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The full collection of explorations.

Success The World *Actually* Needs

The world is saturated with people who want to be successful.

But what the world needs isn’t more people who are successful via traditional metrics (e.g. money, fame, power).

What the world needs is more people who are successful via novel and highly personal metrics.

The world doesn’t need more people maximizing their bottom lines at the expense of the environment. What we need are more people who can minimize their carbon footprint, reduce their use of plastics, and align their purchasing behavior with a life mission that’s also aligned with our most important home.

The world doesn’t need more people obsessing over likes and numbers of views on social media. What we need are more people who are obsessed with liking themselves and minimizing the number of people they compare themselves to—both on and offline.

The world doesn’t need more generally educated, non-specific college grads. What we need are more people who have come alive and are ignited with a curiosity that makes them want to learn, grow, and improve each day in spite of mistakes, failures, and hardships along the way.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with traditional metrics of success per se.

…It’s just that there’s something way more right with personally defined, soul-aligned metrics instead.


Inner Work Prompt: What’s your personally defined, soul-aligned definition of success?

The Magic Of Slow

One trick that’s been helping me get things done more smoothly… is doing them more slowly.

…Which might sound counter culture (busy and fast is the modern day way) and might feel like it goes against your inclinations—and that’s because it probably does… and it is.

Hear me out…

When it’s time to get up out of bed… rather than try to jump up and quickly get on to the first task of the day… I rise calmly.

When it’s time to get my workout sets in… rather than try and finish each rep as quickly as possible… I try to bring in the fire more slowly.

When I have to get three things done all at once… rather than try and get all three done at the same time… I’ll focus more carefully on the most important one of the three only.

I’ve been surprised at how effective this mindset shift has been for me and I think you might be, too.

It works because it gets you started. It works because it prevents you from making rash mistakes (and having to fix or redo). It works because it keeps you more focused… more joyful and in an overall better state to perform… more absorbed in the now.

…Which is where all the magic for getting things done ever resided anyway.


P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Handlebars [Poem]

You let go of your handlebars
As if to relinquish control
back to the universe

You stretched your arms
Straightened your spine
Softened your shoulders
And let your body free

Your arms waved in rhythm
Your head rocked side to side
Your face relaxed completely
And nothing else mattered

Not the pain of peddling
Not the hundreds of eyes
Not the torturous sight of inclines
…None of what filled my mind

And you—in but a snapshot moment
Took on a higher form
Embodied a radiance via surrender
That the grind in me couldn’t understand

Until I tried it—until I surrendered
And remembered what it was like—
Yes, remembered once again
How to actually live in the here.


P.s. You can read my other poems here.

On Luxury

I think about the debt I’ve avoided…

I think about the tens of thousands of dollars I’ve saved…

I think about the people I’ve repelled and the ones I’ve attracted…

I think about the time I’ve saved, the space I’ve created, and the contentment I’ve cultivated…

And I think about how one of the best decisions I ever made was that I didn’t need luxury in order to live my best life.


P.s. I also published: A Motivational Excerpt From Tom Brady’s Hall Of Fame Speech—”You Don’t Have To Be Special…”

Inner Work Based On Weather

Landscaping today, I got to thinking about how certain tasks are easier after it has been dry for a few days (e.g. mowing the lawn) and how others are easier after it has been wet (e.g. digging).

It would be counterproductive to try and mow on wet days and dig on dry ones.

It would be much better to align the tasks you’re trying to do with the weather you’re in.

…As it is with inner work.

When things are happy… when you’re immersed in an adventure… when you’re enjoying quality time with friends or family… maybe that isn’t the best time to dig. Maybe that’s the time to let the branches of your happiness stretch as high as your presence will allow.

When things are sad… when you’re heavy in your feels… when you’re grieving the loss of a loved one… maybe that isn’t the best time to try and stretch your happiness (by suppressing those heavier emotions)… maybe that’s the time to let the roots of your sadness dig as deep into your feels as your presence will allow.

Digging when you’re happy and stretching your branches when you’re sad are possible… just like mowing the lawn when it’s wet and digging when it’s dry is possible… but, aligning with the weather and season you’re in might make for a much more productive use of time.


Inner work prompt: What season are you in? How can you align your present efforts to maximize that current experience?

Who Is A Strong Person?

Last week, my martial arts students and I reflected on the question, Who is a rich person?

This week, we reflected on, “Who is a strong person?”

And the question I asked to help them gather their ideas was, “Who is one of the strongest people you know in your life?” And “Why?”

…And not a single person mentioned someone because of their sheer physical strength.

Each person mentioned somebody because of their emotional and/or mental strength.

They mentioned people who showed resilience, grit, patience, kindness, and courage in the face of adversity and unfairness in life… Parents who brilliantly juggled family, career, health, and more in spite of incredible challenges… People who were diagnosed with life threatening illnesses yet maintained a constructive outlook and found ways to carry through.

While physical strength is certainly impressive, the takeaway for me is that it’s built mostly for the individual… whereas emotional and/or mental strength is a strength that benefits every single person that individual interacts with.

I’m sure you have crossed paths with a muscle-head who was an absolute a-hole… who was, yes, utilizing a type of emotion and/or mental strength to develop their physical strength—but it was for the sole purpose of vanity… it was for themselves.

Whereas the people who develop their mental strength—by building discipline, courage, focus, respect, etc… or the people who develop their emotional strength—by practicing mindfulness, patience, openness, and do inner work… become sources of strength for us all.


P.s. One of the strongest people I ever knew was my great grandmother. Here’s why.

Order Matters

I can get into a flow state for writing much quicker when I follow my normal routine of inspirational primers (uploading quotes from various sources to MMQ) → nap → coffee → write.

It’s much harder to get into a flow state for writing when I do something more like I did today which was inspirational primers → nap → coffee → look up flights → search for cool EDM concerts → playfully imagine fun vay-and-day-cation itineraries → write.

Those added variables of flight, concert, and trip planning would have been MUCH better inserted at the end of the writing session. Because it doesn’t take any priming, focus, or discipline to playfully do trip planning. It’s fun and automatic.

Writing, however, requires each of the above in sacred measure, proper order, and more.

Otherwise, at least for me, my Muse feels betrayed… overlooked… ignored… and will require copious amounts priming, attention, and discipline (aka blank page staring), due in full, to make up for it.

Order matters.


P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.