Tune in to my conversation with Kylen Bailey out of Austin, Texas! We talk about his journey of adoption, and reconnecting with his birth mother and brother. We talk about his struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts and so much more. Like, Share, and Follow!

I have this strange fascination with the way ancient people lived. I have no clue why… but the whole idea of relying on your instincts… and working for your food… and discovering better and more efficient ways to do things…

It almost seems like the more into the future we go, the more we might be losing the understanding of what is essential for being human.

Think obesity… most people in the US at least struggle with this almost new disease… could it be because of how readily available our food is? (Plus it’s all deep fried and processed).

Lately, I heard someone in the mindfulness world talk a a 3-fold challenge that I have felt super challenged by that I want to share with you…

I know I know, ultra-caveman stuff… I have done this for a bit now and it is slowly and steadily changing the course of my days.

You might be someone who is contained to a cubicle everyday…. Maybe you run kids around all day… maybe you stare at your computer screen all day and your phone all night.

This 3-fold challenge can be a great opportunity to flip the script for you…

To put you in a position where you can follow the earth’s cues to our bodies instead of instagrams…

So I’d encourage you… try this barbaric challenge and watch the change happen in you!

“What Inspires You?”

My working hypotheses is that humanity is under-inspired. Over-saturated with comparison and maybe even lust to live the lives of others… but under inspired. Envy is not inspiration… stalking someones instagram account or Facebook page or TikTok can totally be what inspires you, but I would encourage you to even challenge that inclination inside of you.

Inspiration is something that you take in that brings life to something inside of you.

Definition ; the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

Definition 2 ; the drawing in of breath; inhalation.

I love these beautifully intertwining definitions.

“What are you breathing in that is bringing something great out of you?”

In this episode, Pastor of X Church, Tim Moore, discusses his upcoming series "Origins" where he works through questions of Science and how it relates to the Bible.

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." Mother Teresa

Is this how people describe time spent around you? Today I want to talk about your Aura… or the vibe you give off when others interact with you.

No - you are not completely responsible for the way others receive you… but I would argue that it’s important to pay attention to this because… many of us don’t very often!

I am so guilty of being so self-centered in my thought process that I completely ignore how others could be receiving me. I have to pay attention to my RBF…

Or for those of you that are unfamiliar with what I am talking about for some reason… “Resting B***** Face”

Isn’t that horrible? That we can be so consumed on the inside with ourselves that we are completely off-putting on our exterior.

So consumed with our problems, our work, our issues, our family dilemmas, that we sacrifice the meaningfulness of our interaction…

I never want my life to be about that…

I assume that the very fact you are listening to this podcast is evidence that you don’t want this to be your story either.

So let me share a few things I keep in mind entering every interaction these days…

Curious Ear

1 - Obviously having a curious ear would imply you are listening. I love talking to people and feel great afterwards when they genuinely had interest in what I was saying.

Loving Eyes

What are you communicating with your eyes? It’s said that the eyes are a window to the soul… and when people look into my eyes I want them to see love.

Open Heart

I struggle with being defensive for no reason. Approach each conversation in a way that your defenses are down.

A Curious Ear, Loving Eyes, and an Open Heart!

I promise, keeping these things in mind will improve your interactions, and make people leave feeling better and happier.

“Grant that we may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.” - St. Francis of Assisi

Have you ever felt the yearning to be understood? For people to just “get” you… Maybe you feel like the people that you have interacted with in your life for whatever reason don’t seem to understand you. Maybe you have a hard time connecting… maybe you feel people’s motives are bad.

Maybe you feel like you confuse people because you just can’t seem to articulate the way you feel, how you are thinking…. What you meant when you did that thing….

Feeling misunderstood is one of the most frustrating things any of us can experience in this life. But at the same time… feeling misunderstood is something that we ALL will experience. Guaranteed.

Try praying this prayer from St. Francis today. That we would seek to understand first.

Why is this profound? Because this can be you doing the very thing you desire others to do for you.

If you have been feeling wholly misunderstood lately… try this.

Try intentionally understanding someone around you…

Let’s get more specific. Think about someone you are in conflict with right now, or have been recently. Think a friend, your spouse, your significant other… and how can you initiate a conversation to begin to understand their point of view? It might look something like this…

“Hey, do you remember that argument?” I was in the heat of the moment and I wasn’t in the headspace to understand where you were coming from. What was going through your mind/heart? What did you want me to hear that I wasn’t hearing?”

This is not easy… you may have to swallow your pride…

What you will begin to realize as you initiate these types of conversations is that just the gesture of caring enough to try to re-understand means the world to the people around you!

So St. Francis’ prayer is my prayer for you today. That the yearning of your heart would be less to be understood, and more to understand.

“Rather than the strength it takes to not lose, it's the strength to stand back up after a loss that is sometimes more valuable.”

― Kyo Shirodaira

“All I do is win, win, win, no matter what” -DJ Khaled

I think it would be hard to trace our culture’s obsession with “winning” back to its origination. Whether it’s dominating a kingdom against another kingdom, whether it’s Donald Trump’s self-proclaimed obsession with winning. Believe Me… there is something inside of Humanity that yearns to win. Even my wife, who acts like she could care less if she wins at anything… has a sneaky competitive streak… Trust me, I have played UNO with her.

The inevitable happens to all of us eventually… when the win is out of reach. When we make mistakes, when we lose. Defeat.

So let me ask the question of you.

What kind of loser are you?

Are you a gracious loser?

Are you a sore loser?

Here is the thing…

Even the people who have the most disdain for losing still get passed up for the job, still miss the chance to date the girl, still lose a house to a higher bid, still lose a sale every once in a while.

My encouragement for you today is this…

When you lose in life, (because you will), don’t take on the persona of a loser… but do lose graciously.

Life is humbling you, teaching you, disciplining you… and the sooner you can delight in that truth the sooner you can stand back up on your feet!

Don’t live life defeated, or arrogant, or timid, or cocky… let life teach you what you need to be taught.

“The chief beauty about time

is that you cannot waste it in advance.

The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,

as perfect, as unspoiled,

as if you had never wasted or misapplied

a single moment in all your life.

You can turn over a new leaf every hour

if you choose.”

― Arnold Bennett

Are you a morning person? I don’t know how I got to be this way, but I am in love with the mornings. Especially cool mornings where you can see your breath, and the steam of coffee goes crazy in the morning air. It’s a little uncomfortable to be outside, you don’t know what temperature to put your car on… I love mornings…

The older I get and the crazier life gets… the more life humbles me… I realize what a gift it is to see a new day. When you realize that there are things that are true about your morning that won’t always be true… I will abstain from getting too morbid, but what a humbling thought. Wow… I have the ability to walk this morning. I have healthy kids this morning. Nothing is wrong right now. These all might not be true for you… but I don’t know if it’s gratitude or presence or what it is… I think there is a new treasure God wants to give us about life every time the sun rises.

Think about it this way. No human knows exactly what will happen in advance. That’s why today’s quote is so profound. You can’t waste time that hasn’t yet passed. I hope that is encouraging to your soul today.

I realize that you may find yourself in a place where you dread what is ahead of you. While maybe it hasn’t happened yet… you are an intelligent person and you understand that if the pattern of your life simply continues… today doesn’t seem like it is going to be the best day.

I want to challenge your today. Scripture says that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. You have the opportunity to turn a new leaf today. Whether that’s entering your day with a new perspective… holding your relationships differently… entering conversations in a different headspace… a new leaf when it comes to parenting.

Today has the opportunity to hold something new and better for your life!

Let every morning be a reminder that there is hope for you… new mercies for you… and that God has put another day in front of you.

“People would rather follow a leader that is always real, than a leader that’s always right.” -Craig Groeschel

Today I want to talk about the areas in life where you are a leader. Some of us own that term more than others. I know many people who are more humble than me probably deflect the term. But here is what I believe to be true. You are more of a leader than you think you are. Whether your title says so or not… the amount of direct reports you have… or the stage of life you find yourself in… I would argue that you are more of a leader than you say you are.

Because leadership isn’t a title, an aura, or a paycheck… leadership is influence.

I bet that you have more of that than you realize. People are watching you… mirroring your behavior… learning from your successes and failures.

So many people feel that in order to be a leader they have to act a certain way… which I guess is not a completely inaccurate statement. However, where we get into hot water (and you know this if you have been around a leader like this) is when leader’s try to be something that they are not.

We are all guilty of doing this at some point.

Who knows why this is… maybe because we are insecure with our lack of experience, knowledge, and ability?

If you have ever felt insecure in your leadership… whether you are a parent, a sibling, the owner of a company, a supervisor…

I want to re-iterate today’s quote.

“People would rather follow a leader that is always real, than a leader that’s always right.” -Craig Groeschel

The power of your leadership comes from your vulnerability, your relatability… not your ability to get everything right.

Don’t feel like you have to be perfect…

Because if you do, you will spend the rest of your time trying to cover up your mistakes…

Be Real, Be Authentic, Say Sorry for the things you screw up… Listen to the people around you… show humility often…

The world needs the authentic leadership inside of you!

So be real, honest, and don’t feel like you have to live into anything that you are not.