A good morning, and thus a good day, aren’t experiences that magically happen — they are created consciously. Most of us are distracted from the get-go every morning. Trivial activities like checking social media, watching TV, and worrying about things we can’t control often set the tone of […]

You ultimately become what you habitually do. If your daily habits aren’t moving you forward, they’re holding you back. Here are four prevalent examples of the latter that often drain the best of us of our true potential, and some strategies for turning things around if you’re currently stuck […]

There’s a big difference between empty fatigue and gratifying exhaustion. Life is too short not to focus more on what matters most. Before you know it you will be asking, “How did it get so late so soon?” Perhaps you can already relate. So take time to reflect. Take time to realize what you […]

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard Are you willing to spend a little time every day like most people won’t, so you can spend the better part of your life like most people can’t? Think about that question for a moment. Let it sink in.

The goal each and every day of your life is to gradually grow stronger on the inside, so that less and less on the outside can affect your inner wellness without your conscious permission. Truth be told, how you cope with unexpected problems and frustrations can easily be the difference between […]

Opportunities are like sunrises, if we wait too long we miss them. Too often we waste our time waiting for the ideal path to appear. But it never does of course. Because we forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting. Let this be your wake-up call today! If you always sit around until

You can’t lift a thousand pounds all at once, yet you can easily lift one pound a thousand times. Tiny, repeated efforts will get you there. I have witnessed people reinventing themselves at all ages — 48-year-olds starting families, 57-year-olds graduating from college for the first time, […]

As we all look forward to the next step in our lives, I know many of us are yearning for a simpler and selective range of life experiences — the happy days, the normal times, the settings and experiences that make us feel more comfortable. And yet, the full range of our reality often brings

“In elementary school my parents told me it didn’t matter what I did when I grew up, so long as it made me happy. ‘Happiness is the whole point of life,’ my father said. ‘But it doesn’t always come easy. Your mother loves to help people in need, so she became a psychiatric nurse. I

In the end, more than anything else, we regret the little things we wish we’d done differently. “If only…” Those two words paired together create one of the saddest phrases in the English language. Here are ten choices in life that ultimately lead to that phrase of regret, and how to avoid […]

The goal is to change your response to what you can’t control — to gradually grow stronger on the inside, so less on the outside affects your inner peace and joy without your conscious permission. The mind is the biggest battleground. It’s the place where the greatest conflict resides. It’s […]

The most powerful changes happen when we decide to take control of what we do have power over, instead of craving control over what we do not. Holding on is hard. Holding on contributes to stress, unhappiness, relationship issues, and so much more. Yet, as human beings, we cling desperately to […]

Earlier today, I was sitting on a neighborhood park bench eating a sandwich when an elderly couple pulled their car up under a nearby oak tree. They rolled down the windows and turned up some jazz music on the radio. Then the man got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and

The truth does not cease to exist when it is forgotten or ignored. You know how you can hear or read something dozens of times in various ways before it finally sinks in? The truths listed below fall firmly into that category — timeless lessons that many of us probably learned years ago, and have

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. When you can no longer think of a reason to continue, you must think of a reason to start over. There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction. And there are three little words that can release you […]

You have come a long way, and you’re still learning and growing. Be thankful for the lessons. Take them and make the best of things today. For my 18th birthday, many moons ago, my grandfather on my mom’s side gave me four lightly-used flannel shirts that he no longer needed. The shirts were […]

It’s not what you say to everyone else that determines your life; it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the greatest power and influence. The best lessons we learn in life are the lessons we learn over and over again. The human mind needs lots of reminders — lots of practice — to […]

On the average day happiness is letting go of what you assume life is supposed to be like, and sincerely appreciating it for everything it is. Over the past 15 years, as Angel and I have gradually worked with hundreds of our course students, coaching clients, and live event attendees, we’ve come […]

You ultimately become what you repeatedly do. If your daily habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you. Here are some fairly common and widespread examples of the latter that will drain all your joy if you let them: 1. Focusing on how life “should” be every step of the way. Try to use […]

Asking the right questions is the answer. In a recent email newsletter I wrote, “Calm your mind today. Don’t think outside the box; think like there is no box.” And to my surprise, 77 people quoted that line and responded with the same general question: “How?” I’ve spent some time […]