The full collection of explorations.
What if I told you that today, you will be exposed to messages that were deliberately designed to destroy your inner peace…
Would you approach your day differently?
Would you guard your mind more intently?
Would you more carefully choose your company?
…Because here’s the thing: you will be.
Understand this: we are a vessel that carries either water or gas to and from each of our daily interactions—it’s rarely anything else.
With that in mind, our mission becomes quite clear.
We must take the time needed to fill ourselves up each day until we are overflowing with “water” rather than allowing our internal chemistry to unwillingly produce and start spewing “gas.”
Then, with every “fire” we cross, we have to let what comes from inside of us dilute the harsh flames rather than further enrage their fury.
After all, do we want to be contributors to even more uncontrollable chaos in the world? Or do we want to be the facilitators of fresh air?
And to my idealist friends out there: the key isn’t to let the number of fires in the world—or their size—intimidate you to inaction.
The most grandiose plan to extinguish all fires in the world pales in comparison to the fire that’s actually put out in your own backyard.
Today, as you embark on the path of your day—be water, my friend.
And focus on the actual flames that present themselves at each step along the way.
You can be plump in the middle of a crowd and still feel lonely.
Lonely doesn’t have to do with being around people.
It has to do with being around the right people.
How do you find the right people you ask?
When you stop turning left, of course.
No, seriously.
You find yourself in the wrong groups because you’re turning into them. If you’re not connecting with the people on your “left,” go “right.”
In other words, question the choices you’re making. Are the people around you making you feel seen, heard, and connected? Or the opposite? Likewise, do you feel like you can genuinely see, hear, and connect with those around you? Or not so much?
If the vibe is off then it’s time to honor new curiosities; learn new skills; join new clubs; try new challenges; volunteer with new organizations—it’s time to turn “right.”
And if you’re having a hard time figuring out what “right” might look like, then you need to spend more time with yourself.
Because if you aren’t connected with yourself (and your own aptitudes/interests/curiosities), how is anybody else supposed to be able to connect with you?
Step 1: Figure out who you are.
Step 2: Go where people like you go.
Step 3: Introduce yourself to those people.
Step 4: Make friends with those who introduce themselves back.
We don’t form connections over what’s perfect, we bond over what’s imperfect.
Remember this when your trials result in error, mistakes, and failure—those are connecting points, not disconnecting points.
Bad news SHOUTS.
Good news grows quietly.
Remember this when all of the news feels overwhelmingly bad.
It’s not that it’s all bad, it’s that your good is humbly growing while your bad is temper tantruming.
Don’t let the SHOUTING deter you from seeing the good in your life.
…of being average, unworthy, and boring.
Fear, channeled, has kept my tank off “E” and engine running STRONG for years.
Don’t suppress fear; use it.
Working on your weaknesses will make you average (at best).
Working on your strengths gives you the best chance at becoming above average—maybe even excellent.
Spend little to no time working on your strengths, however, and you’ll quickly become average (or below average) and struggle to contribute to the world in powerful ways.
The trick is to align strength-building with the largest block(s) of available time you can afford each day and double/triple down on developing them compared to your weaknesses.
Because remember: your weaknesses are somebody else’s strengths. Let them own that skillset.
You focus on owning yours.
That is how you become so good that you can’t be ignored.
And that is the best aim to have in today’s hyper-competitive, hyper-connected world.
Nobody is desperately seeking to add average to their team/company/lifestyles.