Meaningful Mondays

“Progress doesn’t come from wanting better—it comes from choosing better, one moment at a time.” -- Lee Brower “Being deliberate means deciding what to remove, what to strengthen, and who to move forward with.” -- Lee Brower “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” -- William Arthur Ward

"The future won't judge us by our plans--it remembers us by our presence." — Lee Brower "Recognize regret early enough to choose again." — Lee Brower “In the end, the memories we cherish most are not of the things we have done, but of the people we have loved.” — Dieter F. Uchtdorf “The day is short, the task is great, and the time is now.” — Pirkei Avot

“Guilt is information. It’s your inner compass saying, ‘This matters to you.’” - Lee Brower "When we Begin In Gratitude, we stop judging ourselves and start asking better questions." - Lee Brower “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” - Coach John Wooden "We are what we repeatably do." - Aristotle

“That tiny shift—from got to get—is what helped my friend Steve move from obligation to opportunity and from bitterness to betterness.” “Letters look small, but they shape legacies. This is the quiet power that transforms experience into wisdom, and wisdom into Positive Generational Impact™.” “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” —John Wooden

What you complain about, you create more of. Are you unknowingly shrinking your prefrontal cortex? The world doesn't need more people pointing out what's broken. It needs people who are wired to see what's possible. “What’s one small shift in my self-talk that would train my brain toward gratitude, courage, and better choices today?” What is one thing you're grateful for right in this moment? I'd love to hear it.

"Purpose rarely reveals itself until you’re already in motion." - Lee Brower People spend years waiting for clarity before taking action. Waiting for certainty. Waiting for their “why” to magically appear. But purpose is not discovered at the dock. Purpose is revealed on the water. You can’t trim your sails when you’re tied to the pier. You have to be moving. Even a little. Be the Bee. — B.E.E. — Brave Enough to Engage. You don't need to know all the answers. You just need enough bravery to take intentional motion. “Nectar First.” Take the first step. Move toward something good. Your intention is the nectar. And your true impact — your “pollen” — shows up along the way.

“People may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.” And how we make people feel is almost always the result of one small choice. “You can’t do much about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.” - Jeffrey R. Holland "The fastest way to be liked is to like first." - Lee Brower "Judgement looks for flaws: leadership looks for value."

In the midst of the World Series, the fiercest competitors became teammates in a moment of compassion. "Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.” — John Wooden Where in my life could I let gratitude ripple, instead of needing to be right? "Contempt divides. Gratitude connects. When gratitude moves… humanity wins.” — Lee Brower “Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is also a choice.” — Russell M. Nelson

Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right “We are not held back by stress itself, but by the lack of rituals that help us recover from it.” - James Clear “Rituals are the formulas by which harmony is restored.” - Taoist Proverb “In a world full of noise, rituals bring rhythm; in a world full of rush, they restore reason.” - Lee Brower

What if the more we chase happiness... the faster it runs away? The Horizon Time Map™. Follow the instructions in this video, and you will tap into a source of meaningfulness and wisdom that will bring you Enduring Joy. “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue… as the unintended side effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself.” - Viktor Frankl “You cannot make a choice without being responsible for its consequences. Even joy has a cost — and meaning is the price worth paying.” - Lee Brower

"What you do should dictate how you feel. Not the opposite." "Gratitude expressed is gratitude expanded." Who did I make invisible today, and what will I do about it tomorrow? You can't always change the world--but you can always change someone's world.

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” — Aristotle "There is no app for building patience." — Simon Sinek "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." — Lao Tzu "You can't microwave trust. You can't instant-message intimacy."

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” — Anaïs Nin “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor Frankl When we judge too quickly, we risk missing extraordinary people, extraordinary lessons, and extraordinary opportunities. Gratitude in the now. Choices for the future. Ripples for generations.

One small shift you can make this week to change the tone of your family, business, and/or community. ‘Losers assemble in small groups and complain about the coaches and other players. Winners assemble as a team and find ways to win.’ - Bill Parcels Remember, "We rise when lifting others." Each time we pause before reacting, we stack one more positive moment.

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain. Arthur C. Brooks once said, “Kindness and warm-heartedness are the antivenom for the poisonous contempt coursing through the veins of our political discourse.” Just because you disagree doesn't mean you have to be disagreeable.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr. “You don’t have to wait for the rainbow to enjoy the rain.” — Dieter F. Uchtdorf“ "Love is the ‘why’ of the leaders that can bring America back together, and of all of us in our families and communities.” — Arthur C. Brooks

"The Enemy of Thriving is Arriving." – Lee Brower "Live life deliberately- no finish lines." – Lee Brower "Knowing your 'So That' will inspire others to find their own 'So That'. “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy

We have God-given rights which bring with them obligations, which, when properly honored, become opportunities. An indigenous elder of Cherokee descent, Stan Rushworth, reminded us of the difference between a Western settler mindset of "I have rights" and an indigenous mindset of "I have obligations." Instead of thinking, 'My rights entitle me,' what if we choose to think that we are born with obligations— not rights —to serve past, present, and future generations?

"Positivity attracts courage, solutions, and people who lift us higher. Who you believe yourself to be is who you become." — Lee Brower “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” — Napoleon Hill “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” — Carl Jung “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” — Denis Waitley

Here is a hint- it is not your decisions! "Character is the ability to carry out a worthwhile decision long after the decision has passed." "Our thoughts determine our actions, our actions determine our habits, our habits determine our character, and our character determines our eternal destiny." - David O. McKay