While waiting for Gavin and a couple of his classmates at their Wednesday night church class I finished reading the most recent version of my manuscript from my editor. Two things really struck me. First off, Phyllis has managed to take a dumpster fire like of pages and turned it into a great story! She is a miracle worker and a half!

The second insight I drew was just how much the process of writing has impacted my personal growth in a positive way. The process itself has been a wonderful exercise in thinking and processing the events of the day. Behind that there’s another very special bonus. Each bit of writing becomes a sort of memory time capsule.

When I go back and read what I wrote so many memories come back. Each could have been so easily forgotten had they not been downloaded from my brain shortly after they happened. With the benefit of more life experience I’m able to dissect the memory further and glean even more information from it. I learn from it in the moment, I learn from it when writing, and I learn from it when I read what I wrote. Four times the lessons from each experience!

Tonight a handful of specific memories really helped me out some difficult decisions into context and were the source of inspiration on how to solve them.

Yet another reason to be thankful for the practice of writing each day!

Thanks!!!

“How do you decompress each night with everything on your plate?”

Over the past twelve hours or so I’ve been asked this question, or on like it, at least a few times. The answer is shockingly simple – remembering I have a choice.

I cannot control all of the circumstances and events impacting my life. The amount I can truly control is so infinitesimal that it could almost be depressing without the right mindset. That said, regardless of anything life can throw at me, there is one thing that is 100% under my control… my choice of how I will respond.

At one point this morning I was particularly frustrated for a variety of reasons. After about fifteen minutes of stewing I paused and said something out loud in my car to myself.

“I could very easily die today. This could be my last day on Earth. Is this the attitude I would want to have for my last day?”

Hmm…. Hell no! I would want my last day to be one in which I lived my values into my purpose with a heart full of joy.

And with that choice I change my mindset and it made all the difference in the world all day long. Each crazy new situation was an opportunity to learn, to live my values, to live towards my purpose, to help others. Yes, it was still ridiculous, stressful, and chaotic – but the attitude I chose helped me thrive throughout it. Today and all it threw at me made me stronger. I am incredibly thankful for that!

Thanks!!!

Sometimes life provides a curveball or two. Today life threw a few knuckleballs. At least you know the general idea of where a curveball is going. Not even the pitcher himself knows where on God’s green Earth the ball is going when he throws a knuckler. The pitches today were straight out of some crazy chaos dimension.

Thankfully Becky already had half the cure on tap as is last night. After supper we hit Root Down for one of the most soul relaxing yoga sessions I’ve had in a very long time. The focus on breathing, stretching, and sweating helped me see the stitches on the knuckleballs.

When I got home Dominic gave me the birthday present he and Gavin made me, a rock holder made out of rocks! They made it the perfect size to hold one of Dad’s favorite rocks – very awesome and greatly appreciated!

After that Dominic and I fired up a game of Yahtzee. He proceeded to get THREE Yahtzee’s in the game and more than doubled my score. We had a blast! To wrap up some quality time we fired up Rick and Morty and had some great laughs together.

Life is never perfectly scripted, but it works out exactly the way it is supposed to. It is up to us to keep level heads and focus on hitting any knuckleballs thrown our way. I crushed mine tonight thanks to yoga, Yahtzee, and time with my family.

Thanks!!!

Hey there Today, how are you doing buddy? Sorry for kicking your ass today (not really 😉).

Seriously, this has been a jam packed day from start to finish. If each day were this productive and full of life I can’t even begin to imagine just how much more life I could fit into my living years.

Up before 5am to get moving and out to my Uber. At the airport sit down and focus on reading my most recently edited manuscript and don’t stop until I land in La Crosse. Unpack and start cleaning floors with Gavin. Pause quick to see how far the Oktoberfest parade has made it so we know when to leave to see Dominic. Hit the road, find a parking spot, walk miles, watch Dominic, follow the Logan band for a while, and the head back to the car and home.

Pound a giant plate of Becky’s homemade lasagne. Yes, that is worthy of its own paragraph 😉

Finish floors, work with Dominic to put his roof rack on for his snowboard. Quick tune up of bikes with Gavin. Chill for a couple of minutes and head to church. Eat supper outside. Schedule a couple of Gavin’s school conferences. Play family games on the deck. Head inside and play a game with Gavin. Bed, blog, read, sleep.

Whew!!! Crazy, but it was all fun, focused, and exactly what I was hoping for today. If I stay this focused more often there are more dreams I’ll be knocking of the list quick. Days like today remind me of how awesome it feels to make focused progress.

Thanks!!!

Whew, it’s been an awesome first day of Express Sales Summit! Being able to have an event in person has been an excellent breath of fresh air. There’s been several specific things I’m grateful for at the event today.

First off, today’s been a great reminder of why I need to create space sometimes. Life is busy and my calendar is often full. In open space like this ideas seem to gel better and my brain can connect what’s truly important, I can hear behind the noise. The extra space has been amazing and eye opening.

Thanks to the pandemic it’s been a while since I’ve seen many of my old Express friends in real life. Seeing them in person has been AWESOME!

Seeing how well other offices are doing is a way to really stoke the flames. Hearing my teammates get fired up by the possibilities they are seeing has me smiling from ear to ear. 2022 will be a spectacular year.

Last, but not least, spending time reflecting has also been very powerful and greatly appreciated. Seeing my teammates experience Summit for the first time brings back so many memories and emotions. Their energy is infectious and it helps me pause and remember to see the world as a beginner again, full of opportunities.

A successful first day is in the books, off to bed and then start day two in the morning!

Thanks!!!

As soon as we got home from our morning walk I fired up a little birthday treat for myself… Birthday Bacon! 🥓 Not gonna lie, that may have to become a tradition.

In all seriousness, I am very thankful for the text messages from so many friends. Nothing like hearing from friends and reconnecting! While I really don’t find my birthday to be a big deal it is a pretty sweet tripwire to encourage some conversations.

My WeCroak app had a deep quote that really hit home today:

Today has been an excellent day in so many ways. Time with family, productive day at work, re-connecting with friends, delicious food, and a helluva soccer game to wrap it all up. I’m exhausted… and all smiles.

Thanks!!!

My writing yesterday was amongst the most fulfilling to date. Spending time putting my acknowledgments to paper was a soul filling endeavor. Once again I am amazed by the ability of such a seemingly simple, easy, and small action to have an extraordinarily profound impact on my attitude and well being.

Spending time in gratitude is such an easy thing to do. It is 100% under my control to do. It has zero cost involved. There are no materials necessary. It can be accomplished in any conceivable location and at any moment of any day. All it requires is my intention and focus. That’s it!

Focus on someone specific I’m grateful for, keep them in mind, focus on what qualities they have, experiences we’ve shared, or my respect for them and I can’t help but smile. Taking time to write those thoughts down and share them enhances the experience all the more.

Taking time yesterday to write my gratitude for a handful of people was wildly joyful and experience I’m very grateful for.

Thanks!!!

The weather was perfect for a nice solo hike this morning. Rather than follow the usual trail I opted for a game trail and ended up seeing a whole new forest than the one I’m used to.

Afterwards I showered up, grabbed my hammock, and hit Granddad Bluff to do some more writing. Writing with a view like this was so easy!

And the best part of the day? I’ve now completed everything I needed to finish for my book! There’s sure to be more work once I hear back from my editor, but for the moment it is complete!

Thanks!!!

As I wrap up the last few items in my book I’m reminded again of how grateful I am for the process of writing a book about losing Dad. Each moment spent on it has been a moment of growth, memory, and love. By focusing so deeply on this topic I have had the opportunity to learn so much more about myself and to more thoroughly embed so many memories into my soul.

This evening in particular I’ve found myself laughing out loud frequently. One of my last few pieces was to go through old text messages with Dad to screenshot any that might better round out the story. Much stomach hurts from laughing so hard! Going through those old texts was pure medicine for the soul.

I’m thankful yet again for each step of this process. In rereading those texts I heard Dad’s voice in my heart and laughed along with him as I did so many times before. I’ll be sleeping with a huge grin tonight.

Thanks!!!

Our favorite running area is only a mile or so from our house and provides us an opportunity to disappear into the woods for a while. Now that the sun is rising later and later the entire run is in the dark. On our run this morning I heard a noise in the woods that was a little louder than the rabbits we regularly scare up. The moonlight wasn’t quite bright enough to see well so I stopped and walked back towards the sound. I scanned the woods with my headlamp and couldn’t quite make anything out. When I caught back up to Becky I told her it had to be something bigger than a rabbit as I heard a twig snap.

After we got home Becky took Skywalker for a walk and I took LuLu for a ride down the same road we had just run down. About a mile and a half in a coyote appeared out of the woods and started running down the road away from us! It was fairly close to where I thought I’d heard it. For the next half mile or so it ran up the road in front of us as we slowly drove along. It was awesome!

Nothing quite like spending some time early in the morning watching a coyote! That was amazing 🙂

When I got home from the ride with LuLu Gavin walked through the kitchen with a huge smile.

“I believe today is going to be a great day,” he loudly proclaimed in a voice that was even more upbeat and happy than his smile.

He had no reason other than he just decided that it was going to be a great day – how awesome is that? It was like a blast of Red Bull and espresso to knock my attitude right into a great place!

Nothing like a huge smile, positive attitude, and an optimistic mindset from Gavin to ramp up my morning in an awesome way!

Thanks!!!