Category: Living Well

The View At The Top

Published on February 26, 2026

To understand 10,000 things… understand one really well.

There are 10,000 ways to the summit of a mountain… yet they all converge to one singular point.

Which path you choose to take isn’t as important as having chosen a path.

There will be challenges, adversities, confusion, problem solving, victories, scenic points, and more on each.

Each path will have at least 10,000 things to teach you.

If you always give up too soon, however, and climb back down, change your mind, or double back… You’ll never get past even the first 10 lessons of the mountain.

And you’ll end up repeating the same lessons at the beginning of each different path over and over and over again.

This isn’t to say you should never switch paths. Some paths will certainly be more wise and more aligned to take than others.

It’s simply to say, the path isn’t always “clearer” on the other side. At some point you have to fully commit. Give it a full send. Utilize the resources at your disposal in their entirety.

The view at the top is the view at the top is the view at the top.

Balancing On The Edge Of A Razor

Published on February 25, 2026

There’s an infinitely small sliver that’s smack in between past and future.

And it’s on the edge of that razor that one of life’s great paradoxes is found… eternity.

Because eternity isn’t really about time times infinity… it’s about bringing infinity into the span of a single moment of time—the vastness of it all, balanced on the smallest of lines.

See you never really touch the past—yet it expands infinitely behind us…

And you never really touch the future—yet it expands infinitely in front of us… both as vast as the universe itself.

…But here? Right on this tiniest of slivers that we stand on in-between these two infinitely expanding timelines?

This is where eternity lies. In the constantly renewing string of nows… again and again and again… the only place where infinitely expanding timelines don’t survive.

The trick is to keep balanced on the sliver. Because slipping into the depths of the past and falling forward into a bed of daydreams of the future is impossible to avoid altogether.

But those who can learn to balance on the sliver more often… get more.

More fully received experiences. More fully present moments. More tastes of eternity…

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.

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.

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.

The Only Shortcut

Published on February 10, 2026

The only shortcut to getting where you want to be (success) is learning from those who have traveled there.

That said, important tip #1: Pick wisely where you want to go. Not every mountain peak elicits the same reward for every traveler. It’s best to listen to no one at this step… except yourself. And to nurture curiosity (especially from childhood) and build a clear understanding of your aptitudes and ambitions while simultaneously unlearning everything you were told to do/want. The picking must come solely from you.

Important tip #2: Pick wisely what path to take. There are endless ways to the summit. Some significantly better than others. This is where research matters. Don’t just take the easy route. Don’t just follow the first path you see. Meticulously measure the pros and cons of each path, challenge the information sources, and fight to understand fully.

Important tip #3: Pick wisely who you’ll listen to. The person who has never climbed? The person who speculates from afar? The person who climbed a completely different mountain? Or the person who has hiked your mountain numerous times?

These kinds of mountain people aren’t the easiest to come by either. They only have so much energy to give to others: they’re climbing mountains for god’s sake! And what they have to give outside of their inner circle is sparse.

Which is why important tip #4 is: Pick wisely what you’ll offer. These people have already climbed the mountain so they probably won’t need your resources. What they’ll need is something else… something personable… something interesting or inspiring… some meaning or calling to do so… something only you can offer…

…Something to reflect on.

THIS Should Be Your Definition Of Success

Published on February 9, 2026

Paint a picture for me of what your ideal day looks like. I’ll start:

Wake up slowly; no alarm.
Scorching hot shower.
Foam rolling/ deep stretching/ mobility/ (p)rehab work.
Disguised exercise. Be it martial arts, sports, hike, dancing, or lifting.
Sauna/Steam room/rinse off finish.
Work that excites me.
Afternoon nap.
Scorching hot cup of black coffee.
Reflective/Creative; Writing/Reading; Inner Work time.
Meditation.
Work that excites me.
Evening spent slowly unwinding, chatting, dining, playing, and connecting with the ones I love.

You know what this now becomes?

…Your definition of success.

Not “getting six or seven figures into my bank account.”

No. Your ideal day becomes the definition that you can begin reverse engineering your way to.

It’s clear. It’s aligned. It’s priority focused.

…It’s what your life is composed of: days fulfilled or not.

And if you can successfully fill your days… how could you not have successfully filled your life?