Consider This Thought

With the start of a new year, will you commit to say things your’e thankful for aloud each day?

What will you do this year to improve yourself and change the world?

Simple but powerful words to carry us into the new year, don’t you think?  That’s why I love this.  Don’t just be “ok” to each other.  Be *excellent*.  You alone can choose to rise above the status quo and the noise in the world today and choose excellence.  What would it look like for you to be excellent to your fellow humans in 2018?

A fitting thought to consider as 2017 becomes past and 2018 becomes our new present.  The end of a year/start of the next year is a popular time to reflect on what we’ve done and been through, and look ahead to all that we hope to do and go through.  It’s a time to evaluate old goals and set new ones.  While a fresh start can happen any time, right now is a particularly poignant time time when you’re standing on the cliff edge of one year looking into the wild unknown of a brand new start... and it’s a time that can often feel overwhelming.  It’s easy to freeze on that cliff edge.  But 2017 is done.  2018 is coming.  That can’t be changed... but what you do with the time coming your way is up to you!

Are you ready for some changes as we head into the new year?  What steps will your ready self take?

Combining your efforts with a like-minded teammate is one time where 1 + 1 = 5.... aka your combined powers can do so much more than just the sum of your individual powers!  Don’t try to take too much on your own shoulders -- find teammates!  Help lighten their load, and let them help lighten yours!  Together we can do SO MUCH!

Side note: you can get a print of this doodle at https://www.etsy.com/listing/239076564/launch-out-2015-stronger-than-coffee?ref=related-0

In his fantastic talk at Launch Out 2015, Matt Ham describes how we think we’ll be happy when we attain certain states.  But “if we’re not grateful for where we are, we’ll never be grateful for where we’re going...”  Gratitude isn’t a destination that we’ll someday reach, it’s a choice we must make in the now.  Don’t wait until some magical day when you’re suddenly a grateful person - choosing to be grateful now is what changes you.

In her fabulous talk at Launch Out 2015, “The Two Feet of Hope,” Jane talks about how hope is *active*, how it’s “the belief that the future will be better than the present and you have the power to make it so.”  That mindset opens the door to creativity and happiness and flies directly in the face of fear!

Sometimes we forget.  We compare our dreams and stories to others’.  We forget that what we have is valuable.  Your story and your dream are something worth pursuing and sharing with the world.  They are your unique way to impact those around you.  And they are worth fighting for, sailing for, risking for - even worth sinking for.  So be brave, build, launch... because you’re building something worth sinking for!

Two simple words.  Two important words.  As we live our lives, pursue our dreams, hustle, grow, learn... what good are we doing with what we gain?  Don’t get so focused on the gaining that you forget why you’re gaining in the first place and who has helped you get to where you are now.  Are you the only person benefiting from your growth?  

If you’re always moving from one thing to the next, mind always fixed on what’s coming next instead of living in the present moment, well... that’s barely living.  Yet if we’re honest, that’s exactly how so many of us scrape by.  We rush so that we “won’t miss anything” - and yet, think of how much we’re missing by rushing!  Slow down.  Partake in the simple joys of living.

And YEAH, space on!! :D *fist bump*

How would challenges change for you if you looked at limits as friends to learn from instead of foes to hide from?

But think of the implications!  Don’t like the way something is working out?  Wish you/your life was different?  Choose to change something!   The choice may be a shift in perspective, career, thought, goals, habit, location, you name it -- YOU get to choose your own adventure.  YOU have a say. :) 

I scrawled these words in the margin of a notebook a few months ago after a particularly interesting meeting.  It was so simple yet it struck me immediately... we naturally think, “I want to have more fun experiences, I must do more things!”  And while sitting around waiting for experiences is not going to catapult you into an exciting life, we often tend to go overboard.  I know I sure do.  But the answer is actually the un-intuitive reverse: slow down.  Savor the things that you do.  You can’t fully experience & appreciate what you are doing if you’re always rushing through it to get to what you could be doing next. 

How are *you* looking at the resistance you face?  Do you let it ground you, or see it as a potentially lifting force?