Fortune Friday: "Now is a good time for a new collection or hobby."

If you are like me, you often let your life slip into ruts. More specifically, we allow certain aspects of our lives to become rote and unconsciously habitual. We fall into patterns, sometimes unhealthy ones. It's easy right? Day in, day out, one step leading to another. Before you know it another year has slipped by and many of your best laid plans have fallen by the wayside.

Why do we do this? Because it is easy. It's comfortable. It's what we know. Shaking things up can be unsettling. Experiencing new things can be a threat to our ego. It's scary. We open ourselves up to possible ridicule or rejection.

But that is exactly what we need to do. There is no neutral ground in life. No safe stasis. We're either growing or we're dying, either progressing or regressing. In sports, they say the best defense is a strong offense. This applies to all aspects of life. Actively pursuing new opportunities and experiences is the lifeblood of a happy, fulfilling life. We are creative beings at our core. We thrive in an environment of growth, exploration, and new learning.

If your life is feeling stale, it might be time for a transfusion. Time to mix things up. Start a new hobby. Start a new collection. Start a book club. Start a walking club. Check out books from the library that you normally wouldn't check out. It doesn't have to cost money.

So if you find your life in a rut, ask yourself "What new experiences have I been trying?"

To your good fortune!

Invest In Yourself

There are lots of ways we invest in things. We invest our money in stocks, in real estate, and in goods. We invest our emotional capital in other people and in relationships. We invest our time in our community, in our schools, in our education, and in our social activities.

But we often fail to invest in ourselves. We think it is selfish to spend time on ourselves. We live for others; spending our time and resources running around fulfilling their needs, trying to please them. Now, don't misinterpret. I am not saying don't serve and help people. By all means do. Just don't live for them.

Live for yourself. Invest in yourself. Take care of yourself. Become the best possible version of yourself. It is from that place that you will be in the best position possible to then help others and serve the world.

Fortune Friday: "You are always welcome in a gathering."

One of my favorite movie quotes is from Kevin Smith's Clerks.

Randal: "I'm not going to miss what is probably going to be the social event of the season."
Dante: "You hate people!"
Randal: "But I love gatherings. Isn't it ironic."

A gathering is much different than a party or a seminar or an event or any of the myriad ways people come together. The word itself is active. Gather. To bring together. To me it implies that the person doing the gathering consciously selected the guests.

Are we selective about the people we invite into our lives? Do we actively gather those close to us? Are we welcoming and being welcomed?

Or do we just mingle and associate with whichever Tom, Dick or Harry that waltzes into our sphere?

Personally, I am going to rethink and rework a few of my associations and relationships.

To your good fortune!

Speak In Your Own Voice

When my son Landon was really young, he would sometimes speak in a strange little elf-like voice. He usually did this when he was in a situation where he was, as least by my interpretation, uncomfortable or embarrassed or less than confident. Almost like a mask he was hiding behind to shield him from discomfort.

And I remember one evening when we had family at our house for dinner, my son walked over to ask Adam, my brother-in-law, a question. In the voice. Adam turned to Landon and said, "Landon, I'd like you to speak to me me in your voice. I want to hear your voice." And he did.

From that day on, the elfish voice slowly drifted away. Now my son speaks in his own voice, with his own unique sense of humor, which I quite enjoy despite often being the recipient of his jokes. But alas, it is the prerogative of every teenager to make fun of their dad.

As creative individuals, one of the hardest things we will ever do is to learn to speak, and trust, in our own voice. It's scary to put your self out there. To be judged and possibly rejected or ridiculed. It is easier as an artist to mimic another well-respected artist. Easier to follow their well-worn footsteps. Easier to hide out under a false mask. It shields us from discomfort. But we will never fill the full measure of our creative potential as long as we speak in another artist's voice.

Every artist, be you a painter, a chef, a yoga instructor, a carpenter, or an app developer, owes it to the world to "speak" in your own unique voice. To paint your way. To combine spices and herbs your way. To give a sales presentation your way. To mill lumber your way.

We think people won't like what they hear. Trust me, they will.

Fortune Friday: "At 20 years of age the will reigns; At 30 the wit; At 40 the judgments."

Time and hindsight are two of life's greatest gifts. If we are fortunate to live long enough, we can benefit from our experiences to chart an even brighter, successful, and rewarding future.

In our twenties, many of our actions are driven by the body—as if it had a mind of its own. We seek pleasure and instant satisfaction. We seek to control as much of our world as we can. Only later do we discover that much of that effort was futile.

In our thirties, we transition into a more mental approach. We use our wits to our advantage. We gain skills and competencies. We learn it pays to use our smarts more than our brawn. Our younger, hedonistic pursuits give way to more "grown up" forms of happiness. However, we unwittingly believe that happiness comes to us through outside influences: big houses, fast cars, job titles, promotions, extravagant vacations, and gadgets galore.

In our forties, our wisdom starts to flourish. We've lived long enough to start seeing the world how it really is. We see how naive, and often foolish, we used to be. We realize that the power was inside us all along—that true happiness comes from inside. Our focus turns to those things which truly last: family, friends, spirituality, fulfilling relationships, and meaningful work that makes a positive difference in the world.

Although, I miss the vitality of my younger years, I would not choose to go back. I would not trade what I know now. My life experience, with both its ups and downs, is a blessing beyond measure.

To your good fortune!

Is Your Mind Great or Small?

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Eleanor Roosevelt. She said, "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

So, which of the three do you spend most of your time talking about?

Fortune Friday: "Everything will now come your way."

People often spend a lot of time dividing their mental energy between two less than useful states. They're either reminiscing about or regretting the past, or they're anticipating or dreading the future.

Somewhat pointless activities for the most part.

The past is past. Gone to the ether, never to be repeated, relived, or corrected. Just a collection of memories filed away in our heads. Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with happy (or unhappy) memories. But when we habitually dwell on them, they take us out of the present moment and, in effect, rob us of the here and now.

And what of the future? Same thing, but in reverse. Now, is it a good thing to plan ahead and set goals for things? Of course it is. But when we get swept away regularly into a future that hasn't even happened yet, we rob ourselves once again. And let's be honest, projecting into the future can be potentially more detrimental than reliving the past. Because there is no guarantee of tomorrow. At least the fact that I am currently breathing and writing this post is evidence that I have survived the past. But we can't bank on the future. There are just too many variables out of our direct control.

So where does that leave us? Here. Right now. That is all we ever truly have. Now is the only place "everything" truly comes our way.

Master Oogway, the wise old tortoise from DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda said it best:

"You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the 'present'."

To your good fortune!

Solving Puzzles With Puzzles

I had a wonderful creative breakthrough yesterday. You see, for several weeks now I have been stuck trying to find a solution to a plot line problem in one of my book projects. It has seriously been bugging me. So much so that I haven't worked on it in a while. Also, because it feels like the answer should be obvious. I know I'm sounding vague, but I don't want to give away the farm just yet.

So, I decided to temporarily shelve the book project. I purposely chose to not try and force a solution. I figured I would just let the problem lie and trust that the answer would reveal itself in its own due time.

And this is how I solved my story dilemma: I set the book project aside and started working on something else completely unrelated.

You see, I was talking with a friend and we were hashing out ideas for a graphic novel we want to partner on. No biggie. Just big-picture, pie-in-the-sky concepts, etc. From there, the discussion evolved into story arcs and themes and why the two parties involved in the story would say and do what they would.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, I had a flash of insight about my book dilemma. BAM! Clear as day. Out of the blue. Problem solved.

Once again, reinforcing an age-old concept: Creativity begets creativity.

The human mind is such an incredible thing. When we stop trying to force inspiration and just open up to whatever shows up, it is amazing to see what comes rushing in.