To me, this quote embodies a mindset of gratitude. So often we go through life without acknowledging the blessings that are around us because they are merely there by circumstance. We take these things for granted, but when we take responsibility for these elements, and become more mindful of the processes that provide it for us, we start to realize how lucky we really are. By carrying the weight of the task, and experiencing for yourself the effort required to produce the result, you’ll develop a new level of respect for everything that goes into it.

For example, think about taking out the trash. You take 30 seconds to move your trash bags to the bin, once a week you put the bins out on the street and the trash is gone for good. But what isn’t acknowledged is the process and full mechanism behind managing your trash, and it may be a utility you take for granted. Or the mail, and how it travels thousands of miles seemingly without effort in order to arrive to your door. It’s not so easy when you make the trip yourself.

More appropriately for personal development, let’s liken the quote to education. You can go on the internet and find a blog or podcast or book that answers your specific question. It’s so easy! But then you try to write a book or blog and you realize the work that’s required to produce that asset for you. In that way you get a glimpse of the true value of it and have a newfound respect for your access to education.

So take yourself seriously, invest in yourself, carry your own water just to know how heavy it is, because then you’ll know what it’s like and you’ll appreciate it more.

We go through many problems in our lives, from massive life shifting news to minor inconveniences, but there’s something that all of these problems have in common - They are simply unmet needs.

A problem is something that you are experiencing or going up against that is preventing you from a desired result in your life. That desired result is simply a standard you’ve set about how you want your needs to be met. It’s an expectation for a life balance, an equilibrium that we feel most comfortable in as it pertains to our survival, safety, sense of belonging, sense of self-worth, and sense of fulfillment. You may have noticed I just listed a version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Many problems are just the superficial representation of a more deeply rooted need, and we often come upon incorrect solutions to those problems because they are addressed at a superficial level. 

For example, let’s say you’re having an issue with a friendship because your friend has flaked on you a few times in a row. On the surface this may be perceived as a problem that your friend no longer values the relationship, and your solution could be to push away out of self-preservation, providing an immediate solution to the problem. But that would only bring you further from meeting the need that is being compromised, your desire for love and belonging, which could be maintained if you chose to be empathetic and understand on a deeper level what is motivating the problem.

I encourage you to think more about the problems in your life and how that might relate to your basic human needs.

Trust me when I say that everyone deals with loneliness. It may not be obvious, it may not be to the same extent, but everyone has moments or circumstances where they feel lonely. When it comes down to it, we all have a deep desire to be loved and appreciated by others, and when we don’t feel like we’ve received that, we feel lonely. It may not seem this way because as humans we are so good at protecting ourselves, adding layers to mask the truth behind the feelings we have. But that is usually an engineered, defensive facade that is used out of self-preservation.

Overall, I think loneliness is misunderstood. Just because you’re alone doesn't mean you’re lonely. In fact when we start to embrace our alone time we find there’s a lot of power and growth to be found in it. It’s fundamental to gaining self-awareness and standing in your independence, helping you find value in what you think of yourself and not completely dependent on what others think. There’s nothing lonely about being alone, and there’s a different word for it - It’s called solitude. 

So when you’re feeling lonely, try reframing it as solitude. See loneliness as an opportunity to celebrate you, to get to know yourself better, and to focus your attention on your own well-being. It might be difficult if you have frequent and extended bouts of loneliness, but in any case I’d encourage you to view it from a larger lens. This independent time in your life is teaching you something you need to learn about yourself, and when it’s all said and done you’ll be ready to experience a new level of happiness, connection, and alignment.

This is an incredibly effective productivity mindset that can help you better manage all of the random things that come across your plate. At first glance it seems impractical because it sounds unnecessarily disruptive, but when you do it right it actually frees up your time. Do it now. 

I understand that when you’re "in the flow" and you become aware of something that can take you off task, it doesn't sound like a good idea to address it. But let’s reveal what it actually means and in doing so change the perspective on this.

What’s important to note is the following applies for when you have already been presented the stimulus. You’ve been notified of something else going on and you are debating how to respond. Of course you can eliminate the notification from the onset and prevent the disruption in the first place, but that’s a different topic. 

With that in mind, when that notification or disruption does come through, do it now. As great of focus as you may have in the moment, subconsciously the notification affects your ability to focus and it demands your attention. We are evolutionarily hardwired to detect and seek to understand changes in our environment because it may present a threat. So in order to appease our threat detection systems, we can “do it now” so that we can return to or work with complete focus.

This takes two forms. If the interruption requires a small action to be addressed, something that will take a minute, do it now. Complete the action in its entirety so that it doesn't linger over your head. Alternatively, if a larger action is required of you, have a system that allows you to address it now. Write it in a notebook, or put that thought somewhere that you will revisit so that you are confident you can address it when the time is right. Then you can return to your task with focus knowing you won’t overlook the new deed that needs to get done.

In both cases, it’s as simple as doing it now. Don’t try to ignore the stimulus because it will continue to affect you more than you know.

This is the new framework of Naveen Jain, a billionaire philanthropist and entrepreneur. If you’re looking to do something new in business, in a project, or toward a cause it’s important to understand how effective you can be at solving the problem. Before committing and obsessing over this new endeavor you need to make sure it’s worth your time and effort. Naveen Jain encourages you to ask 3 simple questions: Why this? Why now? Why me?

Ask “Why this?” to understand if it will actually drive impact and change. “Ask Why now?” to evaluate if new technologies or circumstances will allow this problem to be solved in a new way. And ask “Why me?” to hone in your skillset and if you are uniquely positioned to tackle the problem in the right way.

Recently, I’ve been guilty of being on the wrong side of this. I’ve been feeling entitled to certain results or meeting certain expectations, hoping that bigger, better, more - would validate the hard work I’ve been putting in. I’ve been letting external factors determine my sense of self-worth and influence my happiness. While I do trust my intentions and I know it comes from a good place, it’s the wrong way of thinking.  

The key word in this quote is the word ‘knowing’. “The secret to having it all is knowing you already do.” When you know something, it is certain. There is no doubt, no reconsidering, no wasted energy on different possibilities. Our reality is determined by what we perceive to be true, and if you perceive that you absolutely know something then it is truly part of your reality.  It becomes an inevitability that will exist once time has taken its course.

The best way to achieve big, ambitious goals, is to go back to the basics. What do you have right now? Are you taken care of? Are you comfortable? Are you making it? You might take it for granted, but time and again you have been provided exactly what you need to thrive and flourish, and you can have faith that you’ll continue to receive everything you need. Everything you can do, and be, and create, and provide, already exists within you. You are born with it and while it may take time to access it, knowing you already have it is the secret to having it all.

Something I have valued my entire life is grit. Underlying grit is a belief that hard work pays off, that patience is a virtue, and that investing in yourself and others drives results. The foremost expert on the subject is the founder and CEO of Character Labs, Dr. Angela Duckworth.

Everything that Angela just stated validates one of my core beliefs - Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. But an important extension of that thought is that hard work needs to be sustained over time, despite opposition and setbacks, in order to realize its fullest potential. Regardless of the setting you find yourself in, I encourage you to adopt a more gritty mindset so that you can stop taking “No” for an answer and persevere in areas that matter to you.

Does it ever feel like things aren’t happening fast enough for you? Like your patience is running out or you’re losing sight of what you want? Or that time is passing by and you’re afraid that you’re not making the absolute most of it? Maybe it’s time for you to take ownership of your destiny and start creating it.

I grew up playing sports so I’m going to use a sports analogy - It’s time to play offense in life.

Playing offense is about being the aggressor. Push the boundary, be disruptive, and be bold. Get creative about how you pursue your goals and stay persistent. Playing offense is about trying new things to see what might work so that you have a chance to get what you desire. Yes, things may need to get worse before they get better, and failure is a real option, but even with the ups and downs at least you know you’re trying and you’ll probably get to your final destination faster. 

The alternative is to keep playing defense, which is about maintaining the status quo, resisting change, and protecting the value in the way things are. There’s nothing wrong with that, unless you’re protecting something that doesn’t feel fulfilling or satisfying to you, or it doesn't bring you happiness.

You can start playing offense by committing to something important to you, refusing to settle for what’s just “okay”, and taking action toward something you care about. I get it, it’s uncomfortable and not sustainable to do all at once, but when you take your first small offensive step then there’s a hope and belief that you can score a goal.

As we go about problem solving in our lives we usually find that the simplest solution is the best fitting. But it’s not like the simplest option just pops up and waves its arms at you... You need to discover it and think it through from a number of different angles. Simplicity comes from understanding a complex objective and distilling it down into its most basic parts. And the reality is, that process involves a lot of hard work. 

You need to work hard in order to make something look effortless.

We’ve all been there… We’ve been struggling at something for long enough that we look around to see how other people are managing, only to find someone who makes it look so easy. How nice it would be if it was that easy for me! What you don’t see is the trial and error process, the experimentation, and the failures that preceded what they’re now making look so easy.

It’s counterintuitive because when observing someone that looks so effortless, you do not see the complexity or even recognize that what they are doing is inherently difficult. But that’s only because they have worked through the learning curve to synthesize the task into the most simplified form of action. Simple solutions seem to exist in plain sight and they don’t appear to be that clever. But that’s exactly the point - They appear to be so effortless that they aren’t noteworthy, they just fit.

I say this all to help you understand that the people around you who seem to be in a flow state, and the user-friendliness of your life is there by design. It required a lot of thought and hard work to make it look so effortless.