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The full collection of explorations.

All It Takes Is An Apple Eaten Wrong

Published on May 6, 2025

All it takes is an apple eaten a little too quickly…

A little too mindlessly…

For it to become lodged in your throat…

With not enough room to pass liquid, but just enough room to pass a pinch of air…

…For you to remember how fragile life is.

It took 15 minutes of coughing, spitting, and throat contorting to finally pass that apple clog.

And in each passing moment of pain and fear, I became increasingly aware of the tightrope of life I was walking.

…The same one that I’m always walking, but somehow perceive more like a curb… or sidewalk… or highway even—the longer I’m removed from run-ins with death.

But, don’t get it twisted…

The path we walk is not any wider than the width of a rope.

And each step needs to be taken deliberately and mindfully…

Because if it’s not…

All it takes is one misstep or slip up—an apple eaten wrong—for it to all go away.

Unconditional Good And Right

Published on May 5, 2025

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people showing up to the gym motivated to workout?

…People who show up who aren’t.

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people who do creative work when they’re inspired and excited?

…People who do that kind of work when they’re not.

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people who share successes, victories, and highlights?

…People who share failures, struggles, and lowlights (in a non-nagging, constructive light).

Wanna know what’s more impressive than the significant other who does cute things on birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries?

…The significant other who does cute things when it’s not.

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people who do community service and act in kindness to fulfill a requirement at their school or work?

…People who do that when it’s not.

Want to impress yourself and others more?

Do more of the things you know are good and right.

…When there’s not a condition behind it of any kind.

What I Realized Is More Important Than These 1-Minute Messages…

Published on May 4, 2025

This past weekend was busy for me.

I travelled to Pittsburgh, PA, USA for a martial arts tournament which involved planning, packing, driving, dining, coaching, judging, coordinating, problem-solving, facilitating, calming, communicating, motivating, entertaining, and of course… sleeping.

See both Friday and Saturday night… by the time I got to my Airbnb after a day involving everything mentioned above… I was exhausted.

And in both cases, I thought about my daily writing practice… and how I still needed to get something published in order to keep my schedule.

And in both cases, after some quick and calm reflection (while I laid in the Airbnb bed)… I realized that in that moment—sleep was the higher priority.

…Which is worth mentioning because this is not something I have always prioritized this way.

In previous times, the daily writing piece was prioritized higher over sleeping… and I would push myself to stay up late… sacrifice precious (and limited) sleep time… and essentially borrow exponentially into tomorrow compared to what I was putting in… affecting my entire following day.

For some crazy reason… society considers sleep a very low priority… and I FELT it for a long time. I’m slowly starting to unlearn this idea and give myself more grace when it comes to being exhausted after a long day—even when that means a daily 1-minute article will be missed.

Because you know what?

Sleep IS the higher priority over 1-minute articles… and for most other things we backwardly choose to do in its place for that matter…

My question for you is… what thing(s) have you backwardly been prioritizing that you need to unlearn?

What Are Doing With Your Raw Potential?

Published on May 4, 2025

It’s hard to participate in a sensory-heightening experience (e.g. public presentation, competition, or something fear confrontational) and NOT grow from it.

In fact, the only way to engage in an experience like this and not grow is if you deliberately choose not to learn anything from the experience.

And the only way to do that is by closing your mind… burying your head in the sand (read: screens)… deciding not to care… blaming, blaming, blaming… or otherwise trashing the raw potential that is the byproduct of all sensory-heightening experiences.

…Because that’s exactly what you get out when you put yourself in those types of situations: raw potential.

And like any raw resource… it needs time, energy, and effort before it can be refined and utilized (for growth).

The more you invest in sensory-heightening experiences—the more of that raw potential resource you get. But, always remember—that’s just one part of the equation.

…Because the more you invest in the refinement of that raw potential resource (by replaying, reflecting, and extracting what’s most useful)… the more you’ll be able to actually do something with it.

You can have an entire mountain of marble…

It won’t be at all useful until it’s extracted, cut, and engineered into countertop, furniture, or building…

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week here.

Don’t Expect Linear In Life

Published on May 2, 2025

The slogan I’ve been using to brand MoveMe Quotes since 2010 has been, “Motivating you to keep moving forward—the only direction!”

The idea being that there’s always a way to learn, grow, and improve from any given life situation… all you need is the right mindset, perspective, and/or framework… which is what MMQ aims to provide…

Today, I uploaded a quote to MoveMe Quotes that read, “I finally found my rhythm when I realized that even the steps backwards were a part of the dance.”

And the more I live out my life, the more this latter idea of living life as a dance feels appropriate.

I think too many people try to live their life linearly… and go from one life milestone to the next with the expectation of it going smoothly, gracefully, and according to plan.

But, the plan that society brands into our mind is this misconception that linear is the way forward… or that forward should always be the only direction we should head… and maybe my slogan has contributed to that…

But, life is not linear. Life will never be without its fair share of obstacles, challenges, and setbacks. Life will never always be forward.

But… what we can always keep moving forward… is the dance of our life.

So long as we keep swaying our hips… stepping spontaneously to the beat of this life’s drum… and surrender to the rhythm and flow of our inner guidance…

How could we not always keep moving forward?

Handholds Will ALWAYS Be Needed

Published on May 1, 2025

Phil Stutz once said, “Your relationships are like handholds to let yourself get pulled back into life.”

And the thing about relationships, connection, and authentic human interaction… is that it can’t be replaced by automations, programming, or AI.

We humans will always need these handholds to keep us pulled back into life.

And if you can take a little initiative in your life to offer those around you some of those handholds… you will always be valued and cherished in your circle and our society.

Do You Do Enough Of This?

Published on April 29, 2025

All great relationships are built from great conversations.

All great conversations are built from great questions.

All great questions are built from a great curiosity and introspection.

Ask some of the people you know some great, open-ended questions.

Reinvest time, energy, and effort into the ones who have great thought-provoking answers and follow up with some of their own great questions.

This is the foundational strategy for building great (better) relationships in your life.