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Category: Living Well

Your Dream Opportunity Presents Itself… Are You Ready (Now)?

Published on December 16, 2025

This Thursday, there’s an opportunity for my martial arts students to perform at a local school in front of an auditorium of kids.

Thinking about who I want to have perform, I’ve been reflecting on: (1) Who has recently performed… (2) Who has a history of performing… and (3) Who has been noticeably practicing to perform…

In other words… an opportunity came knocking and the people I want to open the door to are the ones who have already been preparing for it…

Luck happens in life, as Seneca famously outlined, when preparation meets opportunity.

The problem for many of us in life, though, is that we’re too busy waiting to get picked by some great opportunity before we start preparing… when the ones who get picked are usually the ones who do the preparing way before the opportunity is even conceived.

Would You Choose To Fast Forward Through This?

Published on December 15, 2025

It oftentimes seems like many of us would.

In fact, when I look around, it seems like everybody is living in fast forward all of the time.

And for what?

To arrive where, exactly?

Back in bed? To doom scroll? For passive entertainment?

…Death?

Once the time passes, we don’t get it back.

Maybe we should try to live in “Play” or “Slow Motion” whenever possible so we don’t arrive at the end of our “Fast Forward” wishing we could press “Rewind.”

“What’s New?”

Published on December 11, 2025

“…Same old.”

It’s a question and response I hear at least once a day.

And today while at the doctor’s office to get bloodwork done, I heard somebody say, “Same old…” at least seven times in a row.

…It was as if he was trying to think of something not same old to say, but kept coming up short.

In a weekly meeting with one of my associates, we usually have a similar exchange—and I’m usually the one that says “Same old.” He always gives me a pretty thorough life update when I give him the knee jerk, “…You?”

It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately.

…What do I want to add to my days that’ll give it that remarkable spark?

What do I want to plan into next week? Next month? Next year? …That’ll give my tomorrow self that noteworthy change from the daily norm?

…And not because there’s anything wrong with “same old”—if you love your “same old,” then no harm, no foul.

But because without the question… without the reflection and experimentation… without the inner work prompt… we might never lean outside of our comfort zone enough to uncover or realize something new that’s absolutely worth remarking about.

Learning Journals

Published on December 10, 2025

“At his house, George [Raveling] has these big red binders filled with notes. He calls them his ‘learning journals.’ They’re his version of a commonplace book—a collection of ideas, quotes, observations, and information gathered over time. The purpose is to record and organize these gems for later use in your life and work. It’s a habit he’s kept since 1972. To this day, he told me, ‘I go back and just read through them. I’ll just get one of the binders and I’ll sit down at the kitchen table and start reading through it. Sometimes I come across stuff that is more applicable today than it was when I wrote it in there.’”

Ryan Holiday

Known as the “Godfather” in college basketball, George Raveling became the first African American basketball coach in what’s now the Pac-12, had a Hall of Fame career, and played an instrumental role in bringing Michael Jordan over to Nike—who he coached in the ’84 Olympics and knew well for decades.

…And what I love about the above quote is that it’s a breadcrumb.

Successful people might claim to have “blueprints” that’ll lead you to a duplicatable success, but what I’ve found is that it’s less about perfect schematics and more about clues.

…And it’s up to us to solve the mystery in the way that’s specifically aligned with our background, circumstances, talents, aptitudes, and aspirations.

Going back and reading through collections of insightful ideas, quotes, observations, etc… is an excellent breadcrumb to consider. One that countless successful people have left behind. One that guides me every day—just instead of being in red binders, it’s all published online for all to see.

“Let Us Play Is As Good As Let Us Pray”

Published on December 8, 2025

“Let us ask the gods not for possessions, but for things to do; happiness is in making things rather than in consuming them. In Utopia, said Thoreau, each would build his own home; and then song would come back to the heart of man, as it comes to the bird when it builds its nest. If we cannot build our homes, we can at least walk and throw and run; and we should never be so old as merely to watch games instead of playing them. Let us play is as good as Let us pray, and the results are more assured.”

Will Durant, Fallen Leaves

“…Happiness is in making things rather than in consuming them.”

Test this theory for yourself.

Upon reflection, do you find more joy in the content you created or in the content you consumed? Do you think you were happier when you were learning skills or when you were watching other people flex their skills? Are you more proud of the things you’ve built or the things you’ve purchased from others that they’ve built?

When I think about this blog, MoveMe Quotes, my martial arts career… It’s clear to me where I stand.

Your Mind Likes To Think It Knows

Published on December 7, 2025

If you don’t spend enough time in the quiet of your mind… you won’t hear the whispers of your soul.

…And your soul is the only part of you that knows what’s really going to lead to fulfillment.

Your mind likes to think it knows what’s going to lead it there, but your mind is also heavy into comparisonism, social hierarchies, and other people’s opinions.

Your soul…? Couldn’t care less.

And once you get to that kind of space… how could you be lead astray?

Scatterbrained and Mismatched

Published on December 5, 2025

It seems to me like sitting and just being with one singular person or task or thought is becoming increasingly difficult for the modern person.

And it’s because we’re increasingly normalizing “multi-tasking,” distracted presence, and boundary-less access.

If we want to feel more fulfilled, we need to do better at filling our moments with undivided attention, energy, and effort. It’s the split attention, energy, and effort that always leaves us feeling unfulfilled, isn’t it?

Think about the days when you’re brushing your teeth while putting clothes on, checking emails at red lights, scrolling through socials while in work meetings, taking business calls while chauffeuring the kids, watching the restaurant TVs while eating out with family…

It’s all so scatterbrained and mismatched!

Of course we feel unfulfilled at the end of our days.

What we need to do is try to normalize the opposite:

  • Just brushing our teeth and nothing else.
  • Just getting dressed and nothing else.
  • Just driving our car and nothing else.
  • Just checking emails and nothing else.
  • Just having business meetings and nothing else.
  • Just chauffeuring the kids and nothing else.
  • Just eating dinner with the fam and nothing else.
  • Just having a conversation and nothing else.
  • Just making a phone call and nothing else.
  • Just making love and nothing else.
  • Just sending a text and nothing else.
  • Just exercising and nothing else.
  • Just reading and nothing else.
  • Just sitting in cue lines and nothing else.
  • Just walking and nothing else.
  • Just being and nothing else.

It’s unbelievable how simple it all is.

…And yet, it’s one of the hardest things for the modern person to do.