Inspiration and Commitment

I turned to a friend sitting next to me and said:

“I just realized something. I’m committed to acting from inspiration whenever I feel it.”

Two lessons in this statement have blown my mind.

Lesson #1

Inspiration is a gift. It’s precious. It’s beautiful. It’s inviting. It’s clear.

It can be a calling, a whisper, a nudge, a truth, or an awareness. Acting from inspiration when it strikes honors our authentic self, and it honors the life force and vitality that is the source of our EVERYTHING.

However it shows up, answering the call of inspiration can be one of the most powerful things we do.

We can honor it or not. We can act on it or not. We can even honor it but not act on it.

Training our inner ear to hear inspiration when it speaks to us is one of the most powerful and important skills we can develop. It’s one of the core benefits to coaching - our minds can muddy the waters of our inspiration, and a coach can guide us to clarity for ourselves.

How has inspiration been poking you? What action has inspiration been inviting you to take?

Lesson #2

Commitment is something we put to words and action, but commitment comes from within.

I asked my wife to marry me when I heard the idea from within.

I Googled, found, and then committed to joining the Baltimore City Teaching Residency in response to a calling from within.

I promised to blog twice weekly last year and once weekly this year to honor the poke of creativity from within.

Commitment begins with a whisper of inspiration from within, gets honored when we speak it aloud, and gets fulfilled when we act in alignment with it.

What inner desires of yours would you love to turn into commitments?

Thanks so much for reading. ❤️

P.S. If you're ready to live an inspired life and you'd like support in doing so as smoothly, courageously, and effectively as you can, reach out and let's explore working together.

We Sentence Ourselves and Others

We sentence ourselves, others, and the world with our words, and it limits what's possible.

• I’m not good at this.

• It’ll never happen.

• She’s really mean.

• I can't say that.

• I don’t have the energy.

• That kid is too much.

• This is hard.

• He’s so insensitive.

• I don't have the patience for this today.

• This place is toxic.

• Nature is screwed.

We see something, hear someone, or step into a new room and our mind is already made up. We know this type of person. We’ve been in this situation before. We think we know who we are and what we're capable of.

Before we know it, we’re mostly engaging with our own thinking and not with the person in front of us. Not with the situation at hand. Not from our fullest capacity.

Our brains are wired to minimize uncertainty. We like to know what to expect. So, in our minds, we box ourselves and others up and call it an effective strategy for living.

Some of our thoughts and judgments are visible and obvious. Others are invisible and subtle. Most of our thoughts are in our minds, and so many of them live in our bodies too.

What thoughts and judgments have you used to sentence yourself?

What thoughts and judgments have you used to sentence others?

What thoughts and judgments have you used to sentence the world?

Our sentences are the lid on what’s possible. Our sentences close doors and block opportunities. Our sentences limit our creativity.

One of the most rewarding, freeing, and empowering things we can do is to transform the sentences we use. Mostly, our sentences simply describe people, situations, and the world using judgmental thinking.

The world alters when we use our sentences to generate new visions and perspectives of what's possible for ourselves and others.

Here are 4 steps to being intentional with your sentences:

1. First, become aware of the sentences already running your life. (This, by the way, is one of the key purposes behind mindfulness practices.)

2. Second, become aware of the impacts of the sentences running your life.

3. Third, decide whether you want to keep those sentences in their place of power or not.

4. Fourth, start saying some new sentences.

Two of my created sentences:

1. I am safe, and there's nothing I need to figure out.

2. I am amazing, and working with me has a profound and lasting impact on people's lives.

Thank you so much for reading. ❤️

P.S. If you're ready to lay to rest old sentences that no longer serve you AND create something beautiful, powerful, and true for you, let's talk.

The Time Is Now: Take the Lid Off

My work as a coach and as a teacher has been to help people use the full capacity of their brilliance and creativity to live their best life.

This weekend I spent some time in a workshop getting back in touch with my biggest dream for the future - that all life on the planet has an opportunity to thrive, and that all people fall in love with being alive and living their best life.

That dream sooo hits home for me. It’s the greatest gift, honor, and privilege imaginable that I get to fall in love with being alive, and I want that for every last one of us.

As a dad, it’s the greatest and most important gift imaginable to give to my kids. As a teacher, it’s the primary lesson I want for my students too. (Yes, I want them to learn computer science and physics, but most importantly, I want them to wake up to their own brilliance and to be in love with being alive.)

That’s the driving force behind New Sight Coaching.

Hunger, homelessness, disease, violence, environmental degradation, geopolitical crises, and national politics - every single one of these opportunities pales in the face of the brilliance and creativity of humanity.

Not a single one of them is worth extensive resignation, cynicism, frustration, anger, or doubt.

Why? Because we humans are creative and intelligent, and there are so many of us!

Entire generations are waking up to their fullest potential. Their brilliance. Their creativity. Their love for being alive and their natural desire to see life thrive.

My kids were very young when I took a deep dive into learning all about our current environmental crises. I sank into a depression for about 6 months. These innocent children of mine, these brilliant, creative, passionate, and compassionate children of mine - they were going to grow up in a devastating world.

And then it hit me. What better time for us to be alive? All of this external pressure is there to wake us up and learn to thrive no matter the circumstances. To get in touch with our innate brilliance and creativity, our innate capacity to be in love with life.

To be creative problem-solvers.

This is why there are no problems, only opportunities.

The time is now to dissolve any barrier between us and living our best lives. The time is now to dissolve any barrier between us and waking up to our inner brilliance and light.

The time is now to no longer be the lid on our own brilliance or the brilliance of others.

And the time is now to no longer be the lid on our kids’, students’, and peers’ brilliance.

If you’re ready to take the lid off your own brilliance and your own capacity for falling in love with being alive, reach out and let’s talk.

If you’re ready to take the lid off your teachers' and students’ brilliance and their capacity for falling in love with being alive, reach out and let’s talk.

Let’s do this. ❤️🔥✊