grow Into A Shark

Published on October 6, 2025

What comes first: the value you bring to the job… or the raise?

Some people wait for the raise before they start to improve their productivity, solve more challenging problems, take more initiative, and overall add more value to their place of work.

…But what the people at the highest career levels know is that growing into a shark is a much better strategy than waiting like a goldfish for someone to put you into a slightly bigger tank.