Came across a cool saying the other day…

“whatever you’re not changing, you’re choosing.”

I think we all get stuck in situations we don’t like in life. We outgrow the places we live, grow tired of the jobs we work, maybe our friends situation needs repairing…

But if we don’t make changes to improve our lives, we are consciously deciding not to improve our lives.

Lifestyle design works both ways. You can build a good life, or not build a good life. Either way, you are choosing to do it.

Happy Thursday! Build a great day today!

*Feature pic by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

What’s the point of being a happy, centered, confident, smart, outgoing, bright shining star if you don’t share it and lift up others?

To do today: Share your brightness with others.

“We’re not in this world to shine, but rather to illuminate others’ path.”

Happy Friday, y’all! Make it a great day!

Joel

Wine + Dinner = WINNER. Believe it or not, my wife and I filled up this entire wine rack with various fancy wines for under ~$4 per bottle 🙂 If you know what credit card hacking is, and want to try it with wine, hit me up and I’ll tell you about my scheme 🙂 

Time to change it up!

“If you want a life you’ve never lived, you need to do things you’ve never done” – Jen Sincero

Today:

• Do something different
• Wear something different
• Try something you’re afraid of
• Turn off your phone for a few hours
• Try a new style of workout

Breaking the routine once and a while helps you grow. Try it and see what happens 😉

Happy Saturday! Enjoy every second!
– Joel

Sometimes when Cooper sleeps he looks like a kangaroo! 

“You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Reminder for today: Do some activities that help fill back up your cup.

• get enough sleep ✅
• exercise ✅
• relax & quiet time ✅
• read, listen to music ✅
• appreciate, count blessings ✅
• spend time outside ✅
• love your partner 😘 ✅

Keeping your cup filled let’s you be the best you.

Happy Sunday!
– Joel

“Just a rock. Actually it’s more than a rock.  It was formed by the waves and currents for at least a century. When I saw this I was thinking, if something this amazing can take this long to be created… We can be patient for the life we want to create over time.” – Kevin Smith

“Grit is perseverance for very long term goals.

Grit is sticking with your future, day-in, day-out.

Not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years…

And working really hard to make that future a reality.

Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

– Angela Duckworth.

*******

Happy Tuesday my friends! Keep going, and going, and going and….

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Pic by Isaac Wendland on Unsplash

Today is a big day.

Keep these in mind:

– Look for the good in things. Negative thoughts have no place in your brain!

– Social media is a great for sporadic updates. But try not to live your day according to everyone else’s feelings.

– Focus on what’s in your control, vs. out of your control. Your work, your health, your fitness, your happiness. 🙂

Happy Wednesday, my friends. Almost over the hump!
– Joel

*Feature pic by Pâmela Lima on Unsplash

Good morning happy people!

Get ready, because the best part of your day is right in front of you.

Lace up, slap on a smile, do your hair toss and get ready to crush it. The awesome stuff begins as soon as you say decide it does.

Make it a good one,
– Joel

Wife got a telescope for Christmas! Snapped this pic of the moon last night

“Friday.

The golden child of the weekdays.

The superhero of the workweek.

The welcome wagon to the weekend.”

Think; Friday is my day. And nothing’s gonna bring me down today.

Woot woot! Have a wicked day my dudes!
– Joel

From the archives, 2013. There was a period where Coops’ ears grew faster than the rest of his body.

Kevin Hart said on a podcast recently…

“I was married to my career and dating my family… (this was before breaking his back in a car accident)

…but when you’re laying in the hospital, none of the stuff you “think” are valuable are in the room”.

A good reminder to take a quick moment today and check in on your values.

We only get one life. Don’t blow it.

Happy Sunday 😀

Mum spotted a few roos on her hike this weekend in Cleland, SA.

Say this out loud to yourself…

“I don’t get up for work. I get up for ME.”

Although work is a big part of your week, it doesn’t control each day. You’re in control of your life, your time, your happiness, your reasons, etc.

Keep reminding yourself of your reasons for getting up in the morning. You get to decide what is at the forefront.

Have a great day, doing what you do best! Happy Monday!
– Joel

**Feature pic by engin akyurt on Unsplash

It was England, 1784… a guy named Thomas Orford was just strolling along, minding his business…

When he heard someone yell out, “Oi mate! Would you mind helping me carry some clothes and stuff into this house? In return I’ll give you a pint of beer!”

Thomas accepted, and helped the guy.

But, suddenly Tom found himself in handcuffs. 🙁 It turns out the clothes were stolen, and Thomas got framed as a thief with stolen goods in his possession!

Later at the Old Bailey Courthouse, poor old Thomas told the judge his story, but nobody believed him. And he got sentenced to “transportation” for a 7 year sentence.

That’s how Thomas Orford ended up on the First Fleet of ships, along side 774 other convicted criminals. They were exiled from England in 1787, sent on a risky 9 month sea trip to a remote island country, now called Australia. 🇦🇺

******

Today is Australia Day! Woohoo!

If you know any Aussies, shoot them a message and buy them a beer!

🇦🇺 Happy Australia day! 🇦🇺
– Joel

PS. last year’s Aussie Fun Facts here if you’re interested! 🙂

Sadly, i’m not drinking alcohol right now. So I’m brewing up a delicious batch of hibiscus tea!

*feature photo by Srikant Sahoo!

Last week I was walking the dog.

I was holding his leash with one hand, and had a piping hot coffee in the other. I also somehow was holding my phone, some letters, headphones and a face mask. Hands completely full.

All was going well until Cooper stopped and did a big poop. Then I had to figure out how to pick up the poop with my hands already full…

The ground was too wet and dirty to put anything down, and I didn’t have any pockets… So I decided to try and squat as low as I could (right next to the poop) and use my upper legs as a table to rest everything on and free my hands up.

I carefully balanced my coffee, phone, the letters and such on my legs and sat as still as possible while I slowly reached for a poop bag. It was like a sidewalk balancing act. Quite impressive, actually.

But then suddenly Cooper saw a squirrel. He yanked his leash, threw me off balance and everything came tumbling down. Coffee mug landed in the poop, spilt coffee all over my crotch, phone and letters into the wet grass, etc…

******

Anyway, this reminded me of a common mistake I make at work… I tackle 5-6 seemingly small tasks all at the same time, then add one more, then another. Eventually, my attention is so scattered I screw everything up.

Multi-tasking is a bad habit. It usually makes you less productive.

So, keep this in mind as you go about your business today. Stay focused on one thing at a time, or you might end up with a big poopy mess on your hands.

– Joel  📱 💩 ✉️ ☕️ 😳

Past stories…

I am an idiot #1 🤷‍♂️

I am an idiot #2 🤦‍♂️

I am an idiot #3 🙋‍♂️

I am an idiot #4 🙅‍♂️

**Feature pic by Matthew LeJune

My friend Cory shot me this yesterday…

“I just read a book called The Happiness Advantage (<—- affilly link!). Turns out there is a whole branch of psychology that studies happiness. The author summarized a bunch of research and came up with a really cool discovery!

Most people see that “successful” people tend to be happier than the rest, and come to the conclusion that success leads to happiness: Success –> Happiness.

However, the book cites a bunch of research showing it’s actually the other way around. The people who are happier from the outset tend to be more successful: Happiness –> Success.“

*****

Pretty cool, hey?

It’s a good reminder that you can’t just wait for happiness to show up after you’ve achieved a bunch of milestones. It doesn’t work that way.

Instead, you gotta lead with happiness. It’s the secret tool that helps you reach those milestones in the first place!

Happy Saturday peeps! Enjoy your well earned time off!
– Joel

Another painting from our friend Barbara in the Ripple Effect Story!

“If it’s true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts” – Leo Tolstoy

If you think your smile doesn’t make a difference, your wrong. Nobody smiles like you smile, and someone out there needs to see it today.

If you think your compliments to people don’t make a difference, your wrong. Someone out there needs your compliments today.

If you think that nobody likes your horrible dad jokes, your wrong. (Actually, maybe they are horrible), But eventually someone will laugh and you’ll lift their spirits. People need a laugh.

Your kindness in this world is unique. It’s needed.

So get out there and express it as much and as often as you can. You never know who’s life you are improving.

Happy Sunday!
– Joel

Blow drying the dog. He hates it but puts up with it cause he knows he gets a treat afterwards!

Happy February!

It’s the 1st day of the month, time to celebrate!

About 6 years ago my wife and I started a tradition. On the 1st of every month we celebrate together and toast to the good life! It’s awesome because:

• It keeps us celebrating regularly. Life moves so quickly you gotta remember to constantly reflect and be merry!
• We do a quick review of our finances and talk about good/bad expenses the month prior (we mostly pat ourselves on the back for being such tight asses 😂)
• Each 1st signifies a fresh start, and we enter each month with a new positive outlook.

If you have a spare 10 mins today, grab your partner/pet/friend and do a little cheers!

Here’s to an awesome month ahead!
– Joel

Some people think I’m nuts getting up at 5am to go surfing in the freezing ocean. But this was my view yesterday. I think people are nuts staying in bed!

Ben Franklin once said…

”Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.”

Following this logic, I have 2 missions for you today…

1. Make a teeny tiny step towards removing one of your bad habits.
2. Make a teeny tiny improvement in solidifying a good habit.

By increasing the gap between your good/bad habits, you’re increasing your value to the world.

Happy Tuesday! Make it a good one 👊

One of my buddies is restoring this beautiful old 1955 IH pickup! Reminds me of Mater from that movie Cars 🙂

“Simplicity boils down to 2 steps…

1) Identify the essential

2) Eliminate the rest”

– Leo Babauta, Zen Habits.

Today, try following Leo’s advice! Take your to-do list, circle the 3 most important items on it, and forget everything else.

Simple. Manageable. Clear cut.

Once you’ve kicked those 3 things in the butt, you can expand your attention elsewhere as needed.

Happy hump day! Cheers to a productive day ahead💡
– Joel

*Feature pic by Imani Bahati!

A little poem for y’all this morning…

“You gotta look for the good in the bad,

the happy in your sad,

the gain in your pain,

and what makes you grateful not hateful”

by Karen Salmansohn 😀

Keep your eyes open for the good stuff today… There’s hidden gold in every situation!

Speaking of hidden goodness, yesterday I was walking along and spotted a gold coin hiding in the rocks and dirt.

When I bent down to pick it up, I noticed a few pennies too. Then I saw a few more coins next to that, and then even more coins…

I ended up with $2.14, and 1 Israeli new shekel coin! 🙂

Feeling lucky, maybe I’ll buy a lottery ticket with the money and see what happens? 🤷‍♂️

Have a great day,
Joel

It’s Friday, and you’ve spent the last 4 days helping others and working on their stuff… Now maybe it’s time to start putting your own ideas into action and working on your stuff?

No one will ever see, hear, or share your ideas if they never leave your head!

Convert your ideas —> action. You are WAY smarter than you think you are. 😉

Happy Friday!
Love, Joel

Fizzy hibiscus tea! The perfect mixer for cocktails this weekend!