Excellent Advice for Living

I learned something important this week that I wanted to share—or, I should say, re-learned a lesson because it’s something I have to keep reminding myself, which is that intrinsic rewards always beat extrinsic ones.

Here’s the difference in a nutshell: the personal satisfaction of a job well done (intrinsic) versus creating something in search of external validation (extrinsic).

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Without Grey

WITHOUT GREY
Poem by Heather Harrington


Without grey, I wouldn't miss the sun.

Without cold, I wouldn't long for warmth.
Without heat, I wouldn't look for coolness.

Without sadness, I wouldn't recognize happiness.

Without loud, I wouldn't want quiet.
Without silence, I wouldn't welcome noise.

Without age, I wouldn't ponder youth.

Without heartbreak, I wouldn't enjoy love.
Without loneliness, I wouldn't miss friends.

Without struggle, I wouldn't know success.

Without sickness, I wouldn't relish health.

Without difficulty, I wouldn't appreciate ease.

Without time, I wouldn't savor today.
And without grey, in all its beautiful shades, I wouldn't appreciate living.

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Standing Tall

Sometimes when you put a question out into the universe, it responds.

While on vacation, I was wrestling with a decision. I asked for a sign that I was making the right choice.

I then took a walk on the beach with my daughter. While walking, we came upon a Blue Heron in our path (I have always loved herons). We turned around; we came upon another one on our way back. I hadn't seen any on the beach before this walk, so I thought this was odd and looked up their meaning.

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Hearts Intertwined

Oceans apart, we watch.

Helpless at what unfolds.

The unimaginable is happening.

Cities destroyed.

Families separated.

Lives lost.

Through the horror, a strong will emerges.

A heart of a country and the will of its people to survive.

For themselves, their children, the world, and the future.

War cannot destroy love or the will of its people.

Deep it runs like the waters of the sea.

Though the distance between us is far, we stand with you, heart in heart.

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Some Days Call for Donuts

Just when I least expected it. It came.

Small. Unforeseen. But worth the work.

A win.

Sweet like the icing on a freshly baked donut.

Its tiny sprinkles symbolic of the efforts put in.

I could plow right past it. And move on to the next challenge, hungry for a new win.

Or I could pause. Pour a glass of cold milk and enjoy the goodness of the moment... and a donut.

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Momentum

I wish to be much farther down the road, if I'm honest.

Instead, I will appreciate where I am.

For yesterday I wished to be at this point.

And now that I have arrived, I want to be at yet another.

And tomorrow, I'm sure I will wish to be someplace new altogether.

I will see where today takes me instead.

And at the end of the day, I will be grateful.

Grateful for the journey and the momentum I've gained.

After all, today is where just yesterday I hoped I'd be.

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To Tomorrow

To tomorrow, a new year and a new day.
It won't come without its challenges - but it never does.

Here's to showing up as our best selves;
to rising to meet the challenges ahead;
to working together;
to embracing love and kindness;
to seeing the beauty in the mundane;
to new wonders and new discoveries;
to cherishing the time we have.

Here's to a colorful new year ahead and letting the light in each of us shine through.

Happy new year.

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More than a Cup

Life has felt incredibly hectic lately, as it does for many this time of year.

I long for it to slow down.

As I often do when life feels out of sorts, I brew a cup of tea.

I breathe a little more deeply as I sit to enjoy it.

Wrapping my hands around the cup, I take in the warmth and aroma. The tea, still too hot to sip.

I wait for it to cool and realize I've stopped racing. For just a few moments, I've gotten off the hamster wheel of life.

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The Power of Progress

We recently snuck away for a long weekend to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which is one of our favorite spots to unwind and reset.

It's one of those places where you can set an "I will have limited access to email" out-of-office reply message and mean it.

When we go to the UP, we like to hike. And on this occasion we chose a rigorous ascent up Hogback Mountain to a summit that offers 360-degree views of endless forest to the south and Lake Superior to the north.

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Escaping the Insufferable Status Quo

In the last decade, my wife, Heather, and I have made some significant changes in our lives.

Nine years ago, I stopped practicing law.

Eight years ago, we ditched our bricks-and-mortar office and shifted to a virtual business model.

Six years ago, we moved our family from a suburb of a large city to a small town in northern Michigan.

Each decision was excruciatingly hard to make. I conjured up all types of reasons not to make them. Fear is a powerful form of resistance.

What if I can’t support my family? What if our employees quit? What if we don’t make any friends? What if we come to regret our decision. What if?

But looking back, the fear I felt was totally unfounded and the change we wrought has been almost universally positive. The events of the last 12 months have served as a reinforcing exclamation point. When COVID-19 hit, we were already set up to work remotely from a location, Traverse City, Michigan, that has been a hot spot for pandemic relocation because of its low density and beautiful natural surroundings.

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Stepping into Quiet

Last Sunday we met two other families at Brown Bridge Quiet Area for a late morning hike. Brown Bridge is one of my favorite parks, although I hadn’t been in a while. It’s located just outside of Traverse City.

The morning was crisp but the sun was out and quickly warmed the day. As the name of the park suggests, the atmosphere was quiet, peaceful and serene. There were only a few other people in sight.

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