I’m tired of putting things off, I’m tired of saying what if, and I’m tired of waiting for the right time. Nothing changes if nothing changes. We need to take control of the things we want in our lives and create it for ourselves. These things don’t happen overnight, in fact, they take a long time and often come without much visible progress, but starting the pursuit is the only way to begin taking steps forward.

Think of a plant. It starts as a seed and stretches out to try to find some sunlight. Our ideas, goals, and dreams are the same. They need to start somewhere. Everything grows from an origin and moves and morphs into what it’s meant to be. 

So let’s get our mentality right.  Is it one day, or day one?  

The One Day mentality is passive. It’s also theoretical and immaterial. One day, I will lose 15 pounds. One day, I will stop smoking. You already hear the doubt and complacency in that self-talk, and if you talk like that you can’t expect anything to happen.  It’s just delaying the introspection, effort, or vulnerability of what you want to do.

But, with the Day One mentality, It starts now. Want to lose 15 pounds? Start a nutrition journal and sign up for a fitness class. Want to quit smoking? Tap into some resources and get on a plan. It is an action-oriented mentality that serves as the foundation of the life-change you are looking to make. It’s answering the call to the challenge you see in front of yourself and, at the very least, giving it a try. Yes, failure is a real possibility, but you can’t succeed without giving it a shot.

As we know, consistent action is the key to habit formation, and making a change to your life is no different. It can’t happen one day, it has to start now.

Let’s have a harsh reality check. Sometimes, you don’t know what’s best for you. Our brains are hardwired to avoid conflict and discomfort, and sometimes that leads us astray in our decision making. This means we tend to avoid the things we should actually do. Darren Hardy easily simplifies it for us.

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Hardy stated, "One of the key philosophies that I learned is whatever it is that you don't want to do, is usually the thing that you should do. Whatever it is that I fear, I just try to do what I don't want to do. I don't want to go workout. I don't want to go for a run. It's cold. I should go run. I don't want to bite my tongue and apologize to my wife, when I think that I am right. I probably should do that. I don't want to make this call. I am a little intimidated by calling this person. I should probably call that person. When faced with the choice, and you're not sure which one to take, take the one you don't want to do. I know it sounds simplistic, but it's amazing how often that is the correct choice, because fear is facing you at every turn. The hard choice, and so if you just do what you don't want to do, that is usually the thing you should do".

Powerful. When we get into the habit of questioning our reasons, and build a habit of stepping outside of our comfort zone, we can begin to experience a whole new potential for growth.

A question we were asked a lot as a kid but hardly ever any more is “Who is your hero?”. It’s funny because the answer was so meaningless then, but it’s everything now.

My hero is my Grandpa, Paul Shaw. It wasn’t until recently that I realized he has been the strongest driving force in my life, even though he has been deceased for over a decade. He was a standout college student-athlete, and that’s all I wanted to be. He was a successful entrepreneur, and here I am trying to make a name for myself and create something that matters like my grandpa did. But most interestingly, he is my biggest fear. Let me explain.

My grandpa grew up the son of immigrants in a Brooklyn superb. His father wasn’t around and his mom was terminally ill for most of his childhood, so he had to keep himself alive. From these beginnings, he earned a scholarship to play college basketball at Harvard, graduated Summa Cum Laude, and was awarded a government grant to start his career. He overcame extreme hardship to make a name for himself, and my biggest fear is that I don’t know if I could do the same if I were to face significant, unrelenting, survival mode adversity. In fact, that is my biggest insecurity.

That’s why he is my hero because he excelled in the area I see myself most deficient. He is the example I need in the face of my greatest fears, and he is the strength I strive to emulate in my own life. I don’t think it is uncommon for heroes to be born out of fear, and I think that’s part of the reason why I look up to him so much. It comes as the most sincere gesture of respect. So I ask you this: Who is your hero, and why?

This thought comes from Cuyla Coogan, a woman leading members of the LGBT community, and encouraging others to be themselves and make a difference while doing so. She’s well versed in the challenges the LGBT community faces, and has experienced them firsthand. Her response to the adversity present is simply love. In the video,Cuyla reflects on the role love has played in her life, past and present.

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This is a special reflection. I experienced a similar resistance to love, I used to hold on to it too tightly instead of share it with others. But I’ve changed my ways and you can too. Love is the language of the universe and the world needs more of it. Be the difference you want to see in the world, and that difference starts with love.

This quote is all about awareness. When you notice something it comes into your awareness. Whether it's gaining awareness about yourself, starting to notice beauty, or finding clarity on a solution, there’s one commonality that encompasses them all. Nothing changed about the input, it was always there in front of you, you just weren’t noticing it. It was there before, during and after. It exists independent of you, and for whatever reason it all changes once you acknowledge it. That is awareness and it feeds our reality.

Now let’s be intentional about what we choose to be aware of, because while we can notice beauty, positivity, and hope in the things around us, we can also notice of monotony and hatred.  Acknowledging negativity is really important. Turning that energy into gratitude is a superpower that will serve you in life. Outside of that, how can we see more of the beauty around us?

For me, it's mindfulness and curiosity. Mindfulness helps us to be present, to appreciate simplicity, and to gain awareness on the mundane. Pairing that with curiosity, you can add a whole new layer to the mundane that elicits intrigue and perfect complexity.

When something is placed in front of you that comes into your awareness, do you take it as a given and it just plays a background role in your life, or do you choose to see the miracle that is in front of you? The rustling of the leaves can either be background noise or a unique display of physics that relied on generations of creation to design that exact moment. Life is full of beauty, it’s time that we noticed it!

I believe that we can all be better together, and that through teamwork, cooperation, and collaboration, we can create things larger than we could on our own.  When it comes to building a community, or leading a team, it’s not about anyone in particular, it’s about everyone!

Everyone needs to be bought into the same core mission. Everyone needs to play their role knowing that other people are accountable to their role. Everyone. 

If any one person starts going off script and acts in a way to cover themselves, it comes at the expense of the entire group. One of my favorite quotes is, “You are only as good as your weakest player”. When it comes to accomplishing more, it’s about raising the tide for all, not just yourself.

Another way to think about this is how Gary Vaynerchuk relates to it. In his pursuit to be the best businessman, he describes two different ways to have the tallest building in the city. You can either build the tallest building, or knock all of the other buildings down.

When you use this group oriented mentality, you choose to give instead of take, and in doing that you improve the ecosystem that you, then, can benefit from. It’s not about anyone, it’s about everyone, and this world is abundant enough to take care of us all!

This is a beautiful message from country artist Kasey Musgraves. It’s a reminder that no matter what you do, you’re never going to make everyone happy, and she approaches it from a funny and practical angle.

"If you save yourself for marriage, you're a bore
If you don't save yourself for marriage, you're a whore-able person
If you won't have a drink, then you're a prude
But they'll call you a drunk as soon as you down the first one

If you can't lose the weight, then you're just fat
But if you lose too much, then you're on crack
You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't
So you might as well just do whatever you want
So

Make lots of noise (hey)
And kiss lots of boys (yeah)
Or kiss lots of girls
If that's something you're into
When the straight and narrow
Gets a little too straight
Roll up the joint
Or don't
Just follow your arrow
Wherever it points, yeah".

There’s especially beautiful in this that we all can tap into.  In a life where we’re getting pulled in opposite directions by different people, we always have our own internal compass, our own guiding arrow, and it’s so important that we follow that intuition. No one knows what you want more than you do. Don’t resist it, don’t fear it, just follow it.