At this time last year I would have been running in many layers of clothes. A cold morning like this and I would have had on a light pair of long underwear, a pair of wind pants, a light jacket, and probably a sweatshirt. If it was cooler than 40 degrees (f) I would definitely not wear shorts.

Fast forward to today. This morning by the end of the run I was wearing only a pair of shorts, a hat, my gloves, and socks and shoes. That was it! Everything else was peeled off by then. The funny thing was that not only was I not cold, but it felt wonderful.

Over the past month and change I’ve been working my way up to this. Bit by bit getting my body used to being in the cold like humans used to be way back in the day. For sure, I’m happy to be warm and in my house right now, but for a brief period of time the cool fresh air felt amazing! I’m grateful for becoming more acclimated to the colder temperatures.

My focus has drifted to the events in DC more than I care to admit today. Earlier this morning I texted my little brother and shared how I was thankful I wasn’t in DC today and followed it up with the iconic Star Wars line, “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.” I never would have guessed it would turn out as it did.

Mentally, I’ve been struggling with balancing my curiosity over what has happened and is happening with some of the new behaviors I am trying to live into. Staying focused on what is truly important in the moment, living deliberately, and going into the woods all fly in the face of wanting to know what’s going on. The logical part of my brain tells me to shut it all off and if I really want to know what happened read about it briefly in my Wall Street Journal daily update email tomorrow morning.

What’s interesting is that I accidentally stumbled into a wormhole and ended up in a “news free” zone this evening. There are a couple of projects I’m working on in my workshop so I went upstairs and got rolling on them this evening. I turned on my music, set my phone aside, and got to it. An hour and change later I’d made progress on my project AND had completely stopped focusing on the news! Not only was I not getting any more updates or checking it online, but I wasn’t even thinking about it. When I finished up and came inside I was back to thinking about it and talking about it with Becky. That’s when it hit me that I’d found a news free zone.

While my workshop was my “news free” zone today, I’m thankful for the lesson it reminded me of. I chose to not focus on the news as I was 100% focused on something I love and was 100% in the present moment while doing it. I can create a “news free” zone anywhere and at anytime, it’s up to me to focus my thoughts and stay disciplined. There are times for me to set my curiosity free and there are other times when I need to bottle it up for a little while.

Thanks!!!

One of my favorite books shared the idea of creating lasting change feeling similar to pushing hard to get a flywheel moving. It takes a lot of effort to get the mass moving, but each step gets increasingly easier. After a little while the inertia of the flywheel is so powerful that instead of needing to push hard to make it move there has to be significant pressure pushing AGAINST it to get it to slow down. The initial push is the most difficult and the point when it is easiest to stop. Once momentum is on our side the action becomes so much easier.

Today it felt like I had momentum on my side. Don’t get me wrong, it took much work to keep as focused as I did, but I could already feel parts of life flow much more easily than yesterday. I kept the same pattern as yesterday, followed the framework, and accomplished more than expected. I feel I’m at the start of a long journey, but I’ve got the wind at my back and it’s helping to push me along. I’m grateful for the feeling of momentum – it helps me both see the progress being made while reminding me to appreciate these moments at the initial push and to savor the additional work they are taking.

After a quick search of old blogs I realized that I haven’t blogged about the song Rise by Eddie Vedder before. Crazy! It’s one of my favorite songs for so many reasons. You can check it out here – it’s a beautiful ear worm. Once momentum is on our side the action becomes so much easier.Once momentum is on our side the action becomes so much easier. https://youtu.be/kjDxxKMDf0Y

There are a handful of reasons why I’m grateful for this song, but this morning it just seemed to hit the right chord for me. As I focus on living more intentionally and striving to live my life the way I would truly like this song hits the nail right on the head. It’s a song about moving forward, finding the path, picking myself back up, and continuing to find my way. When I caught myself singing along to it in the shower I couldn’t help but smile.

Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow

Gonna rise up
Burning black holes in dark memories
Gonna rise up
Turning mistakes into gold

Such is the passage of time
Too fast to fold
Suddenly swallowed by signs
Low and behold

Gonna rise up
Find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up
Throw down my ace in the hole

Eddie Vedder, Rise

Thanks!!!

How’s that for a funky title? Kind of like Back to the Future, but in its own unique way.

Each Monday I have a short call with one of my mentors and business partners, Norm. The purpose of the conversation is to quickly achieve clarity on what my most important three objectives for the week are. Each week I do some prep, shoot him a draft, and then we talk through my plan for the week. He listens to my strategy and then does a great job of asking questions and throwing out ideas from his perspective. The insights I’ve received through these calls has been outstanding and greatly appreciated. Essentially it is a tripwire to remind me to be intentional and to act upon my week instead of having the whirlwind act upon me.

On our call today I couldn’t hide just how giddy I was for this week to start. I love taking time off, but there’s a beauty in the rhythms of “normal” life that can only happen during “normal” weeks and I was very excited to get back into the usual routine. After a small handful of weeks of different routines I was pretty amped to get back at it.

What added to the joy of the day was that it was the first work day for me after putting together the framework I am choosing to live 2021 by. Before doing anything else I paused, reviewed my theme, values, goals, start doings, stop doings, and remember to’s. Intentionally preparing my mind for the day was a new twist to the “normal” routine and I was very interested in seeing the impact that it would have.

Not only did today get me back into the normal rhythm, but my day was very much enhanced by the practice of reviewing the framework. There were more than a couple of times in which I paused, thought about my plan, and then took different action as a result. So far, so good! It’s a long way from being perfect and from being an actual habit, but the first day has me even more optimistic.

What’s better than getting back into rhythm? Getting back into a better rhythm than ever before. 😉

Thanks!!!

Hmm… I’m starting to notice a theme happening here 😉 Another day, another post about something in nature I took time to appreciate today.

Our drive back home today wound the majority of the way though the Driftless. This fact in of itself makes it one of the prettiest drives we do with some level of regularity. Today there was an added bonus – the hoar frost covered everything outside. The further south we drove the more dazzling the whites of the frost were.

The frozen air already made everything seem a little more crisp than usual. Add in a layer of white frost and the vistas were brilliant! Everything seemed to take on an almost black and white visual feel while simultaneously causing some colors to just pop – like the red brick building outside of Stockholm. As we passed by Perrot State Park I whipped a U turn and pulled into a scenic pull out just to take a picture of the view… which still didn’t do justice to what were we seeing.

Another day into 2021, another day of the beauty of nature. Into the woods…

Thanks!!!

In keeping with the outdoors related theme from yesterday I have to pause and be grateful for an experience from our time outside late this afternoon. Sometimes the most awesome moments are the ones that happen every single day but I don’t always take time to pause and appreciate.

The sun was already on the way down when we started sledding. Each moment that went by it descended a little lower and turned a little more orange. At one point it seemed the same coppery color as the sun in Australia during the wildfires.

When it was just above the horizon I just stopped and hit the pause button on life. Watching it drop so slowly was flat out amazing. It seemed to grow bigger and shift to a deeper shade of orangish red each second as it kept slowly descending.

In pausing to watch the sun slowly set there was nothing else in that moment. I was able to be completely present and focused on the simple beauty of nature. What a wonderful moment of simple serenity!

Thanks!!!

Over the past few weeks I’ve been very focused on reviewing my values, considering the dreams I want to accomplish, and the ways I can best set myself up for future successes. I’ve been able to build a framework that is easy for me to review on a daily basis and has already helped curb my behavior and thought processes.

The only part I’ve been struggling with is a theme to tie it all together. Like a good movie I was interested in finding a creative tag line for the framework. Something short and to the point, a way to quickly remind me of the way in which I am choosing to live life this year. A succinct reminder to point me in the right direction.

I’ve read and read a few paragraphs of Walden more times than I can count over the past 24 hours as there’s been a strong gravitational force from my souls pulling me in that direction. This morning Becky and I went for a run on the quiet country road we usually run on. While enjoying the sensation of being outside in nature it all came together.

I could see the words of Thoreau appear before my eyes…

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

In an instant I saw all of the values, dreams, goals, and the rest of the framework I’ve been building flow into three words. Within only four syllables lay the mantra that will be rolling through my mind on an almost constant loop this year.

Into the woods…

With those three short words my mind instantly calms and sees the path I am choosing to take this year. A year of simplicity, living deliberately, focused on the essential. While I would love to go into the woods in real life, the idea of metaphorically going into the woods already brings peace to my soul. My direction is clear and all my thoughts can quickly be focused with this one phrase. This was exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks!!!

I’ve got to give it to my friend Steve. When we head out to the woods there’s never a shortage of surprises. From his seemingly never-ending pool of wilderness knowledge to deep thoughts to well timed jokes you never quite know what to expect. Today was no different.

We’d packed everything up and were about to leave the woods when he stopped us. He pulled out a book and said he wanted to share a quote with the boys and I. Steve told us the story of when it was first shared with him and when it came up a second time for him.

“I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.”

Henry David Thoreau – Walden

For many reasons – including the obvious first line – this was such a perfect way to wrap up our time in the woods. As I’ve mentioned to several friends and within this blog I’ve felt depending yearning to be in the wilderness. When the time comes to go back to reality I can completely understand and appreciate the quote above. I had never heard this quote before, or if I have I was not ready to really hear it and receive it.

Hearing Steve read it while my boys listened was wild. I am not sure that they truly get it yet, but I hope it is a seed that will lay in their souls until it’s the right time for it to truly sprout.

When I got home I hopped online to re-read the quote. Not only did it resonate even more deeply, I happened upon the next paragraph in the book after this one.

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Henry David Thoreau – Walden

This paragraph also hit me right between the eyes. Over the past week as I’ve spent time in thought and reflected on my goals and dreams for next year and how I wish to live into them I can’t help but find more inspiration in Thoreau’s paragraph. How true it is that by even living in the directions of our dreams we can start to find success? Time to build the foundations.

Escaping to the wilderness has always been music for my soul. Sitting alone by the campfire before anyone else awoke this morning gifted me the opportunity to enjoy a serenity that can only be found alone and in the wild. There was only nature and I and we enjoyed each other’s company. Hearing Steve’s spontaneous reading from Thoreau added more depth and context to that experience.

Steve – thanks for the awesome quote, it is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!

Tonight’s blog is being written from inside of my wildly comfortable and surprisingly warm CRUSA Koala 2 hammock. As we wind down for the night I thought it’s be a great time to chill and type my blog.

While often I’m overly verbose, tonight’s a little different. I’m thankful for this view of the fire as we chilled out and shot the bull around it. I’m thankful for this opportunity to sleep out in the wild and breath only the freshest of air with only a thin layer of Mylar separating my face from the heavens. I’m thankful for the opportunity to create life long memories with my boys while sharing old memories and stories with my buddy Steve.

I am thankful for enjoying the view and enjoying this moment to its fullest.

Thanks!!!

At the end of December there’s a form I always have to fill out showing how many business miles I’ve driven that year. The total has bounced around some pretty high numbers over the past handful of years. With several offices spread out over a few hours away there hasn’t been a shortage of windshield time.

2020 has certainly changed many things. One of the differences really hit me when I completed my mileage form today. I drove approximately 25,000 less miles this year! That number seemed huge and then I did the math…

Let’s say I averaged 60 miles per hour for that entire 25,000 miles. That would mean I drove about 417 hours… over 17 days!!! If I assume I sleep 8 hours a night and all my driving was done during active hours it was the equivalent of 26 days, almost 4 weeks!

No wonder I’ve felt like I’ve had more time in my life this year. More time for work, more time for life, more time for everything.

Yes, there have been a ton of challenges this year. That said, I’m very grateful for the gift of the one resource that I can never make more of… time.

Thanks!!!

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

John “Hannibal” Smith

If you’re scratching your head at the quote above I think it’s safe to say you weren’t watching one of the greatest television shows of the mid-80’s. Check out The A-Team and you’ll understand the quote and it’s context tonight. At one point tonight in my workshop I almost felt like I could kick up my, fire up a cigar, and utter that infamous catchphrase.

Many moons ago Dad told me that one day I wouldn’t be able to out muscle the problems I’d face while woodworking. He said I’d have to find ways to work smarter instead of harder. The time when this still makes me smile most is thinking back to pulling out our kitchen cabinets. I was beating up on one stuck unit and had worked myself into a lather. Dad laughed, asked me to pass him the crow bar, and studied the stubborn cabinet. With a wink he took a few seconds to position the crow bar in a very specific spot and lightly nudged it. Next thing I knew and the cabinet was loose. “Think first and make every movement count.”

One of his “smart” weapons of choice were clamps. It’s taken me longer than I’d like to admit to understand why he was so enamored with these pressure creating devices. They are such a versatile tool and have helped to save my butt on many occasions, specifically several over the past couple of weeks. Try as I might to get everything perfect and square there are just times when wood does whatever wood decides it wants to do. I can either try to get creative or I can use my head and grab a few clamps to apply pressure in just the right place.

When I started blogging a handful of years ago days like today were very much what I had in mind. How many times have I used a clamp to make life easier and yet this is the first time I’ve actually paused to give thanks for this amazing tool. My blood pressure would be much higher if it wasn’t for them 😉

Thanks!!!