John McConnell

Persistence, Principles, Persisting and Resisting

I believe that determination and constant effort are required to make things happen in life. I believe that you must be putting forth constant effort in a very persistent, almost annoyingly persistent, manner.

You want a job? You have to be present… and I don’t mean in some mindfulness way, although this is also true. You must also have your focus and determination set on what you want of course,…

Daily Stoic Challenge Day 8

Reflect on the influential figures in your life. Who are they? What did they teach you? What did you learn from them? Was it a specific lesson or the way they carried themselves? Think about the traits you’ve observed and admired in each person. Think about how you can more consciously and actively apply what you’ve learned from those people. Write it down. Put it out there so you never forget.

4 Aug 2018 – Journal:

Today I am feeling somber. I feel like I’ve focused on the wrong things for the wrong reasons. I’ve spent my time these last few months obsessing over a woman. A woman I hold very deeply in my heart. It’s fine to admire someone and make them feel special. It is ok to give them your love. It is not ok for you to let them completely consume you nor is it ok for you to want…

The Magic of Travel

[Co-Authored by Chiara Lo Bianco (@_behind.brown.eyes_) (http://focusonyourbreath.it)]

  Travel is an elixir that can heal many many wounds.  It starts with the initial thought, where would I really like to go and what would I really like to see?  Then comes the planning. How far away and how much will it cost? How long do I intend to stay there? Do the people there speak English (or whatever…

Thoughts on suicide, resilience, and truth

As the dust from the day settles and the kindling from the fire burns, I find myself reflecting on the past and what everything that has happened thus far means.  There was a pile of wood.  Big logs much too long to fit into the fire pit.  Whittling them down with a chainsaw (an electric one because portability has become my new motto over the years) I visualized the sizes I needed in order to…

PT 1.

How many mistakes have you made in the past? Were you able to fully recover from those mistakes or have they led you down some path of self loathing?  Sometimes setbacks and mistakes can seem like the end of the world as you know it.  They can seem so overwhelming that it may take months or even years to recover from them.  So many emotions tied up at one time in something that you though…

Lessons about starting over

It feels at first like you have no plan and nothing figured out.  It’s just a dream or some aspiration to get to.  You know there is a place or a time you really want to be at but not really sure about how or why.  Starting over is simply hitting the reset button on all expectation.  It’s a way of telling yourself, ok, it’s time for a course correction.  It is a way of letting go and getting back…

This is a real, true to life, lesson that I want to convey to you… to my kids, to my family, to myself.  There will be things in life that will attempt to take your soul away.  Things that are so overpowering that you will feel like you have your head in the lions mouth.  Things that will test the very fiber of your being.  I want you to understand that….you are not alone in this feeling… you are…

Shikata Ga Nai – 仕方が無い

Japan and it’s wonders

Although I haven’t been to Japan just yet I have always had a fascination with the culture.  The same goes for most Asian or other cultures that have been around for thousands of years.  To have survived as a culture for so long says a whole lot about a place.  Granted, Americans are comprised of a hodge podge of different cultures and ethnicity we are still a young budding…

Seeing is believing

Real spider or fake?  Real leg or fake?  Real picture or fake?  Is this post even real?  Our minds have ways of playing tricks on us and making us believe what we want to believe.  Some people believe in ghosts or UFOs.  Some people believe in Gods and Idols.  Some people believe in the power of thinking big.  Some believe nothing.  So what can you trust and what can you…

The Magic Art of Communicating With your Kids

Do you talk to your kids?

No matter how old your kids are, these next few paragraphs will save you years of distraught when it comes to communication with your children.  The cycle has been passed down through generations of parents and perpetuated across space and time.  Seeing your kids when they are just born to that tender age of kindergarten or preschool.  We think they are loveable and they…

You own the day – Larry King, Cal Fussman, Tim Ferris, and my brain.

  Two things I want to do with this particular piece is touch on a topic that I think is universally important, as I try to do with every piece I create.  Secondly, introduce two of my very favorite people to listen to while taking a long drive, walk or run.  This will all blend together as I peel back the layers and it might get a little into the weeds, please bear with me.

Being able to step…

waking up and staying up with reversal

Reversing the snooze button

Take for example sleeping through alarms. I have a real problem with this. Attributed to many things but I have narrowed it down to a few things. Here are some tips and tricks to getting a better night sleep as well as getting out of bed on time in the morning instead of hitting the snooze button repeatedly until you are really late.

Staying up too late.

The later you…

Save your marriage and yourself

Who is your #1 fan?

Do you even have a #1 fan?  If not I would suggest you find one.  Not out of necessity but out of pure life-altering positivity.  We are all out there looking for confirmation of how wonderful we are.  How good we are at doing things.  How special we are.  Most of us want that kind of support and spirit in our lives but most of us never give it out to anyone else, at least not…

snap judgement = mind reading

Judgment will keep your brain occupied…forever.

Do you ever ask yourself WTF?  Why does no one understand what I am going through?  Why can’t people just see it my way?  How is it that everyone around me is just there to piss me off?

Humans are like any other animal on this planet.  We wake up and we do things.  We sleep, laugh, cry, kill, save lives, and eat.  We are moody sometimes and happy…

When all else fails eat cow tongue and learn Spanish.

Have you ever had one of those days..  you know those days where everything seems to be off regardless of how you feel prior to all of the chaos? Today was that day.  I’m not here to bitch about it but instead learn the lessons from it and, try as I may, not make the same mistakes in the future.  Today was the culmination of 5 weeks of nonstop…