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Category: Thinking Clearly

Get Some Rest

Published on April 30, 2023

It’s amazing how seamless doom scrolling is for me when I’m tired.

I’m sitting here trying to catch up on work after a long weekend and it’s like… I can’t help but scratch every damn itch for distraction that peeps into my mind. It’s as if the self-discipline and focus has been drained right out of me. And auto-play videos? Forget it. It isn’t until the stupid things end that I realize they had my full and undivided attention the whole time they played. I was shook how long it took me to get out of that hole and finish the work I had at hand.

Don’t get it twisted: Being well rested is top tier productivity advice.

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

More Important Than Winning

Published on April 29, 2023

What’s more important than winning?

  • Honor (cheating to win isn’t a win).
  • Learning (winning and not learning isn’t a win).
  • Respect (rubbing a win in somebody’s face isn’t a win).
  • Grace (If a win doesn’t make you more grateful, more humble, more giving, more kind, more elegant etc.—it isn’t a win).
  • Connection (none of us wins alone—every win is a team effort in some way. Winning without a deepened connection to those who helped us win, isn’t a win).

I have seen many competitors get 1st place who definitely did not win.

And I have seen many competitors get last place who, in every respect, most certainly won.

Be careful how you define winning and success in life—it’ll end up defining your identity and journey in life.

Sacrifices In Work

Published on April 28, 2023

I had the privilege of seeing Isabel Wilkerson (the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer prize in journalism and Pulitzer prize winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns) speak at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY this past week.

At the end of her rousing speech, there was a live Q & A.

One answer she gave struck me in particular…

She was asked (paraphrased), “What sacrifices did you have to make in order to get this incredible body of work completed?”

Now, before I tell you her answer—some context:

  • It took her 15 years to write The Warmth of Other Suns (she joked that if her book was a child it would be in high school and dating by the time she finished).
  • She interviewed 1200+ people herself for the book (not a typo).
  • She somehow managed to boil down those 1200+ interviews into four stories that were featured in the narrative fiction that is The Warmth of Other Suns.

Okay, now that we’re on the same page, this was her answer (paraphrased):

“I feel like I didn’t make any sacrifices. I’m doing the work I was called here to do and that makes all of the time invested worth it.“

I suppose when you look at the creation of your work as analogous to birthing and raising a child (that makes it all the way to high school)—you really don’t see what you’re doing as a sacrifice. Your work takes on a life of its own that you bear the responsibility for raising.

…And maybe that’s an analogy we can start using in reference to our work as well.

Life Balance From A DJ

Published on April 22, 2023

When you watch a really great DJ play a live set, you see a beautiful balance worth emulating.

They’ll put their headphones on and focus intensely on the next track—keenly preparing for what’s to come and how to transition most brilliantly.

And then—and this is where most of us miss—when the transition is about to happen, they take their headphones off, grab the audience by the hand, and jump, pump, and JAM OUT as they celebrate the byproduct of their work.

Focus on preparing the whole time and you miss moments worth celebrating. Jump, pump, and jam the whole time and you won’t be DJing at all—you’ll be playing someone else’s track.

Get this balance right… of putting your life energy into your work and then celebrating key moments along the way… and you’ll unlock a level of life fulfillment that’s worth raving about.

P.s. I was on vacation this past weekend which is why I haven’t published my daily writings—but that doesn’t mean I didn’t write. This was my reflection from Saturday, April 22, 2023.

Language Dreams

Published on April 21, 2023

As I took my seat on a flight today, I couldn’t help but notice my neighbor using sign language over FaceTime. He was presumably speaking to a friend who was signing back over the tiny screen that was propped up in the back of his airplane seat.

I watched in wonder as the two of them fired back and forth hand manipulations and body gestures that contained the depth and precision of the entire Merriam-Webster dictionary.

A few hours later, long after the FaceTime call ended, I saw this gentlemen signing again. But, there wasn’t anyone around who had been signing with him the whole trip so I took a closer look and realized… he was dozing off. In the midst of falling asleep, he was signing… his dreams and/or thoughts.

I have no idea what they were, but boy did this light me up.

It reminded me of a time when I studied extra hard for an oral Spanish final and dreamed in Spanish the night it was over. It didn’t last very long, but it blew my mind the morning after.

We dream in the language we know. And not just that—we dream within the confines of the words (gestures) we know inside the language. If you want to dream more deeply, more vividly, more precisely—not just while you sleep, but while you’re awake—explore the depths of your language.

What Gets Measured…

Published on April 13, 2023
  • Don’t measure your weight; measure the weight of your self-love.
  • Don’t measure your influence; measure the care inside your actions.
  • Don’t measure your money; measure the wealth of life inside your days.

…Because what gets measured, gets managed. And what gets managed gets your time. And what gets your time… gets your life.

Sponging Experience

Published on April 10, 2023

Spend a little time thinking about—and writing about—what happened each day.

This one, small habit will help you absorb exponentially more life experience than only ever thinking about what’s going to (might) happen next.

…Because those who are only ever future focused do little to no absorbing at all.

Absorbing happens when you stop, look back at the mess you made (or what you cleaned) and move the sponge of your mind over it a few times so it’s cleaner/ clearer and more ready for—now—whatever’s coming next.

I can’t tell you how many experiences I’ve had that seemed clear in the moment, but were actually quite foggy and temporary until I spent a little time thinking—and writing—about them.

Sponges work best, not against some future mess, but in response to what’s already there.