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Month: February 2026

Stop Thinking Yourself Into Limitations

Published on February 21, 2026

I looked into one of my instructor’s martial arts classes the other day during a jumping jack set and I saw:

  • An 85-year-old holocaust survivor two-stepping and arm raising as close to a jumping jack as she could.
  • A walker-bound stroke survivor, arched heavily as she stood, releasing her arms intermittently a few inches above her arm supports to mirror along.
  • A middle aged dad sitting in the lobby doing mental jumping jacks after having 1/3 of his colon removed via emergency surgery just a week earlier—there for the community, contribution, and vibes.

…What I didn’t notice as much were the twenty or so others doing picturesque jumping jacks, in rhythm, without so much as a squint.

Which is merely to say: never forget that, like a tree, your ability to inspire branches outward exponentially the deeper the roots of your troubles and adversities dig down.

People tell me all of the time how they’re “too old” or “too out of shape” or “too busy” to do martial arts classes.

When really, the only thing making them old, out of shape, and busy… is their mindset.

The Tree Method vs The Flowers Method

Published on February 19, 2026

Two ways to make change: (1) The Tree Method and (2) The Flowers Method.

The tree method is singularly focused. It demands most of your time, energy, and attention. It’s here to grow and here to stay long-term.

The flowers method is diverse in focus. It’s being generous with your time, energy, and attention. It’s planted relatively quickly and lasts maybe a season or two.

The tree method is parenting. The flowers method is teaching.

The tree method is marrying. The flowers method is dating.

The tree method is career building. The flowers method is side-hustling/ flipping.

And so on.

Nether is better than the other. It’ll always be a matter of perspective. But it’s useful to understand which you’re doing so you don’t try to grow a flower into a tree and don’t try to grow trees in your garden.

If you have kids, raise them into the strongest damn trees you can and focus less on the flowers.

If you’re married, invest more into the relationship than the total of what you invest outside of it.

If you’re employed, become a tree the organization can depend on instead of an unsure / hesitant plant.

And on the flip side, if you don’t have kids, give the energy you would normally invest into a family, into all of the flowers in your life.

If you’re not married, spread love to all of those who need it… be like the sun… unconditionally warm and bright.

If you’re not employed, explore! Build, create, experiment, and make sure you’re planting plenty of seeds of opportunity along the way.

…At least until one of the seeds turns out to be a tree instead.

For A Lighter, Further, Freer Life

Published on February 18, 2026

Traveling with a bunch of luggage is taxing.

Living with a bunch of baggage is taxing.

Creation… it seems to me…

Is a process through which the items in your metaphorical bags are unpacked… alchemized into some expressive medium… and left there once finished.

As writing an idea frees your mind from holding it any longer… creating frees your metaphorical bags from having to carry them any longer.

…For lighter, further, freer life travel.

Quality Of Life

Published on February 17, 2026

Learn to appreciate what’s well made.

Art, music, a meal…

Buried inside quality is spirit. And to appreciate quality is to appreciate another’s spirit.

And what is it that does the appreciating exactly? …That’s right: your spirit.

Appreciating is as good for our spirit as it is for others’. We cannot pour love from a cup that doesn’t already contain love. And appreciating is a means that both gives and generates love.

…It’s a process that ameliorates the quality of life for all involved.

Equally important: avoid what’s spiritless—both from others and in what you choose to make.

Life is too short. The benefits of doing the opposite are too large.

And after all… what could possibly prove to be more important than the nourishment and growth of our and others’ spirit?

…Spirit, I think you’ll realize, is the very essence of it all.

One Of The Most Powerful Tools During Nefarious Times

Published on February 16, 2026

I’m currently half-way through All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

It’s a literary fiction about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

The chapters are short—between 2-4(ish) pages each and the author alternates between the two perspectives per chapter. This way, the reader gets to live and experience each life for him/herself.

We get to experience the horror of living during a time of invasion, occupation, and death—from both the side of the occupied and occupiers. And how each gets into the positions they do… what they’re lead to believe… and how morals and values gray during nefarious times.

…And I say “get to” with intention.

Because it’s a privilege to be able to step into the life of another and experience the brutal harshness of their experience from the warmth and comfort of our couch or bed.

And it is through this privileged opportunity that we are able to develop one of our most powerful tools for combating the nefarious forces of any time: empathy.

See sympathy is widespread and mostly useless… it’s feeling bad for others and returning to the good of life.

Empathy, however, is understanding and doing… it’s having lived the bad (actually or fictionally), imagining what you wished others would do, and becoming that person for them.

And when I look on Goodreads and see 1,989,000 ratings… I feel hope. Hope that there are empathetic people out there. People who know what it’s like and what’s worth their fight.

Because fight is what we need more of our empaths to do.

Modern Day Flexes

Published on February 15, 2026

Reads books.

Does inner work.

Exercises regularly.

Walks and sits with excellent posture.

Rarely eats fast food or uses the microwave.

Eats entire meals without checking phone.

Waits patiently, in line or traffic or elsewhere, without checking phone.

Can facilitate and navigate great conversations without checking phone.

Can disagree and hold a dialog with a person without attacking the person.

Speaks to others with steady eye contact.

Can dance wholeheartedly without any care of judgments.

Compliments more than complains; offers optimism more than pessimism; leads with love more than hate—both in-person and online.

Lives below their means—happily. Regardless of salary size.

Falls asleep quickly. Even after stressful and emotional days.

What Comes First… Belief Or Behavior?

Published on February 15, 2026

I’ve been trying to get my buddy to play basketball with a group of friends and I for over a year now.

Every time it’s always the same thing: working or no response.

When I saw him today, I was joking that I was tapped out trying and I was gonna tag our other friend in to do the convincing.

He laughed and essentially said, “It’s not happening.”

When I asked him if he’s got anything else going on in his downtime, he essentially said, “…Besides work? …Chill. I work, I chill at home, I work again.”

Here’s the thing: this dude used to love playing basketball. He played for his school. We always used to play pickup at gatherings. He was damn good. And he’s like 15 years younger than me!

What I think happened is at some point along the way, he turned me down one too many times and it became an identity belief.

In other words, he behaved himself into a belief. And beliefs dictate future behavior.

It’s a catch-22 worth contemplating.

Want to lead your life with a different belief or set of beliefs? Start behaving as though the belief is already ingrained. With patience and perseverance… soon enough, it will be.

Want to behave differently? Start believing as though you’re already the kind of person who behaves that way. With patience and perseverance… soon enough, it will be so.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Which comes first, the belief or the behavior?

The answer: it doesn’t matter. So long as one of them comes first and begins the cycle of reproduction.