When my son was born a few months ago, the nurse came in to review his blood type with us, and I had a moment of realization, and/or thankfulness that such a trivial difference isn't a reason to treat him differently than myself, or my wife, or my daughter. 

It made me think with a different perspective. I imagined what it would be like if they came in the room and said my son would have a different level of opportunity, or would be treated differently than his sister because they were different blood types. Or that he would be treated differently in school because he acquired a certain type.   

Skin color is just as trivial. The divide and friction caused by something that shouldn't even be a topic of discussion is astonishing. 

It is not someone's choice how they are born. What color skin, what blood type. 

It is, however, a choice how they will treat others. 

If you have a honey-do list like I do, than you too have probably been overwhelmed at times and made the decision to "outsource."

But it feels like we used to just outsource things that were extremely hard, and that we didn't have access to the resources necessary....building a house, restoring electricity, delivering a fridge. 

But now its started to leak into mowing the lawn, having our groceries and meals delivered, no longer going to a physical store but rather buying everything from our phones. 

As outsourcing begins to take over smaller and smaller tasks, its getting closer and closer to taking on its next challenge, our thoughts. 

Now we have lost the ability to think critically in the times we need to most. 

It feels good to work through a problem, find a solution, complete a project. And you are guaranteed to learn something new. 


Let's keep a few jobs in house!

Have you ever wondered why most people have a built-in love for the outdoors. To go camping...to sleep under the stars, to get some peace and quiet?

We aren't meant to live amongst clutter. To have too many gadgets, bells, and whistles to distract us from our human senses. 

That's why a campfire is so relaxing. It invigorates smell, sound, sight, touch, and even taste with a perfectly roasted marshmallow. What senses does your phone invigorate?

It feels good to get away from the rigors of the daily grind and really stop for a moment and appreciate who, what, and where we are in this amazing life. 

Maybe it isn't fair to coin this process of finding our base as "roughin' it". 

Maybe we should refer to it as something super positive, life changing, clarifying...

I know my family can't wait until it cools down a little bit so we can get outdoors and "Smooth It Over"

Staying hydrated is the most important thing we, and Mother Earth can do. We are both made up of mostly water!

When we lived in Northern California, something that we didn't even know existed became a normal part of our lives.

There were massive smoke clouds that looks like bombs went off. The living room even smelled like a campfire for weeks at a time. We lived over 40 miles away.

Wildfires start because of lack of hydration. Simply not enough water. 

If you are looking for ways to avoid the smallest spark setting you ablaze throughout the day, its so simple. Stay hydrated. 

Drinking water, believe it or not, is the best thing you can do for your body as soon as you wake up. Even if you don't feel "thirsty", just know that your body is an engine that runs not on oil, but on water. Feed it. 

-Want to lose weight, drink only water for a few weeks. 
-Feel tired in the afternoon or early evening....get hydrated. 
-Cramping up when you try to exercise, not enough H20!
-Want your brain to work for you and be more creative...Gulp!

One of the smallest, simplest, yet impactful pieces of advice I have ever received in my life. 

DRINK UP!!

We can all remember the tension in the air when we had to pass our driver's education exam in order to obtain the next stage of freedom via driver's license.

We also all remember the most repeated term in Driver's Ed history...

"Practice Defensive Driving". or "BE a Defensive Driver".

If you try to capture the essence of defensive driving in its most simplified sense, one might label it as "having total awareness of self and surroundings".

When we are behind the wheel, we are expected to be fully aware of a lot of things: The weather conditions, how much gas is left in the tank, if there is a map in the glove box for emergencies, if there are any sporadic drivers around....its on us to be fully engaged.

In life, defensive driving can be swapped out for "Self Awareness".  It is one of the greatest skills I have learned from one of the most impactful books I have ever read, Emotional Intelligence 2.0

Examples of being more self aware are:

-Knowing how your poor attitude or language may effect your child's mood/behavior..

-Troubleshooting the REAL reason why your back hurts in the morning, instead of chalking it up to a long week.

-Recognizing when your body feels dehydrated

-Knowing how your mood is impacted when you get less than X hours of sleep.


And to think all of this awareness started with a quick diagnostic check. 

Golf....A "gentlemen's game" indeed.

But for a much different reason that you'd think.

When golfing, it is expected that those partaking follow an unspoken set of rules referred to as Golf Etiquette.

It includes everything from proper attire, to what order players should be expected to hit their ball based on current score, etc.

But the most compelling rule that falls under the "Etiquette" umbrella?

"Fore"

The universal term to be yelled as a warning by the player who just failed...big time. 
It lets the other players know that you're coming in hot, and that it may be best to duck down, or cover up your head as to avoid injury. 

It made me really respect the game a little more using this angle to reflect.

Show me a culture/society where someone can not only fail, miss, struggle....and continue forward, but they can go as far as to YELL it out so others are aware of their missteps. To advertise their shortcomings. 

Then, something magical happens. Nothing. 

No belittling, no name calling, no cancel culture. No finger pointing, or spinning the blame on something else. Just gentlemen being gentlemen. 

If failure was recognized as the every day part of life it actually is, rather than being viewed as a detriment to our character or an opportunity to get ahead of that person....

No one would be so afraid to yell "Fore"

#worldetiquette

I can still remember vividly the time in the Detroit International Airport, my connection was late and I literally had to run the entire stretch (if you've been to that airport, you are aware its the opposite of ideal for running between terminals).

I missed my flight. I was out of breath, sweaty, and pitiful. With no flights left that night to get me home.

Lesson learned....right? Well, sometimes. 

Maybe it's that phrase that allows our lessons to get off the hook so easily.

You know when you're running late and with every minute you get angrier, and start telling yourself why this happened and why you're "never" going to do this again?

I have had that very conversation with myself before, and then had it again down the road.

Why don't we learn our lessons after going through something the "hard" way when the "easy" way was one of our options all along?

Taking the stairs is allowing your previous failures to reoccur over, and over, and over. Using your own energy and resources to overcome literally the same step, 100 times.

Taking the escalator is allowing your previous failures to LIFT you, to carry you quicker and further, with less exertion on your behalf. 

An escalator is life in motion...a conveyor belt life's highlight (and lowlight) reels that comes back around to remind us of what we have learned, and offers to give us a lift. 

Take the easy way. 

Life can throw a lot of different perspectives at us. So many people have advice and guidance on what WE should try or focus on next.

It can be extremely difficult at times to determine what we should truly be focusing our sights on.

It reminds me of a true explorer, someone like Ash Dykes. Someone who spends a year at a time lost in the wilderness finding their way along a specific path with only one end goal in mind.

There are times he will need his binoculars to look into the distance for that landmark to confirm he is moving in the right direction, and how far he still has to go.

There will be times his trail presents an impasse. Something he must look closely at his map to determine the best possible detour. Now, he reaches into his bag for the magnifying glass. To see the details of the journey and make sure he takes the right STEPS in the moment.

After making it around the blockage, it's back to the binoculars to asses where the detour has positioned him in relation to the end goal. 

For many years, I have only left home with one or the other. Not understanding that both are necessary.

Binoculars give us vision and understanding of where we are in relation to the BIG goal. 

The Magnifying Glass helps us to avoid missteps, and catch the details that can make a difference in the efficiency of our journey. 

I think it's safe to say we have all felt that pit in our stomach when its game time, presentation time, interview time, speech time...you name it, and we know deep down we aren't prepared. 

We have all been in that place where we desired a specific result so badly, but we didn't invest an amount worthy of obtaining that result. 

It's the same concept as an ATM machine. We can't put 50 bucks in on Monday, and on Tuesday withdrawal 100 bucks. 

The times in my life I haven't achieved the result I dreamed of were the times I didn't put enough funds in the ATM machine. 

When I really needed that knowledge, or that final project for school, or that extra 20 pounds before the beach trip, I couldn't withdrawal the result I wanted.

Flip the coin, and the most jubilant times in my life were forged by diligent and unwavering commitment day by day over long periods of time. Where I put a little money in the ATM each day.

It doesn't have to be for hours, but it has to be consistent. Reading, writing, learning, exercising, communicating, thinking. 

Anything you pursue can be achieved, or at the very least improved greatly by being consistent about it every day. 

I woke up the other day to heavy fog outside. Really poor visibility.

I have also woken up recently FEELING foggy. Unmotivated, uninspired, not on fire like usual for achieving my goals.

Days like this are inevitable...for everyone. Understanding that up front will allow us to handle them more effectively. 

When I sit on my porch with coffee on a foggy morning (one of the best moments life can offer), its amazing how quickly the fog dissipates when the sun rises. In a matter of minutes what was a dark and dreary landscape, is now bright and vivid. 

There has never been an easier analogy to reflect on. When we wake up feeling our own fog, we need to immediately make a conscious decision to inject sunlight into our day. 

A daily devotion to fill us with gratitude, a quick chat with a positive-minded buddy, your favorite podcast...whatever you need to snap out of the trance. 

There will be plenty more days you wake up and just don't have your typical mojo. Maybe it's more days than not, and that's ok. 

You can create your own sunny weather with positive habits and lifelines.