The landscape has changed quickly. Schools--including ours--are closing their doors. Administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, and students are scrambling and asking questions. I send a lot of messages out to our students and staff. This seemed like a time for another one.

We examine the past to help shape the future. We can do the same by working to understand the most significant moments in our lives.

If you had to pick one song to be played at your funeral, one song that epitomized how you tried to spend your time on Earth, what song would you pick?

It's important to understand what motivates us at a deep, intrinsic level. We must understand general human needs and what needs we're trying to meet.

If we want to fly, we have to jump. My eight-year-old daughter knows this. Guy Clark knew it too. Living is jumping.

www.lukenielsen.com

It's easy to get caught up in trends or trying to be popular, but it's important to come up with our own definition of what's "cool".

Many things in life are the aggregate of many small things. Success is most often the result of little practices performed over and over again. Even when seemingly singular tragedies strike, the road back is often typically covered by tiny steps in the right direction. It's not flashy, but we can make steady progress when we understand it all matters.

www.lukenielsen.com

Lately, we've been working on adding positive things to our lives. This week, we're looking to remove something that is holding us back.

There are a lot of tragedies in the world, and we all have our challenges. It can be overwhelming, and we might not know where to place our focus. We don't have control over everything, but we are not powerless. The best we can do is what we can with what we've got for whatever time we have.

Life's pretty short. It's best to do the things we love with the people we love. That's what we're talking about this week.