Symbols

We all have symbols that remind. Motifs that stir senses. Beautiful and colorful and moving. Ugly and dark and fixed. Emblems serving as gestures. Patterns announcing thought. Souvenirs of what was, indication of what is, hints of what will. Modest even.

Your lens distinct, keen. Your architecture complex, astute. Definitive expressions, images of opportunity, power embodied. Your compass? Freedom even.

The precision of our patterns express the detail of our soul. The specificity is revealing. Definite impressions, inspiring relics. Thoughtful explanations and shallow confessions. Tokens even.

Your attributes, your character, your badge, your symbol represent something worth sharing.

Amplify who’s listening.

Wherever you go, there you are.

Your surroundings create the context of your life. How something sounds or tastes changes with the environment you wrap yourself in. How you feel, what you think, all a product of what is all around you. What you see or what you do is directly proportionate to where you are.

Change you thinking... change your environment.

Think about the best cup of coffee you have ever had. Where was it? Who was it with? How was the service? What did the cup look like? What did the shop smell like? Were you inside or outside? What time of the year? What was on the walls? All of it matters. All of it context.

Change you learning... change your surroundings.

Simple enough, so you think. Harder than you know. Giving yourself to the environment you currently stand in, not easy. Basking in the product that surrounds you, difficult at best. Participating in backdrop of you see all around you, creativity at worst. Dressing yourself in the movie you’re starring in, exhilarating at best.

The surroundings we provide or live to create are out there for us to thrive in. Be present in what you do, be patient in who you’re with, and be involved with where you are.

Change your lens... change your view.

Premium

Not standard, conventional, or general. Not ordinary or routine. Not regular or common. Think exceptional, remarkable, or scarce. Expect uncommon or extraordinary. Be phenomenal and unique. That’s premium.

Often people do work in the former, not the latter. They work to get by, be the norm, or stay out of harms way. Playing the game not to lose and giving average performance or minimal effort. It’s about giving the absolute most that is convenient for the job, the work, or the chore. They offer least amount of effort with the highest possible return. It’s about half way, never fully committed to their success or others.

Time to change your fuel. No regular needed, premium only.

Premium could be the new standard. Premium should be the next expectation. Premium is about surpassing what is common. It’s about pushing beyond what is comfortable. Partnering to reach new heights in effort and setting course on the undiscovered. Premium is about playing to win, positioning yourself or others for maximum performance. It’s quality work next level, every time. Forget step goals or tiers, easing in or toe dipping. This is ultimate effort on the most remedial of tasks. It’s obliterating today’s definition of success.

Not standard, conventional, or general. Not ordinary or routine. Not regular or common. Think exceptional, remarkable, or scarce. Expect uncommon or extraordinary. Be phenomenal and unique. That’s premium.

One More

That’s it… not five or ten, just one more makes all the difference. Trust me.

Our goals or targets or levels can be overwhelming. They sound big, look even bigger, and perhaps are the biggest ever set in front of you. There are ideas and plans and processes to help us achieve them. You may have people there to remind you of commitments, the work that still needs to be done, even point to the gap that remains. Accurate as some of this may be, the work gets complicated. The targets and goals, plans and processes, commitments and gaps all get lost.

Think smaller. Think really small.

There isn’t much that separates us from making things happen and lettings thing happen. It’s about decisions made, taking the initiative to control an outcome. It’s seeing something through versus leaving something to chance. The variance is minimal, the outcome is substantial. It’s as simple as taking one more step, digging in one more layer, and advancing your next...once more.

Ask one more question.

Have one more conversation.

Engage one more person.

Practice one more time.

Be one more, even just for today. Imagine the possibilities.

Food & Music

There aren’t many things that transcend our cultural backgrounds, native languages, or worldly influences more than food and music. No matter what language the song or menu is in, your senses help you connect to the emotion and feeling of both. What you see, hear, taste, smell, or feel have no boundaries, no limit to the expression or sensation they give you.

Still amazes me how simply a little cuisine and harmonies help us connect. They provide context with those that we have never met, give us depth to those we have never seen. They create a conversation that may have never been. Music and food organize a cause, bringing like-minded together. They give us substance, even meaning, represent a belief or transmit emotion. They express your art in so many ways. Regardless of who you are, where you are from, food and music are the great equalizer.

Thanks to the Internet our ideas of music and food can be shared with more audiences than ever. A platform to connect our feelings and emotion reaches further and associates with more people than artists ever dreamed. We can discover more, influence more, and learn more. Create new, experience new, feel new. Virtually travel to a time or place that gives us more. That is cool. We need more.

Food and music evoke emotion from each of us. We all have that song (or six) that shaped what we think or how we act. There is something that we cook that represents where we have been or what we have experienced. Who we are could be brought to life through song, created by a meal. Think about the influences in your life. What is your soundtrack? What is your dish? Share it with the world.

Unless

Sometimes the most important learning is so untimely, so deceptive, so indirect. Sometimes we aren’t adequately prepared to comprehend the lesson, distracted by the color or sound or production happening in the background. Sometimes we can’t see the forest beyond the trees.

Unless…

Unless the most important learning is untimely, deceptive, and indirect. Unless we adequately prepare to comprehend the lesson, not distracted by the color or sound or production happening in the background. Unless we can see the forest beyond the trees.

Unless we modify our lens, unless we learn fiercely, unless we alter our thinking, unless we listen diversely life may pass us by.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” - Dr. Seuss

Day 2

There is always day 1. The first day to begin something, take a leap, start work. In fact most days are day 1, brilliant thoughts that arise and come to life. Anyone can do that. Everyone does that. It’s the next day that means something.

The second day is the beginning of your next. The second day of creating, of learning, of studying, and constructing a foundation. It’s practicing a skill and initiating a routine. It’s being healthy and making good choices. It’s getting back in that seat, taking another swing, or making an additional call. A fight through the aches and pains knowing your molding and shaping your new habit. Successive days… Repeated performances… Building.

Perhaps life is about a series of day 2’s. We all have our choices on what happens next. Sure there is day 17, and day 47, and day 91… but first there is day 2. Make day 2 matter.