Gooood morning and welcome to Letters from Emery—a regular shot of perspective written to wake up a more fulfilled and empowered you.

Thought of the day:

Most of us tend to run on a to-do list…

We have one for the day, one for the week, maybe one for the month.

It’s useful of course, mainly for keeping track of what needs to be done, but…

Let’s face some facts here:

* A to-do list almost never gets fully completed anyway, which usually leaves us with more anxiety over what’s left than sense of accomplishment for what was done.

* It’s a decent boss, but a poor inspiration. By that I mean, it’s a helpful tool to keep you on top of your tasks, but it absolutely sucks at inspiring you anywhere beyond doing the bare minimum.

* It’s generally only for what needs to be done, not for what’s actually important. For example, you normally won’t find on your to-do list: breathe, embrace the moment, pray, give yourself some frickin’ credit, etc.

Alas, here’s where the to-not-do list comes in…

And before you write it off as silly, or trite (or just another damn list), the key thing to remember here is this:

Your to-not-do list is NOT a replacement for your to-do list.

It’s actually your to-do list’s ultimate superpower…

Why?

Because, done tastefully, it:

* Illiminates negative distractions, patterns, and behaviors that are ultimately holding you back from achieving a higher version of self

* Sets clear guide rails for what you want to avoid on a day-to-day basis, which is equally if not more important than what you want to point yourself towards

* Puts your values, morals, and that which you find generally fundamental to your ideal of “the good life” in a simple, daily exercise that you can actually put to work for you

All that’s to say…

Your to-not-do list will help you focus on the bigger picture, while you to-do list will help you conquer the little one.

Here’s an example to-not-do list I’ve been sticking to that’s helped me lead a more meaningful, and purpose-driven day-to-day:

Emery’s To-Not-Do List

Don’t…

* Overthink it

* Beat yourself up

* Forget to pray

* Forget to smell the roses

* Compare yourself to others

* Judge others too harshly

* Complain… you have it so good!

Hope you found this wee exercise & shot of perspective helpful, give a shot whydontcha and let me know how it goes…

Cheering for you always,

-Emery

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Gooood morning and welcome to Letters from Emery—a regular shot of perspective written to wake up a more fulfilled and empowered you.

Thought of the day:

There are 89 days left in the year, friends…

Rather than coax you into embarking on a new pursuit with mere words of hopium, I thought I’d offer some real-life (actual things-that-happened) victories that could be accomplished in the next 89 days.

Some of these, I accomplished myself in the last ~90 days, some by friends of mine, and some by people I admire very highly.

Nonetheless, they’re all real accomplishments that really happened in the span of just ~90 days…

In 89 days you could…

* Lose 17 pounds

* Train for (and finish) a marathon

* Land the biggest deal of your career

* Increase your income by 20%

* Start a new business (and even see your first profit)

* Pick up a new craft and actually become decent at it

* Travel to 3, hell, even 7 countries

* Find the love of your life (or bring your current love to unforseen heights)

* Write 3 chapters of a book

* Achieve (almost) complete zen and peace

* Add a new certification to your resume…

I could go on.

THE POINT IS: 89 days can provide more space for transformation than most of us could possibly imagine.

Question is… what will you actually do with it?

Sending you all the power, strength, will, and belief you could ever need to make these last 89 days of the year count.

Who knows…

They could even end up being the best 89 days of your life.

The time is now….

Live it well.

-Emery

Something for your pocket: What could I commit myself to over the next 89 days that “future me” would thank me for for the rest of my life?

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Goood morning and welcome to Letters from Emery—a daily shot of perspective written to wake up a more fulfilled and empowered you.

Shot of the day:

On average we will spend 1/3 of our entire lives working.

Yep, that’s around 33 years full of actual working hours (give or take of course).

First of all, I’m not saying that’s bad.

Second of all, I’m not defining “work” as strictly paid labor. But for sake of brevity, let’s assume “work” is something like: time spent fulfilling a role.

Right, so we need to work, and for a plethora of reasons:

To provide for ourselves & others, to fulfill our basic needs, to fund our way of life, to be of use & service to the world, to experience a sense of purpose while we’re here…

(Not to mention we’d all lose our minds without something productive to do, it’s absolutely vital for putting pleasure in check, and it’s the very thing that essentially all value is built upon)

So, there’s no getting rid of work.

Why it’s important to put time spent working into perspective however is this:

If we’re going to spend 1/3 of our lives doing something, we should at least aim to enjoy, if not at least find some level of satisfaction (and maybe even fulfillment) in the time spent doing it.

Yeah, that may be easier said than done.

You more-than-likely won’t spend every second of it—heart ablaze, tears rolling down your cheeks in pride & joy, exploding in extacy, etc.

But you’re going to have to spend it somehow…

Meaning, you could either:

Spend the vast majority of it in a soul-sucking state of distain, anxiety, malace, and resentment—leading of course to a very high probability of low self-esteem, low-quality opportunities, low-quality relationships, and an inevitably endless serving of low-quality days…

Or:

You could spend (or try to spend) at least a healthy portion in a state of gratitude for what you have (and can afford), excitement for the challenge ahead, and pride for what you bring to the table.

Which will undoubtedly lead to… well, a hell of a lot better story than the one that starts with “soul-sucking”.

AND wanna know the beauty of it all?

Even though it’s 33 years across a lifetime, it’s alllll still made up of the same seconds, minutes, and hours that make up a day.

So if you can find a way (what way is up to you) to make just one day at a time a day you can be truly proud of…

Then, congrats—you’ve also found your way to living a damn good 33 years of life, of which you can also be truly proud of.

I’ll leave you with this…

How you spend a moment is how you’ll spend a day.

How you spend a day is how you’ll spend a week.

How you spend a week is how you’ll spend a month.

How you spend a month is how you’ll spend a year.

How you spend a year is how you’ll spend a life.

Wishing you all, sincerely, the best day ever (and a lifetime more to come),

-Emery

P.S. A question for your pocket: What could I do today to make it a great one? And if I had a week full of those? A month? A year?

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Goood morning and welcome to Letters from Emery—a daily shot of perspective written to wake up a more fulfilled and empowered you.

Thought of the Day:

Make it fun…

I think a lot of people think that pursuing something meaningful

(Aka something worth pursuing)

Has to be painful, difficult, and full of suffering…

And indeed, in some ways, it will be.

And… it should be.

(That’s what makes the end result taste so damn good)

But it can also be fun and exhilerating…

For example:

My buddies and I have a fitness challenge flaring up for the last 90 days of the year.

Challenge: who can burn the most overall calories before year-end.

Winner gets something like an all-expense-paid trip to Mexico.

And… wanna know what’s better than the trip?

Win-or-lose, we all get to show off our hard work—

Enjoying margaritas, swimming in the ocean, eating lobster, etc.

Point is: progress doesn’t have to be strictly painful…

You can make it fun.

Who knows, maybe the process can be even better than the destination…

My challenge to you, then:

Set up a growth-related challenge with a friend, partner, or even colleague for the last 90 days of the year, and make the prize something fun!

Who knows what good it could bring….

Have fun getting better, friends.

Sincerely,

-Emery

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Goood morning and welcome back to Letters from Emery!

Wanted to give the community an update on the incredible work we’ve been able to accomplish so far in our mutual effort to make the world a little better on our journey…

Here’s what we’ve accomplished together so far:

Planted 110 mangrove trees in Kenya

In collaboration with Only One, we are helping to fund the planting of one million mangrove trees in Port Reitz creek.

The project is revitalizing the environment, lifting local communities out of extreme poverty, and combating climate change.

The El Niño ocean warming event of 1997 to 1998 led to widespread loss of mangrove forest in Port Reitz, so restoration is more important than ever.

Across Kenya, our mangrove planting partner Eden Reforestation Projects is transforming the lives of over 670 employees!

Cick here to learn more about the project →

Planted 8 new corals in Polynesia

In collaboration with Only One, we are helping to fund the planting of 10,000 corals in the crystal waters of Mo'orea, a volcanic island in the Pacific 11 miles northwest of Tahiti.

The project is rebuilding the reef with corals more able to withstand climate change, protecting ocean wildlife, and benefiting local people.

Mo'orea is surrounded by 13 marine protected areas. Marine reserves like these are vital for securing a positive future for the ocean.

Our coral planting partner Coral Gardeners is the brainchild of Titouan Bernicot, an ocean kid who loved his island’s magnificent reef ecosystem and dreamed big!

Cick here to learn more about the project →

Removed 1,200 plastic bottles in French Polynesia (12kg of ocean plastic)

In collaboration with Only One, we are helping to fund the removal of 25,000 kilograms of plastic from the Indian Ocean coastal belt.

The project is stopping the flow of plastic into the ocean, helping conserve marine life, and contributing directly to informal waste workers’ incomes.

Our plastics removal partner Plastics For Change is the largest and most trusted source of Fair Trade recycled plastic in the world!

Cick here to learn more about the project →

Reduced 1t of carbon emissions from deforestation in Cambodia

In collaboration with Only One, we are helping to fund the reduction of 2,000 tonnes of carbon by helping preserve a 445,339-hectare watershed in Southern Cardamom.

The project is tackling climate change, saving species on land and in the water, and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities.

The terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal habitats are part of the Cardamom Mountains rainforest ecoregion, one of the world’s top 200 biodiversity locations!

Through our carbon reduction partner Stand For Trees, the project is certified by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and has achieved CCB Gold Level status for providing exceptional climate, community, and biodiversity benefits.

Cick here to learn more about the project →

Click here to see our full community impact board →

Just wanted to say that this project (Letters from Emery) has been such an honor for me thus far.

Writing every letter has not only brought me so much joy, but it’s also all made me (at least I would hope) a far better person…

To all my loyal readers, I just want to say thank you—from the bottom of my heart—for reading, supporting, and sending love.

Beyond making the world a little bit better along the way, I hope even one of these letters strikes a chord with you, and who knows…

Maybe even makes your life a little better (or at least enlightens your perspective on things).

Wishing you all the best week ever, and thanks again so much for reading.

Your friendly neighborhood writer,

-Emery

New here? Why not signup? It’s free and we’ll do a whole lot more ‘o’ this together ^^^

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Goood morning and welcome to Coffee Thoughts—a daily shot of perspective written to wake up a more fulfilled & empowered You.

Coffee Thought of the Day

I checked the 2022 calendar today.

Know how many days there are left in the year?

106 as of today.

I’m not sure about you, but for me that was really exciting.

Mainly because… well, I know how much can change in 106 days.

You could learn a brand new skill in 106 days.

You could pick up a new craft in 106 days.

You could get a promotion/pay raise in 106 days.

Hell, you could even switch careers and get a brand new job in 106 days.

You could lose 10, 20, 30, even 40 pounds in 106 days.

You could finally start that podcast, or start a book in 106 days…

(Talking to myself here)

Point is: you could do a lot with 106 days.

So the question isn’t really: what could you do…

The right question is: what will you do?

The weekend’s right around the corner ya know…

Why not chisel out some time to think it over:

“What would I love to ___ (accomplish, change, try, start, even stop) in the next 106 days?”

Sending you all the power, belief, and confidence you could ever need to make a big change in your life before the ball drops…

(In 106 days in case you missed it!)

Big love & Happy Friday,

-Emery

New here? Why not give it a go… It’s free to subscribe, puts a tree in the earth, and will hopefully leave you feeling nothing but… better.

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Goood morning and welcome to Coffee Thoughts—a daily dose of perspective written to wake up a happier, more fulfilled, and empowered You.

Coffee Thought of the Day

Fortune favors the bold grateful.

And I don’t mean (just) material fortune…

Gratitude is the irrifutable cure to almost all suffering that happens between the ears—and what a priceless gift that is.

It is the one path in millions that will always lead to something better, rather than worse.

It is the mother, not the child, of all good-and-golden states of being one could possibly experience.

Joy, happiness, bliss, excitement, peace, even love…

These are all born of gratefulness, not achieved in striving to experience them as they are.

Gratitude is the gateway to all the “fortune” one could hope to have in life.

To be grateful for someone is the gateway to a deeper love with them.

To be grateful for opportunity is to invite only more of it in.

To be grateful for time is to unlock the beauty in it.

Gratitude is the key to living a truly rich, meaningful, lovely, and fortunate life—the kind that makes solely making a fortune quiver in its wake.

And… want to know the best part about it?

The not-so-secret secret of it all?

Gratitude is always there.

You don’t have to pay for it.

You don’t have to ask someone’s permission for it.

You don’t need to make reservations for it.

You don’t have to go looking for it in anyone-or-thing outside the self.

It’s always there.

And no matter how dark, painful, difficult, or filled-with-doom one’s life may seem—gratitude can always, always be found.

Just imagine what the world would look like if we all chose to live in it…

Wishing you the most fortunate life you could ever hope to live, my friends.

Perhaps it’s closer than you think…

With gratitude,

-Emery

P.S. Something for your pocket:

Be more concerned with living a fortunate life

Then you are with making a fortune.

Do that, and fortune will find you in more ways than you can possibly imagine.

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Goood morning and happy Thursday!

Welcome to Coffee Thoughts—a daily dose of perspective written to wake up a happier, more fulfilled, and empowered You.

Coffee Thought of the Day

You can achieve just about any considerable milestone in 3 months.

You could lose 10-15 lbs in about 3 months.

You could start a business and hit your first $1,000 (or more) in sales in about 3 months.

You could write the first 3 chapters of a book in about 3 months.

You could increase your income 10-15% (or more) in about 3 months.

You could start a podcast and launch some 30 episodes in about 3 months…

Point is: you can do a lot with 3 months.

And 3 months is roughly 0.3% of the average lifespan

(~73 years is the global average)…

Question is: are you willing to devote just 0.3% (or less, most likely), to hitting your next big milestone?

I’ll let you sit on it…

Wishing you the best day ever,

-Emery

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For a long time, I struggled with my relationship with God—mainly with what to call “Him”.

In fact, I still struggle.

But there’s a beautiful truth I learned some years ago that’s assured me that it’s okay to struggle with God.

(In fact… More than “okay”, I think it’s necessary.

Because perhaps our most important relationship is that which we have with creation itself.

And how can you have a meaningful relationship at all without struggle?)

I digress…

The beautiful truth I learned is this: the name “Israel” in Hebrew actually translates to: “He who wrestles with God”.

Somewhat paradoxically, the name of the great city of Jerusalem in Israel translates to: “the city of peace”.

Which, to me, creates the magnificently complete idea that: “to know peace with God, we must first wrestle with him”.

Well, I know perhaps all of us struggle with “God” in our own ways.

(Even if you don’t “believe” at all, you still had to struggle with the concept of God in order to arrive where you have.)

And regardless of your affiliations with God, (notice I ommitted“religious” ), I think it’s so important to wrestle in the very least with this idea:

You’ve arrived here somehow.

By what means, by what “name”, by what “grand random occurrence” is almost irrelevant.

The truth is, you are here.

And the only way out is, at least in some way similar, if not equally the same to the way you came in.

So, however you’d care to wrestle with God is none of my business.

But what I hope for you is this:

That you do wrestle with “God”.

And if you’re going to, you might as well treat “Him” like a worthy opponent.

By that I mean, someone you respect. Someone to thank for the battle.

Perhaps, even, like someone who loved you enough to create you, and someone—even more—who still does.

Alas, your beloved “homework”:

I hope you take even 10 minutes today to wrestle with God.

Not with whether or not “He” exists.

Not with what to call him.

But with the very idea that maybe, just maybe…

God is out there.

After all, what you have to lose by doing so surely pales in comparison with all you have to gain by…

Well, by wrestling—in whatever way you choose.

May we all find peace and friendship in our very creation & existence,

-Emery

A prayer for your pocket:

Dear Lord, Thank You for this day.

Thank You for a roof over my head, and a warm bed to rest it.

For the opportunities before me, and another day to seize them.

For all those who love me, and the chance to love them back.

For the strength to pull my weight, and for weight I’m proud to bear.

For every miracle you’ve sent me, and another chance to be one.

Thank You, Dear Lord, for providing me everything I need to execute your will—this day especially.

May everything I do today bring me closer to The Kingdom.

For thine is the power, the glory…

Forever & ever.

Amen.

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A Letter I Wrote to Myself || June 27, 2017

Promise me this, my brother.

No matter how your truth and understanding of self may evolve.

No matter where your work and life will take you.

No matter how committed you will find yourself to your passions or how occupied you'll become.

No matter how time may pass or how your focus may narrow.

No matter how love and your relationships may blind you or change you or become the foundation of your comfort…

That you will still, without hesitation, permit your childish self to shine through.

That you will do your best to go for magical experiences and find magical people that will make your life rich with the new and old.

That you will stay curious, creative, and strange in your own ways.

That you will travel the world and not be afraid to shy from routine or comfort.

That you will never lose your renaissance self or your authentic, small-town heart.

That you will enrich yourself with music. With creativity. With art. With culture. With literature. With philosophy, spirituality, and science.

That you will surround yourself with good people, and at that, people who make you uncomfortably comfortable with who you are and who you can become.

That you will give out of the open goodness of your heart, and not out of desire for return.

That you will take risks and concern yourself not with what others think of you or how you live your time here.

That you will make mistakes and above that, be willing and open to learn from them.

That you will stress not for the achievement of fame or fortune, but rather, for the achievement of a good life. A happy life.

One of impact and love and deep human connection.

That you will never be afraid to dance and sing like a fool or soak in the rain.

That you will capture moments, but live them better.

That you will appreciate each day as its own gift and stay grateful for the life you have, and not one you envy.

That you will remain playful.

That you will never be too high to cry. Or too low to laugh.

That you will write with blood and speak with heart.

That you will live this life best you can. And on your own terms.

That you will not fear death. But embrace it as a life set free.

And as one well-lived.

Promise me this, my brother.

And life will be more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

For you and for the ones you touch.

Stay kind. Stay humble. Stay foolish.

Yours forever,

-Emery

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