We show respect for others when we listen to understand, not reply, and without interrupting to say what's on our mind. We show respect for ourselves when we honor our values and exercise self care. We show respect when we value other people's opinions and perspectives. Respect builds relationships and fosters trust.

Where and how do you want to show more respect?

Create your life.

Sometimes you need to live big and not shy away from expressing who you are or what you believe. Let yourself be seen. Share your thoughts. Make the choice to be brave. Show courage.

Create your life.

What can we learn from the Olympics about chasing and realizing dreams? Over the previous two-ish weeks, I found myself captivated by this once-every-four-year sporting event spectacular.

As an American, several events only come across my consciousness thanks to these multi-national athletic games.

The stories abound about these athletes from all parts of the world who wait four years.

They all have the dream to compete against the world's best.

They train and train and train some more.

They do what they need to do in order to be the Olympian of their dreams.

👣

I am no Olympian. I do have dreams. I dream of being a great leader, to help others grow and become great leaders themselves, to be a great colleague and friend, to be a great husband and father. I dream of being someone who makes a difference in our world.

Who do you want to be? What's your dream?

The blessing of our human condition is that we get to decide. You get to decide.

You get to decide who you want to become.

Like the Olympians pursuing their dreams, we must also take action to realize our dreams. We must take small steps.

Who will you be?

What is it that you need to do in order to be that person?

Create your life.

👣

Remember, how you choose to see the world determines the world you see.

👀

When you see the GOOD,

look for the GOOD,

expect the GOOD,

you find the GOOD and . . .

the GOOD finds you.

🙈

Create your life.

.

The above is a snippet from Jon Gordon's book, "The Carpenter"

From the moment you wake up, you make decisions. It all begins between your ears.

Do I get up now or lay in bed a little longer?

What clothes to wear? Does this shirt go with my pants?

What and when do I want to eat?

Do I listen to music while getting ready? Which playlist? Do I listen to a podcast? Which one?

Each day continues with decisions, decisions, and more decisions. Some conscious and others less so.

Truth is . . .

You get to choose.

You get to choose how you act.

You get to choose how you react.

You get to choose how you interact.

You get to choose what you feed your mind, body, and soul.

You get to choose who you want to become and what steps to take to get there.

You get to choose.

What's going on between your ears?

What choices are you making today?

Create your life.

I find myself focusing quite a bit on gratitude these days. When I uncover things in my life to be grateful about, big and small, I encounter even more for which to be grateful. It's almost like I'm a gratitude magnet. 🧲

Even while spending most of my days at home, I find gratitude for my life, my health, my wife, my son, my daughter, my friends, good beer, enjoying friends and good beer together, sunshine, white blankets of snow, being able to go outside for a walk, having food to eat, ice cream, and so much more.

For what are you grateful?

We wrestle with challenges, loss, and pain almost every day. What possibilities arise when you start with gratitude?

Let gratitude flow out of your heart and see what flows into your life as a result.

Take time each day to be grateful.

Become a gratitude magnet.

Create your life.

"Wherever your heart is, that is where you will find your treasure. Your heart contains your dreams and wishes and knows how to deal with them. You cannot escape from your heart. It's always inside of you. It's better to listen to what it has to say. In that way, you will never be surprised. ... People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams because they feel they don't deserve them or fear they won't be able to achieve them." -- taken from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

❤

What an enjoyable story! I originally listened to The Alchemist a couple of weeks before I embarked on my journey to become a certified professional coach. That's what my heart said I should pursue. The timing was perfect. It was a hugely exciting moment in time for me!

What is your heart saying to you?

Take a minute. Pause. Listen.

What is your heart calling you to do?

Don't let fear get in the way. 

Listen to your heart.

Pursue your dream.

Create your life.

Dreams don't have to be "big" - they have to be yours.

Whatever you're aiming at or working towards, make sure you're doing it for YOU.

Don't do something because someone else wants you to or because society says you should.

That will likely lead to resentment and unhappiness down the road.

Take action because it's something YOU want to do.

Make it YOUR dream.

Create your life.

☀

Want to remain positive and upbeat? Try to focus on what's good instead of focusing on what's wrong. The easy path, the path of least resistance, is to keep looking for the good on the surface. Sometimes you might need to look under the cover. You might need to search for the good. The good exists. Shift your focus there and see what happens.

Focus on what's good and avoid the trap of negativity.

Create your life.

Today I revisit lyrics from the song "Everything is Possible Now" by Clouds and Thorns.

As this new year gets rolling, these words seem particularly appropriate!

"As time rolls on, I won't let life leave me behind
I can see the future coming
And man it's such a sight
But time will waste me if I don't stop wasting time
Let's dream out loud 
'Cause all we know
Has been turned upside down
Everything is possible now"

This song's upbeat tempo feels good and the words energize my soul. Everything IS possible now.

What possibilities exist for you today?

Create your life.

☀

P.S. My word for 2022 is PLAYFUL. I want to live more free-spirited and enjoy life more fully. I want to shake myself free from default behaviors and unleash more creativity. I want to be less serious, have more fun and enjoy the ride.

What is your word?

🦦 (otter)

Happy New Year!

🎉

I have an invitation for you in 2022.

I invite you to start the new year by choosing just One Word that will provide you with clarity, meaning, purpose, and focus throughout the next year. Skip the resolutions that become forgotten within days or weeks (80% of them gone by February). One Word is simple and powerful.

🎆 You will become more aware of your word in everything you do.

🎆 You will benefit personally, professionally, and even while playing.

🎆 You will build new habits focused around your word.

Resolve to live 2022 on purpose, not by accident!

Choose One Word that will stick the entire year!

My word in 2021 was bold. I wanted to show up in my work and life with courage (close second), confidence, and a fearless and daring spirit. I wanted to reveal an ability to take risks and be confident and courageous in who I am and who I want to be.

Next week, I will share my word for 2022.

What will YOUR word be?

Create your life.

What did you concoct during the last 12 months?

As the year winds down, consider taking a few moments to reflect.

What have you created this year?

👍

Please allow me to share some of what my #creativity included:

🎵 Brewing two batches of beer with my son – Hefeweizen and Saison

🎵 Cooking new dinner recipes and preparing food in different ways

🎵 Launching a Dads group with my daytime employer

🎵 Helping to create fun account team meetings with my daytime employer

🎵 Introducing an approach to help men and Dads get their verve back

🎵 Continuing to write #ThursdayThoughts every week (this is #140)

This "year in review" reminded me - especially considering our continued state of the world - that life's what you make it.

Check out these lyrics sung by Graham Colton: "Life's what you make it. It's there for the taking."

🎶

What are you making with your life?

Are you living a life that aligns with your values and gives you fulfillment?

Do you make intentional choices about where to spend your time and energy?

What does your life balance look and feel like?

⚖

Perhaps more important than looking back is to look toward the next 12 months.

What song are you writing?

What are you ready to start?

Create your life.

# # # # #

Life's What You Make It - Song by Graham Colton

Take in all the sunshine

Bottle up the rain

Go where the wind blows

Let it show the way

Open all the windows

Let in all the light

You can pull the stars down

Paint the perfect sky

So go and write your song

The world will sing along

Oh a-oh a-oh

Life's what you make it

Oh a-oh a-oh

It's yours for the taking

You can test the water

You might as well jump in

And we don't know where we'll end up

So you might as well begin

Memories you're making

You frame inside in your heart

In the middle of a nowhere

Is a somewhere you can start

So go and write your song

The world will sing along

Oh a-oh a-oh

Life's what you make it

Oh a-oh a-oh

It's yours for the taking

Go and write your own song

All the world will sing along

When you find your melody

We'll join in, in harmony

👍🎶🎵

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker, business/management expert

(This quote gets attributed to Abraham Lincoln, too.)

Too bad the 🎱 and a 🔮 cannot really help you to predict the future.

Bummer, right?! 🤪

Several years ago, I decided to predict my future and embarked on a personal growth journey, a self improvement tour.

My journey continues after consuming many books, podcasts, blog posts, training classes, and working with multiple professional coaches.

It's a journey that never ends, until, well, there is no more tomorrow.

What are you doing to predict the future?

Choose to create it.

Be intentional.

Start with baby steps. Small things lead to big differences.

Resolve to make a change in yourself and start to predict the future.

Start to predict YOUR future.

Create your life.

Do you see it? It's all around me. Is it all around you, too?

I've become fascinated with, intrigued by, and much more aware over the last several years of my own loneliness as a man and father and notice how prevalent this condition appears to be in our society.

When I saw the Saturday Night Live sketch titled "Man Park" a couple of weeks ago, I found it funny and oh so true of my own experience. (Visit YouTube and search "Man Park - SNL" to watch "A commercial (that) advertises an outdoor park made especially for men.")

We (*I*) have a strong desire for connection, especially with other men and Dads.

As males, we tend to lose our ability to deeply connect with others somewhere in our high school and college years.

Society tells us to achieve more, to get promoted, to get a raise, and then another. It's never enough. We receive conditioning that encourages "success" and prohibits close relationships. This all makes meaningful connections with others, particularly men, increasingly difficult and appear further out of reach.

The focus shifts toward being Providers, Pro-creators, and Protectors.

Each time I see the question, “Who would you call in the middle of the night if you were sick or afraid?” I come up with a fairly short list (my own judgement).

I'm on a journey to change my answer and help others to change their answer, too.

For me, the journey started with a dose of vulnerability. It's hard to even consider you're lonely much less take steps to do something about it.

Small steps lead to big things. What might begin with a simple "hi" or "wanna grab a beer" can lead to brilliant conversations and kinship. Engage in discussions that extend beyond sports and the weather. Become curious about the other person.

The journey takes time. A journey I believe is well worth the effort.

Think of it as an adventure. We get to explore happier lives, families, and marriages and become healthier as well.

You benefit, we benefit, our friends and family benefit, society benefits.

You're worth it.

Create your life.

.

Do you want more connection and camaraderie in your life? Stay tuned for opportunities in 2022. If you want to learn more or just have someone you can talk with, schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

Less than 30 days left in 2021! Have you taken steps toward becoming who you aspire to be? Have you taken steps toward what you hope to accomplish?

.

Sometimes we feel like giving up and quitting. Things become hard to do. We doubt our ability, knowledge, or worthiness. We struggle. We doubt ourselves.

We run out of time.

You can still take meaningful steps forward, even if they are small steps. Move toward your destination even if you will not reach it when desired.

You can and will be someone great. You can and will create great things.

You need to keep going.

Don't let fear hold you back.

Fear is a liar.

You are good enough, smart enough, and talented enough.

Keep going - all the way to the end of the year and into next year.

Create your life.

.

If you feel like time is running out and want support to take meaningful steps forward, schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.