I think it’s safe to say that we all want to be at our best, I know I want to be my best. It takes a conscious effort to do that. Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) had a great post that got me zeroed in on this. He shared this thought: “No one ever became their best by focusing on someone else’s flaws. Look for the best in others.” At times I will focus my…

Found a very eye-opening post that hit me - not just because I love basketball, as basketball (sports in general) have nothing to do with this one - but I simply love the term that was used here. I found this from Ball is Psych (@BallisPsych) “Michael Jordan was once asked what he thought his best skill was. He didn’t say it was his ability to dunk…

Saw this post and it helped me tremendously at the moment I needed to see it. Just kind of got off into a bit of a rut this morning as I ran some errands. I caught my focus going in directions that were not good for me. Negativity, things that were bringing me down, etc. Sam Crowley says it a lot, where our focus goes - that’s where our energy flow…

Found a great & powerful (yet short) post that I think will help anyone who just takes a few moments to listen to it and think about how you can use it more in your life. I know it will help me tremendously. This comes from The Mindfulness Meditation Institute (@TrainingMindful) "The real test is being kind to unkind people." This is one of the mor…

A couple of coaches shared a question that all of us can ask ourselves. This is posted from my former student and current teacher & head varsity football coach, Coach Ray Ostrowski (@CoachRayO3313) and he asks a question: “Which are you? Disciplined, or undisciplined? - It doesn’t matter how you feel. ‘Feeling good’ is temporary; it comes and goes.…

Stumbled across a reminder that I needed and it came from Damon West (@damonwest7) “Don't forget that being a Coffee Bean starts with YOU! Create positivity from the inside out and not the outside in.” This reminder came of course at a time when I needed to hear it and I hope it’s the same for you too. There are a number of good points here for all…

Woke up early this morning as I not only was looking forward to a good cup of coffee to start my day off with, but I was also feeling a little bit worried about things, feeling anxious too. I’m trying to take those things on with more meditation / prayer, along with “doing something” instead of worrying & feeling anxiety. So, I was compelled to get…

Found a powerful connection to a podcast from Ben Newman. His podcast called “The Burn” had a guest Mathiew Wilson and they shared some so many amazing lessons that we all can learn from. This is a must listen to - find it HERE. It gets me thinking of the things I can do (and need to do) every single day! It’s a reminder that the only one we are co…

Inside our Mental Toughness Academy with Ben Newman (from the Burn Podcast), I find connections to people every single day. Recently I found a post that really got me reflecting. It comes from Gerald Brian, one of the many people in this group that I get the pleasure of learning from and getting to know a little bit too. Gerald posted this: “The ke…

Found another great reminder that I think many in the world need to remind themselves of, about what is truly impressive. The Mindfulness Meditation Institute (@TrainingMindful) gives us a fantastic reminder. It’s not the money, status, job titles, etc. It really comes down to how we treat others. There seems to be plenty of examples all over the p…

When you are looking for good things… they usually show up. I found another good thing from Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) and he puts out the intro: “What is Grit? Here’s my formula.” It’s a very easy to understand “formula” that we all can connect with and use in our lives. There are so many to connect with and for me, a guy that wasn’t great with mat…

Found another super reminder (maybe it’s just for me) that got me reflecting on some recent events and how I react. Tiny Buddha (@tinybuddha) posts this: ““Life becomes more peaceful when you truly understand and embody the idea that you can’t keep stressing over what’s beyond your control. Life will happen, and people will do and say what they wan…

I connected with a different post here, and it was good timing for me with what is going on around us for sure. Strong Minded (@strongminded101) reminds us about this truth - “It’s not time that heals. It’s what you do with that time.” There is a lot of healing that is always needed throughout life, for every single human that has been on earth. Se…

Found a great connection with a recent post and Mitch Albom’s Tuesday People Podcast. Find the link HERE for his interview with Aaron Lazar where he is sharing the story of his diagnosis with ALS and the fact that he’s not caught up with wasting his time on things that he can’t control and don’t represent any value to his life. The post came from R…

Found a great thought here to take on a bit more of reflection for all of us. I know I’m taking it on for sure. From Psyche Wizard (@PsycheWizard) - “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - George Bernard Shaw. The journey we are all on is more about a continuous creation of ourselves, rather than finding ourselves a…

Mind Essentials (@Mind_Essentials) This first one reminds us that if we don’t sacrifice for our goals and dreams, those goals and dreams may end up being sacrificed for the work we didn’t do. With time going by so fast, it seems to me that I have a lot more work & effort I need to put into making some dreams / goals a reality. How about you? On the…

Found a great pair of posts that I wanted to share with you to start off this week. First, Inspiration & More (@LifeWithJohn) comes at us with a very simple yet powerful reminder: “People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, all a lifetime for happiness. Be happy today!” No sense in putting things off to wait to have some joy and happines…

Starting a new leap of faith here as I’ve been talking about getting guests back onto my show for awhile now & due to many people and things being tossed in my face and telling me to get going on this, here we go! My first guest in this new format is a friend of a friend who is now a friend of mine. Craig Lindeman begins to share his impactful and …

Once again, things seem to pop up when I need to see them, think about them, reflect on them, get inspired, etc. This one came up from The Mindfulness Meditation Institute (@TrainingMindful) “Shoutout to everyone who…” We are all battling in life, probably on a few different fronts and probably more than one at a time. It’s one of the things that h…

Found something that truly hit the target with 100% accuracy for me (and probably almost everyone else too), From Strong Minded (@strongminded101): “True strength is staying calm, in a world that tests your patience.” I think anytime we venture out of our place of residence, we get tested. Many times it happens even at home, but that’s the way life…

Had a fired up day today and I wanted to share a bit about it in this episode. First of all, I had a great conversation with a friend who’s looking to help others through the problems he has had in life. That conversation I hope to have coming out on Sunday - in a new idea, “Sunday conversations with Coach John”. (We’ll see how it goes). Then after…

Had a busy day yesterday where I went to a funeral for the mom of a longtime friend of mine. We have been friends for roughly 53 years and her mom was in her early 90’s when she passed away. The church was crowded of course with the impact her mom made on so many people. I also got to spend some time with my parents before the service at their hous…

Found another great reminder for me to share with you - this one coming from Emily Paschall (@EmilyAPaschall) and she brings us a great quote from Todd Whitaker. The quote is “I don’t know if being positive solves problems, but I do know being negative doesn’t.” The problem is there - no matter what we think. To get through it or to solve it, it do…

Found this great reminder from TeacherGoals (@teachergoals) and it really is an important message for each and every one of us. “I don’t care who’s doing better than me. I am doing better than I was last year. It’s me vs. me.” In today’s age of people blaming others for how they are doing in life, it really comes down to remembering that we in fact…

Connecting with a quote I shared from a previous show. I found it from Devin Scillian’s (@DevinScillian) goodbye message when he announced he was retiring from our NBC affiliate here in the Detroit area, WDIV and he shared a quote from his friend Tom Sorrels when talking about him trying to decide about retiring. Tom said, “It’s later than you thin…

Another great reminder came my way today from a wonderful difference maker, Coach Ray Ostrowski (@CoachRayO3313) who is a former student that I got to know while working during a few of my 34 years in teaching and now he is an awesome teacher & coach himself. He’s not only helping his students and players, but plenty of people like me. Part of what…

Found a great reminder, and again, it was right when I needed it. I didn’t scroll too far when I saw this from Andrew Taylor (@andrewtaylor09) where he reminded me (and all of us) that “All you can control in life is your effort and your attitude. Effort is how hard you try. Attitude is how you respond.” This is attributed to many people, but he ma…

Coming at you today like a soup recipe, putting a few different ingredients in the meal for today. First coming from the book “Areté” written by Brian Johnson, and a section all about the etymology energy really means? It’s tied into work + love. I took the approach here with the help of a basketball coach, Joe Mazzulla explained why he doesn’t fee…

Found 3 distinct things that were posted this morning from Coach Ray Ostrowski (@CoachRayO3313), Mark Hickie (@MPHickie), and Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) which all three of them reminded me about embracing challenges that come up (which they do every day), along with looking for the lessons to learn from them. Look to set ego aside when looking to do…

Found a great post from a high school classmate that really hit home - and it brings home some important reminders about life. Here is the poem from Sophia Andreeva - Don't leave anything for later. Later, the coffee gets cold. Later, you lose interest. Later, the day turns into night. Later, people grow up. Later, people grow old. Later, life goes…

Every time I read a passage from the book “Areté” written by Brian Johnson, I find some tremendous value from each lesson. This one is something that I wanted to make sure I shared with you. It’s titled “Saws vs. Chainsaws - It all always starts with energy.” He’s referring back to Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits” masterful book and it’s lesson #7, Sharp…

I’m a student again.. in fact, every day of my life I’m still a student where I’m getting the opportunity to learn, be inspired and walk away better than before I saw this post from Coach Ray Ostrowski (@CoachRayO3313). The struggle is real!! Love the line: “If you want to get better it’s absolutely essential.” Just knowing that each and every day,…

From my morning readings today, namely John Maxwell’s “Daily Reader” I found a fabulous reminder that ties in a lot for me. It not only reminds me (and I’m sharing this to remind you as well) about having the willingness to take great risks towards the things I want to do and not play it so safe so often. It also reminds me more to write things dow…

Saw this powerful reminder about how bad days don’t last and since we all have them at one time or another, I thought it would be a good reminder for all of us. I know I’ve been focusing on when they do sneak up on me, for me to not hang out with them for very long. I’ve been working hard on my reaction to “not great moments” and hopefully having t…

Found a great post that actually looked like an old newspaper article. It came from liminal (@Liminal1988) and it reminds us to “Focus on making progress, not perfection.” It helps us to see the importance of having patience in our lives - which seems hard to do just about every day. Our growth as a human being is a journey and that journey goes th…

In my regular podcast listening mode, I came across a recent show from Ben Newman (@ContinuedFight) and it was a hard hitting, eye-opening and a powerful motivator to get the word out about an important cause that connects with so many people. I am suggesting you check this one out as soon as you can and then share it with others too. It’s all abou…

More great info that I found from Psyche Wizard (@PsycheWizard) and a followup connection to Mindset Mantra (@mind_metamorph) and it’s all about something that we can do for ourselves. It’s all about self-discipline and how it can solve a BIG CHUNK of our problems that we have. Most people always look for a quick fix on things in life. This is one …

Found a great & simple reminder from Mind Essentials (@Mind_Essentials) where three sentences empower us to think and act differently. “Don’t complicate life. We won’t be here forever. Your time is too valuable to waste on nonsense.” This one hit hard today as I saw a post from a former student of mine who just lost her husband. Her and her family …

Over a period of about 4.5 hours yesterday I got four different signs / reminders about doing things in life and not holding back from giving it my all-out effort. John O’Leary’s recent podcasts (listen to them here: Episodes 712 & 713) and our monthly online meeting with our Live Inspired group was yesterday. He, his staff and his guest all connec…

Found another great little item that I picked up to share with you & I found some tremendous value with this one. From Lorraine Woodrow (@Woodrow Lorraine) this truth came out that I think we all need to connect with a little better. It’s so easy to judge others, but when I do it (which sadly happens way too often), I end up causing myself more tro…

It’s football season of course & whether you are a fan or not, there are still tons of lessons you can learn from this and sports in general. This lesson comes from The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) and it comes from Coach Kirby Smart from the University of Georgia where he’s reminding us not to be a blamer. Coach mentions, “Don’t be a blam…

Found a very simple and short thought here posted from Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) along with the quote being from Rumi. “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” There is total truth in this short sentence. In today’s world it seems there is not any time where we do not have noise and distractions. It takes a focused decision to make s…

Love this message today & it comes from Mark Hickie (@MPHickie) where part of it reminds us that: “ … The words are simple. You are enough. There is no perfection. You were made to be you, as you are, on purpose. It is no mistake that you are this person, in this place, at this time. You are enough & your enough is what changes the world.” He goes …

Found an amazing reminder for all of us and it’s connected with something that hopefully we see everyday. It’s taking advice from a tree and this great reminder comes to us from Gratitude HQ (@gratefuledu64) and they introduce these thoughts with this one: “We draw wisdom from all different sources — but maybe we should look more closely at nature …

More learning as I always remember that success leaves clues. This guy is one who shares these clues every single day in many different ways. Ben Newman has his Burn Podcast - this episode was pure gold. This episode titled “A Strong Lesson in Taking Ownership”, has so many nuggets in it, I’ve already listened to it twice. I will listen to it again…

I found a good game plan that all of us can follow for sure and it comes from Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) and it’s all about being Consistent!! The powerful message that all of us can connect to - “Consistency is incredibly valuable. Consistency is a superpower. Excellence breeds excellence.” This helps to remind me to keep working hard in doi…

In part 2 - here is a great reminder about “stacking bricks” or adding them to our foundation of our lives - where we focus more on the relationships of our past to help us to become better for today and in our future. The life lessons we learn and the people we learn them with are such an important part of our lives. Keep stacking bricks and addin…

High School reunions don’t come around all the time - and certainly each of them really only come around once. That’s the case with my 40th reunion that happened this past weekend. This is part 1 - some reflections in the middle of it, mainly coming from me taking some time to drive around my old neighborhood a bit and having a TON of great memorie…

Found a post from Jon Gordon (@jongordon11) that reminded me about how important the little things in life are AND the fact that they do lead to bigger things that others will see! It’s worth it to keep investing in ourselves, keep working hard so that the little things we do in our lives will lead to us being difference makers for others. Thanks f…

We all go through many changes throughout our life & some of them can of course be scary. When I find things like this one, from Mark Hickie (@MPHickie), it reminds me about the importance of connecting with others to help us get through the challenges we all face. Mark reminds us that “Growth throughout the chapters in our life implies the reality…