Author: Shawn

Inspirado

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tree

Today I want to appreciate the people in our lives who inspire us. They can be friends or family who offer kind words or advice. They can be someone you look up to who you never interact with but who you draw strength and encouragement from the way they go about their lives. They’re the people who get you to keep going when times get tough. People who make you want to be the best version of yourself that you can be and push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

As you go about your day today remember that the best way that you can repay the inspiration that someone else provided you is to pay it forward and offer a kind word to someone else. It doesn’t cost anything to encourage someone, and the smallest things can resonate with them.

Do The Thing

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Cheering Guy

Just do the thing. Whatever the thing is for you. All too often in life we sit around and talk about the thing, think about the thing, plan for the thing and wonder about the thing. All that mental stress goes away when you take action and just do the thing.

Victor Eremita

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cave6

“When I was very young and in the cave of Trophonius I forgot to laugh. Then, when I got older, when I opened my eyes and saw the real world, I began to laugh and I haven’t stopped since.”

– Kierkegaard 

The Disenchanted

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puglife

“So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life. But you say, “I don’t know where to look; I don’t know what to look for.”

And there’s the crux. Is it worth giving up what I have to look for something better? I don’t know — is it? Who can make that decision but you? But even by DECIDING TO LOOK, you go a long way toward making the choice.”

– Hunter S. Thompson

Compounding Creativity

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pencil spiral

It’s a familiar refrain for me, but this is an amazing time to be alive. Never before have we had access to as many outlets for creative expression as we do now. There are places all over the internet where people are free to showcase and share their ideas and their work. It’s a double-edged sword. There is such an influx of stuff out there now that it’s nearly impossible for anyone to stand out. But at the same time, there is also so much being done to draw inspiration from.

The incredible things that people create could inspire you to create something of your own. It’s this upward spiral of creativity that wasn’t able to exist before we had the tools that we have today. Instead of being limited to a single medium and mastering it in different ways, there is this explosion of creativity in all different directions, branching out in ways no one has ever seen before and building off of what was just done in a new way. It’s a cool thing to see unfolding.

Someday

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257

“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. “Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.”

– Timothy Ferriss

Passion

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martycup

One of the things that makes sports so fascinating to play and follow is the passion that goes into them. Being a part of a team of individuals with different personalities and backgrounds that come together for a common purpose. They become something more than just a team. They make sacrifices for one another and push each other beyond what they thought their limits were. The support and stick up for one another. It’s a captivating thing to watch people participate in something that they have such strong feelings about.

Recently a site was started up by Derek Jeter to give athletes an outlet to tell their stories. It’s such an incredible thing to read. Hockey is my favorite sport, and reading the stories that the players and former players wrote was tremendous. It’s an awesome thing to find something to dedicate yourself to. Something that makes you feel great, that you put everything you have into because you love it. Sports are one of the easier ways to see passion like that. It’s played out in front of you live. You get to watch it with other fans.

But passion can be found anywhere. It’s not something that is reserved for athletes in the primes of their lives. Passions can be found in all areas of life. We live in a time where it’s never been easier to share your passions with others. We have outlets to write. There are internet communities to discuss and share the things you love with people from around the world. There are a number of sites to sell crafted things or art. Appreciate that it’s never too late to embrace what you feel passionate about and take advantage of the amazing times we live in to pursue the things the make you feel the way Marty St. Louis looks in the picture above hoisting the Stanley Cup. There’s never been a better time to do than now.