Years ago, there was a time when I was in Door County, Wisconsin. I was in forest biking on a trail. The forest canopy was dense; light got through, but just enough. As I was riding, I noticed an area where light seemed to penetrate the canopy. Like that scene in a movie where a beam of light breaks through the trees as if to shine upon Excalibur. I parked the bike, and walked towards the light (he writes with a sarcastic grin). As I approached the “clearing” (let’s call it a clearing), I noticed a single leaf fall from a tree. Drained of life, effortless in its fall, peaceful, and intentional. The leaf met the ground as your head meets the softest and most comfortable pillow. Soon the leaf will biodegrade and life moves on.Dark thought for the day? Perhaps. But, I believe there to be a beauty in death. All things, no matter what they are - projects, people, jobs, food, gigs, tooth extractions, cars, leases, mortgages, debt (hopefully), school (thankfully) and the other things come to an end. And it’s in that end that we get to graduate to what’s next - the next piece of work we get to do. After taking in that moment with the leaf, I noticed myself taking the most relaxing of breaths. I looked at the bike, mounted, and started to peddle.

There are so many people out there telling us how to live, how to eat, what to do, what’s based on science, what’s based on philosophy, what’s based on the latest TikTok influencer… the list goes on. I am not in search of “more” ways to function. However, while reading “Meditations,” I came across an outline for a way to live. The suggestions are not novel or new-age, they are simple. They are fundamental. And things that are simple and fundamental interest me. Perhaps Marcus’ thoughts might interest you? 1. Forgive humanity.2. You are not your body, your breath, or your mind.3. That which serves our nature fully, serves everyone. 4. The world is maintained by change.5. Your time is temporary. Use it. 6. Do the work with intention.7. Respect yourself.8. Make your work meaningful - towards something.9. Focus on living/feeding your soul first.10. Be aware of the function of things.11. Don’t allow desire and impulse to guide your action.12. That which cannot harm your character/nature, is neither good nor bad.13. Intellect is for understanding and breaking down life, people, death, emotion, and all that exists.14. Worship your soul. Be attentive to it. Keep it clean.15. The only thing you can truly lose is the present.16. Everything relates and mimics and repeats itself.17. Anger, lack of purpose, disgruntled feelings, falsities, and impulse all degrade your soul.18. Nothing natural is evil.

“The past portends the future.” — Dad

As much as I respect my Dad, I don’t know if I agree.

I believe that through the past (failures or successes) we have the opportunity to learn and make change for our future self.

People who know a lot more than me describe this ability as “growth mindset”, or a capacity for reflecting on and transcending turbulent ordeals with greater resolve and purpose. I think I call it improvising. Why improvising?

What does it mean to be happy? And if you lose happiness, can you still get it back? Traveling around the world, I have seen people who live in circumstances less desirable than mine. And the people I have met who live in those circumstances are happy. But how could that be?Decide.Accept. Be thankful.Decide.Happiness, or contentment, comes from accepting the present - the here and now. To be able to say, “here, at this moment, I get to choose how I will be.” And then, to choose to be thankful that you had the ability to say that.Decide that you will accept your circumstance.Accept your circumstance.Be thankful that you got to accept your circumstance.Decide what you will do next. Sounds too good to be true? Of course it is! Who wants to accept that life didn’t pan out the way you wanted?Who wants to accept that a loved one will not be spending major events with you anymore? Who wants to accept the moment we’re in as a society/culture/human race? Who wants to accept that your family members may not want to spend time with you during the holidays? Who wants to accept that they’re getting older? Who wants to accept that they’re failing? The answer is, “not many.” And that’s okay - also, not many people are as happy as they could be now. So what will you do? When you next experience that deep melancholy, will you rise to meet and accept it? Will you decide how you want to deal with it? Will you be thankful that you got to decide?

I work with people who believe creativity is meant for artists, magicians, and mystics. What they miss is that creativity is a natural and human behavior.Examples of creativity:Creating an outfit;Adding a bit more salt to your cookie recipe;Seeing what happens when you keep the lasagna in a bit longer;Pushing the limits with your boss;Trying another tactic to get your kids to eat their vegetables; orExperimenting with a different performance technique.Creativity, simply, is the act of combining ideas. Whatever the ideas may be, the act of mixing them together is a creative act.  You are creative.  You have ideas that spur around in your brain. You mix and match your thoughts together to create stories about the people and the world around you. You are doing that now as you read this post.  Want to get better at being creative?  Start now. As you move through your day, be aware of how many different stories you tell yourself. Stories about your kids, the car in front of you, the retail clerk, or literally anything. When you become aware of the stories, start telling yourself a different.  Perhaps the car in front of you cut you off? Initially, you might think the driver is a jerk. But what if that driver just discovered a close relative was murdered?  Let’s say you’re staring at your computer screen and trying to solve a work problem. You might have tried everything within your capabilities to solve the problem. But what if you were capable of and could do anything? How might you solve the problem then? The more unrealistic your answer, the better ;-)You are creative. And you can choose to leverage your creativity to make meaningful works.  If you choose to do that, you become an artist.

It can be said, “you are what you eat.”  If that’s the case, why do we consume so much junk?  And forget food for a minute. What if “junk” also meant negative news, hype (of any kind), rumor, or assumption?  Earlier this year, I gave up social media and the news.  To understand the pandemic, I turned to history.To understand how to be a better leader in turbulent times, I learned about great leaders.To understand how to move through life with equanimity, I took pages out of Marcus Aurelius’ book.I discovered that much of what’s happened to us, as a people, has happened before. We’re not alone on this journey; others came before us. So, why not learn from them?  The books I am choosing to consume are not the only ones out there. By no means do I believe my learning is complete. But, I feel cautiously optimistic that what I am learning enables me to take my next step with confidence and contentment.  What do you consume? And, does what you consume enable a confident and content next step?

The moments before it happens will be the moments we remember.  Proposing to a potential partner;Responding to your boss’ “we need to talk” message;Every minute that leads up to a family gathering;Seconds before you step on stage and wonder if you memorized your music enough (pro tip: you haven’t); orWaiting in the waiting room before a dental exam.We remember the anxiety, the stress, the emotional effort, and everything besides how it felt to cross the threshold and do the thing.  If the lead-up is keeping you from doing the work you need to do, remember that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be - and we’re all counting on you.

To become a professional musician, you must practice. To become an effective manager, you must follow.To become a chef, you must cook. To become is to reach a destination, a mindset, a state greater than yourself.You cannot achieve such a state without a will, a choice, or a decision to start. Seneca wrote, “the larger part of goodness is the will to become good.“The larger part of becoming all you can be is the will to start.

I love the performing arts. And, more specifically, I love musical theater. And you should too, especially if you work with teams. Think of it. To create a musical you need singers, dancers, lighting designers, sound designers, scenic designers, stage management, carpenters, electrics, riggers, operators, running crews, wigmasters, quick change helpers, props masters… and a director. Everyone knows their job, and everyone works together. The corporate world calls this type of work, “cross-functional." And I smirk a bit because, it’s typically spoken about in a hightened manner. It’s a big thing to do something “cross-functionally.“I see it as a show. Showing up, knowing my role, and helping others do theirs. And if we do our jobs right, our work will matter to our audience. Support your local theater and arts scene. Tbey’re grooming the “cross-functional” leaders of tomorrow.

Humans love options. We love to get to choose. You have the option of assuming the best in your neighbor, and you can choose to assume the worst. You get to choose to see the best in your coworker, and you have the option of seeing the worst. You get to see your life as one big stress fest, and you get to see the moment for what it is — a moment. Assume the best from one another. You might be wrong, but you’re more than likely right. Trust yourself.