My Lists

A Change In Perspective Yesterday I shared an insight I had with a friend. He’s a fellow business owner. When I told him about the epiphany of shifting my perspective from one of obtaining clients versus building partnerships he was awestruck. He immediately got the concept. He affirmed or confirmed that he agreed with my newly found perspective. He also shared he’d been doing something along the same lines. He also shared his process of migrating to more of the model I was setting up and moving from a traditional model to one that’s a bit more untraditional. As I’m typing this another thought occurred. What rule is it that says I can’t do both? I can’t recall any. I can do both. I can build it out in a more traditional manner and cultivate a partnership model as well. In the traditional business terms we say joint ventures. In the joint venture there’s still a partnership. It creates a mutually beneficial relationship between two parties. Successful joint ventures or partnerships usually enhance the capabilities of each involved and deliver more than either expected. The conversation with another business owner and like minded person yesterday ws far different than it was with another person. Another person I’d run my concept past found several reasons it wouldn’t work, why they wouldn’t participate, and my personal flaws, some true, as a reason for declining participation. Just like yesterday, I listened intently, repeated what they said to make sure I understood them correctly, and thanked them for their input. The reason for both stories is the same - some will agree and see your vision and others will not. Some will think of ways you can and will succeed and others will not. There is value in both perspectives. The ones telling you things will work can act as confirmation for your current thoughts or plan of action. The ones disagreeing can act as sounding boards offering you perspectives you haven’t encountered. Both perspectives can provide value to you. The people that tell you that you're a genius or brilliant or so talented or of the many compliments they rain down on you have value. The people that tell you it’s a stupid idea, it’s too risky, it’ll never work, or it’s foolhardy provide value as well. The question to ask, or a variation of the question to ask would be, “What makes you think about it that way?” If you shut up and listen, they will tell you. Then you listen intently, repeat back what they said to make sure you heard them correctly, and thank them for their perspective. One of the Four Agreements is “Don’t Take Things Personally.” It’s less challenging with positives than negatives, but it’s true in either situation. A slight change in perspective is all that’s needed. I can be grateful someone took the time to share their insights. Whether I agree or disagree is irrelevant, the thing to appreciate is their time and their insight. Today, Thursday, June 20, 2024, I am grateful that: People are willing to share their perspectives. It’s geat to have those willing to invest their time and insights on someone else. I have people in my circle I can share my perspective with. They may agree of have different views than my own, but they are willing to attentively listen and when asked offered their opinions and points of view. I’ve got a bit of a lull in the work week. It’s not planned, but while I’m waiting for a few other things to happen, I’ve got a bit of a respite. I’m using to time to dissect and reconstruct my current strategy and also formulate different tactics to accomplish the strategy. They may are may not work, but it will be well thought out. Do you see the benefits of others perspectives? Do you take them personally? Abe, Be Greater!!!

A Slight Adjustment About twenty years ago, a friend of mine invited me to go flying with him and I accepted. He’d been asking for years prior, but for whatever reason, I finally accepted. We met at the airport and I shadowed him as he did his preflight routine. I walked behind him quietly, not say much, but I did ask the occasional question. After we entered the plane and took off, things became a bit interesting. I’d never flown privately, only commercial, and in my mind, I thought once we were airborne the hard part was over. I could not have been more wrong. During our entire flight, Gene made constant adjustments. He kept moving one knob, then another dial, scanning the horizon, then doing the knobs and dials again. I sat in the cockpit quietly observing and held my questions until we were safely on the ground again. While we walked around after landing, I probed about the knobs and dials and whatnot. He explained that although in-flight, adjustments were needed. One adjustment for trim, another for something else, he kept explaining. As I type this today, I think of how it relates to so many aspects of life. I’m currently making slight adjustments. This year has unfolded as I’d planned so far. Two of the first three months spent recovering from a motorcycle accident is an adjustment. Hiring a domestic helper for daily tasks is a slight adjustment. Finding a physical therapist is a slight adjustment. Creating a go fund me fundraiser and being dependent on the charity of others is a slight adjustments. This is just in 2024. My life, and I’m sure yours too, is littered with adjustments. We humans adapt. I’ve adapted to my current state and when it changes again, I’ll make another adjustment. I’m certain others will as well. Today, Friday, April 12, 2024, I am grateful that: Veronica sent me a message a moment ago and reminded me that tomorrow is my brother’s birthday. I don’t typically write on the weekends so I could have missed it. It’s also great I’ve had a little influence one her as she’s writing her version of a gratitude list now. Herb and I had our weekly conversation. As always, he offered some valuable insights. One in particular will be used today as I prepare for a presentation in a few hours. The story about flying with Gene came to mind earlier. I hadn’t thought of him or that flight in years. It was great hanging with him in a different environment. He enjoyed flying and I’m grateful he shared that part of himself with so many people. Are you willing to make slight adjustments? Are you aware of the adjustments when you make them? Can you see th benefits from the adjustments you’ve made? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Another Delay For the last hour, I’ve been trying to sign in to this account. I haven’t worked in exactly two months. My hiatus was not planned. I nearly died. Not to sound too dramatic or overstate the accident, but simply stating the facts. At roughly 5 a.m. on February the first, I was riding on the back of a motorcycle. It’s a common means of transportation here in the Philippines. We were about to turn left and head home when a small cargo truck ran into us from behind. Be mindful, I don’t remember any of the incident. I’m only stating what I saw from the security camera footage. A second delay for signing in is not that big of a deal. By all accounts and according to everyone that’s seen the video, I should have died in the accident. I’ll contemplate whether to post it to the blog or on Youtube, but for now the answer is no. Five broken ribs, a broken right arm, head contusion, and various scraps and scratches had me hospitalized for three weeks. I’ve also been recovering at home for slightly more than a month. But with today being the start of a new month, I figured it can be the start of a new effort to redefine, recommit, and work towards achieving my purpose. So yeah, an hour-long delay signing in hasn’t stressed me out. The two month delay is an entirely different story. This forced respite has been a time of thankfulness, reflection, and rebirth. My gratitude list will continue. I’ve recommitted and will place my plan of action in writing. Most importantly, after watching the accident video, I’m convinced the old me is dead. My hope is you don’t have to experience something as drastic as I to get to that point in your life. I’m convinced, now more than ever, that in order to get where we’re intended or destined to go, our previous selves must die. As the week goes on, I’ll write more about this particular lesson. I’ll even explain how it’s acted as an accelerant to things I’ve been contemplating, but not acted upon or completed for well over a year. I’ll also pen how relationships saved my life. Living in a foreign country, with no children, wife, or girlfriend and suffering a life threatening accident and surviving is no small feat. It was all accomplished, the most vital parts as I lay unconscious. More on that another time. Today, Monday, April 1, 2024, I am grateful that: I am alive. I can’t recall ever writing those words before. I think them often, but the visual of the impact of the truck has drastically changed my perspective. The seeds I’d sewn are ripe for harvest. I’d written about my harvest before and thought this harvest was the actual endgame. After reflection, it seems as if this harvest will lay the foundation for an abundant harvest, the likes most have never seen and only a small few have experienced. Fear, in its various forms, has left. Fear of success, failure, the spotlight, recognition and the like, all have fallen or are falling away, as I step into the servant He has graced me to become. Are you able to remain steadfast in your course? How resolute are you in pursuing His purpose for you? What can you do today to move closer to your purpose? What will completing that one action feel like? Be Greater!!! Abe

Back In The Saddle? Well, maybe - maybe not. The last few weeks have been incredibly uncomfortable. I’ve been discontent. I’ve been confused. I’ve been irritable. I’ve been absent from the keyboard and not from a lack of discipline standpoint, but rather a “I’m in a mood” standpoint. I hadn’t felt like writing, so I didn’t. I don’t feel good or bad about missing the last few weeks. I probably would have had some negative thoughts bouncing around my head years ago about the inconsistency. Today though, I written long enough and consistently enough to know - it’s not about discipline. This absence is merely an absence. Most mornings writing helps me sort things out in my mind. Most mornings writing helps me commune with my Creator. Most mornings it’s about a bit of quiet time before a hectic day begins. Over the last few weeks though, that time hasn’t been as important. I diverted my mental energy in another direction. My focus for at least three and possibly as much as six weeks has been launching my newest endeavor. I’d been working towards fulfilling my purpose for several years. My first iteration of my purpose was in 2017, but after a few months this version emerged. It’s remained unchanged, with the exception of two words since that time. I’ve been working towards its fulfillment daily since then. It’s led me to live in two other countries, take on multiple freelance projects, and meet with some great people along the way. You may not know your purpose. It could be that you haven’t set aside time to discover it yet. If you have, then you’ll understand it’s importance. You’ll understand the sleepless nights. You’ll get it when I say “It’s what I’ve got to do.” For those that get it, you know some things seem like a distraction and must be eliminated. For those that don’t, well - that’s ok too. So the title of this list is concluded with a question mark. I don’t know if I’ll keep writing in this intiration. I may, I may not, only time will tell. I’ve reached a point where I know the precise first few steps towards accomplishing my mission. These lists may act as a compliment, they may be a hindrance. Should it be the latter, this is me signing off. If it’s the first, glad you’re along to share this part of my journey. Today, Tuesday, October 22, 2024, I am grateful that: I wrote today. In essence, today is all we have. It’s been a rather uncomfortable few weeks. I don’t particularly enjoy transition periods, but I am aware I’m currently in the mist of one. At some point in the not too distant future, after this transition, I’ll be more akin to the person needed to fulfill my purpose. The road is arduous and unfamiliar, but it’s the path I’m on. I will not relent. I am grateful to have the opportunity. I’m willing to do what’s needed. I’m finally at the point that I’ve avoided for weeks. I’m willing to seek out and and accept assistance. I’m unable to go much further without assistance. What is required is beyond my means. I will ask for, find, and be grateful for the help I’m about to receive. Is there something you typically do, that you haven’t done is awhile? Is there a way to starting doing that thing again? Will doing that thing help you accomplish your mission? If so, start doing that thing again today! Abe, Be Greater!!!

Back Where I Started In November 2018, I bought a one way ticket to Manila. I lived there for about six weeks. My family doctor was living in the country, but in another city. I reached, he invited me to visit, and I’ve been in Cebu City since then. I arrived a couple days after Christmas and stayed in his second bedroom. I soon found my own condo in the same building and lived there for several years. I awoke in the same unit this morning. Having lived in several places over the last few years, I’m back where I started. It’s similar to a “checkpoint” in some video games. I didn’t have to start over entirely, ut I went back and lost some progress in the game. Life is not a video game. In life we may lose progress, but we get to keep our experience. I’m back at the last checkpoint. I’m back where it all started in this city. I’m back more than six years of experience. When you return to a checkpoint or restore a saved game, you lose all your experience. Life isn’t a video game, we can return to a checkpoint, but keep our experience. Years ago, my brother and I had a similar conversation. I was contemplating returning to the Life Insurance business. Having about 15 years of industry experience, my thoughts were the basic things today were seemingly insurmountable challenges when I first started. I may eventually return to the Life Insurance industry, but for now, I am creating. Later in the week I’ll write about more and more things. I’ll cover a variety of areas and I’ll share some insights and experiences. For today though, this is my first time writing in well over three months. Possibly longer than that and that’s not an issue. I typically write five days a week and have been doing so for years. Occasionally, these writings become mechanical and I’m simply going through the motions. That happened several months ago. “Successful people keep doing the things that made them successful.” Another one of my favorites is “If you stick with the basics, you never have to go back to the basics.” I mention both of these because lists like this first thing in the morning are the basics. These lists are vital to my success. Yet, for over three months I stopped. In that time I’ve had manic and depressive episodes. I’ve been grumpy and unpleasant to be around. I’ve met, befriended, and also alienated people. Men and women alike have fallen prey to the unhinged, ungrateful version of myself. Returning to this building, to this unit, to this starting point has already, and will certainly continue to awaken something within. It’s helping me remember my reason for living in the country. It’s begun to help me recall my deep desire to move here initially. It’s also helping me recall that I’m not putting lipstick on a pig and I’m not a failure. In the years of living here, I’ve published three books, have two others outlined and more than likely will be completed by the end of March. I’ve created two transformative self paced development programs. I’ve also created a podcast, a couple of YouTube channels, an innovative play on educational content delivery, and a couple of other things. I typically discount my contributions and accomplishments. Not sure why that is, but I consider them past things. I don’t rest on my laurels. I focus on what’s in front and when a project or book or whatever is finished, I’m on to the next thing. I don’t take time to pat myself on the back and relish those accomplishments. I may need to improve in that area, but for now, acknowledgement is enough. Today, Wednesday, February 12, 2025, I am grateful that: My move is basically complete. Need to get organized in the new place, but I’m out of the old. Less stress, smaller expenses, and bigger possibilities. It may be none of those things in six months, but that’s what it is today. There’s comfort and familiarity with these lists. Even after the prolonged absence, writing offers comfort, clarity, and solitude. I slept well last night. Soreness from the accident, from lifting and moving, and being older and out of shape all played a part in my pain so resing well and comfortably was most welcomed. What’s your reset button? Have you had to hit it recently? Do you think you may need to soon? Should you hit the button, how would your current experience help? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Be Nice or Be Polite? Over the last few days, I’ve had to change my approach and interactions with people. I’ve typically considered myself nice. I’ve also repeatedly said to myself, “Be nice to everybody” or “I’m nice to everybody” or something along those lines. With a couple of interactions this week I’ve realized one main thing, don’t be nice to everyone - they don’t deserve it. In my opinion and experience, being nice is different from being polite. Being nice not just returns a greeting, but also ask one or two follow up questions. Being nice means I’ll take a second or two and engage in a conversation. Being nice means taking an interest in how that person is doing at that particular moment. Being nice requires a bit more from me than I’m willing to give. Being nice means going out of my way at most times to render aide to those that need it. Being polite is quite different. Being polite is being friendly, but curt. Being polite means is you speak or greet, I respond. Being polite means offering some assistance, but in the form of answering questions not guiding you in that particular direction or accompanying you on a task. Being polite leads to shorter interactions. These interactions are short, sweet, and to the point. Last week our building hired another concierge. I’d be nice and not only return her greeting, but also ask about her, how her day was going, and if she was getting comfortable in her new position. That’s being nice as compared to simply returning her greeting and continuing on with my day. A new tourist arrived and chose to extend his visa. He asked how to accomplish this task. I provided the information and went above and beyond by accompanying him to immigration. This typical errand of less than two hours with a 45 minute commute in each direction morphed into over three hours before I ended the trip by walking back to my condo. In each instance, I see the error of my ways. I could have saved myself a bunch of time by being polite and not being nice. Nothing requires me to go above and beyond, yet I frequently do. I’m at a point now that I’m cognizant of the amount of time I have remaining in each day and I refuse to squander any of it. So moving forward, I’ll be polite to everyone, but not nice. I’ll not invest my time into random strangers or friends and colleagues that offer little to no return on my investment. It may seem callous, but life can and has been callous. I must behave accordingly. Today, Friday, October 18, 2024, I am grateful that: My domain is registered and so are a couple of social media accounts. It’s a tedious process and I have little patience, but it appears I possess more than I believed in the past. My site’s first iteration is nearly done. I’ve got to tweak some wording and get the videos to play, but it’s up and running. My skool.com community is up also. It’s been a rather productive week. I’ll begin posting to the community also. There won’t be much sleep for me over the next couple of days. My sleep deprivation will help others and for that I’m grateful. Are you too nice? Do you invest too much time being nice? Would being polite serve you better in certain instances? How can you discern which is most appropriate? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Being Reflective Not like a mirror, but remembering and assessing things that have happened, whether in your recent or distant past. That’s me today, thinking about this week in particular. From regaining the ability to write, well type, again, to past failures and successes to the start of the year, that’s how my thoughts have manifested this morning. I’m not a rise and shine morning person, I am certain I didn’t inherit that trait from my parents, yet my thoughts are somewhat racing this morning. As I sit here, I’m listening to my morning routine music. A playlist I created and changed several times over the years. It’s uplifting and gets me in the mood to do what needs to be done. I know how much I’ll write by the end of three songs. I know when I’ll take a short break, grab more coffee, maybe a cigarette, then two more songs while I write what I’m grateful for, I created and have maintained this routine since 2017 while living in Rio de Janeiro, writing the first draft of my first book. The list has worked even when I didn’t want to. My body remembers what I’m supposed to do when those particular songs are playing that particular order and feeling like it or not, I write. This week has been more akin to coming home after a long absence. Maybe like visiting my elementary or high school after not being a student there in decades. It’s like I’m living in a nostalgic period this week, but I know it’s not a dream, but more of a dream come true. I’m still on the planet. I’m still working towards my purpose. I’m still willing to do whatever it takes. I’m similar to, yet profoundly different from the previous version of myself. Today, Friday, April 5, 2024, I am grateful that: Herb and I got a chance to speak yesterday. Thursdays are a day I truly look forward to. The camaraderie, the friendship, the collaboration, and most importantly, his wisdom are are condensed into a short 30 minute call. It’s my hope he gets as much out of our conversations as I do. Dr. Kain and I got a chance to catch up too. There’s an old adage “you are who you hang out with” and I’ve got a bunch of highly educated, successful, family oriented, and God fearing people in my circle. We had a great conversation and she verified my willingness to speak at an upcoming event in June or July. She wanted to check my temperature on speaking to a couple hundred women during the event. As long as I can make a positive impact, doesn’t matter if it’s a couple, a couple dozen, or a couple thousand people, I’m in and willing to serve. I finally have a concrete, weel it’s forming, idea on how to share these lists. It’ll manifest within the following few days. I’ve got a bunch to get done this weekend, but finally, an entire platform dedicated to similarly aligned people is available and free to start. I’m in! How often do you reflect or assess yourself? Past and present performance in the following areas: professionally, financially, spiritually, relationships(romantic and plutonic)? How much better would your circumstances be if you did these assessments more often, more consistently? What changes did you make from your last assessments? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Compromise, Negotiate, or Be Unreasonable Earlier today, I got a message from a small business owner I’d spoken with about a week or so ago. He’d informed me of his problem and I offered a viable solution. The business owner is a referral from a friend of mine and I am always accommodating to referrals. During our conversation we discussed my rate. This particular project is hourly and I’d offered him a rate 25% lower than my posted rate. He seemed thrilled at the time and I was more interested in the project and revenue stream than my hourly rate. These freelance gigs come and go, so I’m not interested in holding fast to a rate when I hadn’t worked in over a month. His message today said, in effect, we’d like to move forward, but at a lower rate. I’m not sure if I should compromise, negotiate, or be unreasonable. I don’t believe I’m being unreasonable. I discounted my rate already, which, in hindsight, may have been a mistake. I’ve done all the negotiating I’m willing to do, at this point. Had I listened to one of my mentors a couple of years ago and tripled my rate, I wouldn’t even be working or searching for these types of positions. “If we don’t learn from the past, we’ll keep repeating it.” Sooner or later, I’ll learn the lesson. Today, Wednesday, January 10, 2024, I am grateful that: I’ve at least got an option for a contract. It’s been roughly a month since my last one and albeit smaller than what I typically command, it’ll at least cover my expenses. Mark continues to send me opportunities. Most of the work I’ve done on this particular platform has been a direct result or a referral from him. He’s single handedly kept me afloat over the last year by sending referrals. I’m willing to continue to apply for positions. Proposals require a bunch of time. First the searching for, then reading of, and finally submissions of actual positions. It’s a bit tedious, but at this stage, my reputation isn’t strong enough to have people coming to me. I have to seek them out. How do you determine if it’s time to compromise? What about negotiating? What standards to you set to be unreasonable? How firmly do you adhere to those standards? Abe, Be Greater

Delayed Does Not Mean Denied It may have been during Covid lockdown or shortly thereafter, I had a chance to watch a documentary. This one was about basketball player turned coach, Dawn Staley. It showed a bunch, but the thing that stuck out about the former player who’d won three Olympic Gold Medals as a player, then another gold as a coach wasn’t her play or her stats or accolades. The team she coached made the college finals and lost. Coach Staley hung a sign or a banner or something in the locker room that read, “Delayed does not mean denied.” You’ve probably heard “In God’s time” or “God’s time is different then my time” or something along those lines. Things happen differently than laid out in our mind or envisioned most of the time. Some things may never come to pass and others are delayed. Sometimes things have to align behind the scenes in ways we can’t see things are lining up for our one event, but that may take some time too. I have a near and dear friend that I’ve know since my Senior year of high school. We had a chance to talk yesterday and she shared she’d purchased a Baby Grand piano. I knew she played, but I didn’t know she wanted a baby grand. She told me that she’s wanted one since she was 16 and decided it was time to buy one. She and her husband searched extensively and found a place with an excellent reputation within five hours of their home. They visited, chose their piano and scheduled delivery. My friend is quite practical when it comes to finances and although a new piano was well within her means, she chose to purchase a used one. The piano was delivered as agreed and about a week later her husband had a couple of questions and called the store. The store proprietor answered her husband’s questions. He also asked if they noticed the difference in the piano. He informed them that although they’d agreed to a used piano and that’s what they had purchased and paid for, he felt compelled to provide them a new one at no additional cost! The cost of the new piano was nearly double the price of what my friend paid, but the owner was more than happy to absorb all the cost, never say a word, and help her achieve a thirty plus year old dream! When we move towards a thing, others can tell. She’d been drawn towards purchasing a piano for over thirty years and for one reason or another she didn’t. Once she made a decision, put in the effort to locate one, and actually purchased the piano, she’d made a small concession and purchased used instead of new. Some force beyond my comprehension compelled the store owner to upgrade her purchase at no cost. Some force compels me to keep going. Some force compels others to keep you going too. Some force, which I choose to call God or my Creator, compels others to aid in our journey. That same force ensures that although the timing may not be what we thought it would be, that “delayed does not mean denied.” Today, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, I am grateful that: Ann and I got a chance to catch up. We hadn’t spoken in months. I’d called shortly after getting out of the hospital, but wasn’t able to talk long. Her kids and husband, along with work, are all doing well. She, as always, was more concerned with my well being than talking about herself. Lifelong friends are more precious than the rarest of diamonds. After hours and hours of dealing with, tweaking, and working on my project, it’s almost perfect. I have a few ideas for enhancements that I’ll test this morning, but once those are done, I’ll be able to wrap up the project in a matter of hours. My environment is changing my attitude. The way I walk, talk, and work have changed in less than two weeks. It’s not in the vicinity of where I’ll be workwise before month’s end, but it sure is progress. Do you confuse denied and delayed? Have you ever thought you were denied only to discover “it” was merely delayed? How did or do you acknowledge the receipt of those things? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Dig In and Get It Done Some days, some tasks, some projects are less challenging than others. Some get finished in mere minutes, while others take days, weeks, or months to complete. My experience is new things always take longer than my initial estimate. If I think it’ll take four hours, it takes eight or ten. If I think it’ll take a week, it’s more along the lines of a week and a half or two weeks. It’s my underestimation of time to completion that has me, at times, saying to myself just dig in and get it done. Two or three things can be changed about my situation. One, I could stop overestimating my abilities. That may be a bit of pride and ego. Two, I could lower people’s expectations. The adage, “Under promise, over deliver” comes to mind. Another solution is to stop taking on new things. Stop exploring and learning new stuff. Things I’ve done, things I’ve mastered are completed faster than I thought. New tasks, new skills, new tools and software, new system implementation, those all take longer. If I weren’t working towards the betterment of myself, my skills, my gifts, and maximizing my talent, I could simply do what I’ve done and rest on my laurels. Unfortunately for me and possibly you, I’m not where I need to be. When I say need to be I mean, physically or financially. I’m not where I need to be in the completion of my most high mission. I’m moving in that direction, but I am not there yet. When I assess my progress, my skill sets, and other assets, I can see there’s a need to change and improvement. There are areas of growth and improvement. Learning new skills, flattening the learning curve, and moving towards mastery with more momentum is the only way I’m aware of mastering what’s needed. It requires more and complaining about it is one option. The other is dig in and get it done. Today, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, I am grateful that: For balance. There’s young and old, sweet and sour, up and down. I am tasked with finding balance. To not be too high or too low, to find a perfect combination of education and implementation. To know and not do is tragic. Relationships saved my life. From Kelvin and Karla getting me to a hospital that would render assistance, to friends and family paying the bill, to Sherman helping me find the place I’m currently living in. No man is an island unto himself and the people around me have been vital. Others are further along the road I’m traveling. Whether it’s a formal mentor relationship, my support group or network, or random strangers on the internet, others are a bit ahead of me in my journey and they share their experience. Experience is the best teacher and it doesn’t have to be mine. I can learn from the successes and failures of others. Do you do your personal best everyday? If not, what is one area you would like to improve? What are three ways you could improve that one thing? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Displaying Discipline If you don’t know, find out. When you find out, figure out how to do it. Discipline is the adherence to a code of conduct or behavior. If you, like me in my current situation, are not where you would like to be, maybe you lack discipline. Maybe, just maybe, you are not adhering to the code of conduct or behavior. The second part of the definition of discipline is punishment to correct disobedience. Perhaps your inability to adhere to the code is being met with punishment for noncompliance. I have been compliant and noncompliant in my life. I’ve reaped the benefits of adhering to the code. I’ve also suffered the consequences of not obeying the code. Not to confuse the issue, but discipline can be used as a noun and a verb. We’ve discussed it as a verb, but the noun definition is a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education. With that in mind, maybe you aren’t where you’d like to be because you have chosen a discipline that doesn’t add exceptional value to those you serve. If your discipline is washing dishes or fixing flat tires, your value delivery isn’t the same as a surgeon. Your discipline may not deliver enough value. Value is the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. In exchange for the value we deliver, we are compensated financially. You may receive fair market compensation for the value you deliver, but the discipline you chose may not compensate enough to meet your desires. Today, my chosen disciplines are compensated fairly to achieve what I desire. Today, I’ve been noncompliant, I’ve lacked discipline or adherence to the code of conduct. Today, I can honestly say my ignorance to the code, with respect to this area, is my main inhibitor. I’ve been researching, reading, and working to develop an understanding of the market, the field, the tools, and the potential of this area. Yet, I’m not adhering fully. Those things aren’t engrained and part of my essence or being. They are foreign because they’re new and I’ve failed to fully integrate them into what I do and who I am. I’m currently living and working in Stage Two of learning, and sometimes Stage One. I don’t know what I don’t know or I’m aware I’m doing the wrong thing. I haven’t gotten to Stages Three or Four, doing the right thing but it takes effort or doing the right thing and not even thinking about it. I’m still learning. If any of this resonates, if you’re there and don’t know how to get unstuck, there’s hope. There’s a chance to keep honing your craft, putting arrows in the quiver, building and developing personally and professionally. If none of these thing sound familiar and you can’t relate in the least bit, be content where you are or invest some time in quiet contemplation with your Creator, asking for insight. Today, Friday, August 16, 2024, I am grateful that: It’s been an enlightening day and week. I’ve had some insights which have never occurred. I’m uncertain if it’s growth, but I’ll accept it as such. I’m more comfortable seeing my deficiencies now than before. I’m no way near perfect, but the more progress I make towards it, the better of a man I become. I can clearly see how to get where I’m going. The road will be filled with obstacles, but I’m suspecting that’ll only be in the beginning. I’m capable and more than willing to drudge this path to its very end. How will you display your discipline? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Disturbances, Delays, and Distractions Three items with one thing in common - keeping me from fulfilling my purpose. These three things adapt and take many shapes and sizes, but the end result is the same, if I allow it. In more instances than I care to admit or acknowledge, I’ve allowed these things to stop my progress. Under the guise of flexibility, adapting, or going with the flow of life, I’ve had my progress thwarted. As I sit here, fingers on the keyboard, rigidity comes to mind. Originally from Latin, meaning stiffness, it’s directly opposed or opposite of flexibility. I pride myself on my flexibility and willingness to adapt and morph in situations. Yet, this may be my downfall or cause of my current situation. It’ll take a bit more appraising, but it may be true. Discipline is the adherence to a code of conduct or behavior and maybe, just maybe, my ignorance to adhere to the code has caused me to foster and embrace flexibility. I’m going to have to really look and evaluate this proposal I set forth. It may be the “taproot” of my current and previous circumstances in life. I’m uncertain and although I want to stop writing and dig deeper, I need to finish this for myself knowing it may help others as well. This is one of the magical effects of writing in the mornings. Before life throws itself at us, clear mind, clear thoughts, guide my fingers and my willingness to put these thoughts in some sort of tangible means has yielded numerous benefits over the years. Today, Thursday, August 15, 2024, I am grateful that: I had an epiphany. The thought of flexibility versus rigidity and discipline has been on my mind since it popped into my mind. I’ve walked around, drank some coffee, even played a bit on an app on my phone and it’s still top of mind. We’ll see how this grows as time goes on. Implementation is not my obstacle. I’ve had challenges implementing ideas in the past, but that’s my history not my present. I no longer allow my past to dictate my present or my future. I am not okay with that type of behavior or thinking and happy that’s the case. My abundance mindset is returning. It’s not at the top of my mind at all times, but scarcity isn’t either. I’ve got enough to get things done. I have more than enough in most instances and when there isn’t enough, I only have to ask and I have always received. Is it rigidity, ignorance, or flexibility preventing you and your progress? How can you eliminate or lessen said item? Do that now and moving forward. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Do What’s Needed Last week I’d written about iterating and not falling into the trap of analysis paralysis. I’d begun taking action towards completion of a project and it’s still not finished. It’s been well three weeks and I’m thinking over a month for this particular project. It seems as if every single thing I want to complete on this project is offering an obstacle and delaying completion. Ideally, once all my systems are built and functioning this process will be completed in less than four hours, but today none of those systems exist. My concept is about all that exists of the systems. I have a solid idea of how to make it work and how to implement the systems. I do not possess the expertise to put these systems in place so I’m doing every task manually and it’s more time consuming. I’ve spent long hours in front of my computer screen before and did it again yesterday. It was evening before I took a stroll around my neighborhood to relieve some anxiety, knowing I wouldn’t continue working that night. In life we don’t always get to do what we want, but we ought to do what’s needed. I needed to put the time in yesterday. I need to put the time in today. I’ll need to do the same amount of effort for the next few weeks. I can see the finished product, the end result of my efforts, and how the various pieces of the puzzle fit together. The challenge is putting them all in place. Actually, the challenge is the correct order, it’s sequencing. As I’m writing this I see my folly. I began building my house without laying the foundation. I started the construction only having chosen my location. I may have cleared the lot of debris and what not, but I didn’t outline nor lay a proper foundation. That’s the problem. I’m thinking back about six or seven weeks ago and I’d come to the realization that the automations would be vital, but after manually completing the tasks. I’m frustrating at the time to manually complete the tasks, but it’s the foundation. Without a solid understanding of the basics, intermediate or advanced systems and functions will surely fail. I’ll keep doing things manually. I’ll work to get all things done. I’ll iterate later. I’ll build and implement systems later. Today, it’s about the foundation. Setting the groundwork in place and properly. An edifice of any significance must have a proper foundation. The same is true for any business. Today, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, I am grateful that: Epiphanies happen. While writing it happened. My frustration for not completing this project was growing, but now I understand the significance of getting it right in the beginning as compared to trying to go back and fix it later. I’m well rested and ready for another productive day. Living in this new environment and being around and interacting with so many like minded people is really uplifting. It’s reminding me of what I’ve done, what I’m doing, and encouraging me to remain vigilant, resilient, and focused. I completed part one of my project yesterday. Today I’ll get two maybe three remaining parts completed. I’m making progress and I’m happy about that. Are you willing to do what’s needed? Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Either Do It or Shut Up In my past, I’ve had those in my inner circle who loved to talk. They often spoke, but rarely took action. I mimicked that behavior. I had great ideas, but rarely took action. I did so many things mentally, but not physically. It’s incredible how many things I thought of and didn’t do. That’s part of my history, but not my present. Today, my ability to take action has drastically improved. Today, I’m the most action oriented I’ve even been and yet, there’s always room for improvement. Times get tough, things need to get done, and talking won’t do it in most cases. In most instances, real action need to be taken. Those friends are probably still talking. I wouldn’t know cause we don’t talk anymore. “Birds of a feather, flock together” and with that, I surround myself with those interested in taking action. Some have grown comfortable and I would dare say complacent. I’m still hungry. I’m incredibly uncomfortable. I’m willing to take the action needed to advance in this journey. Most are not and that’s fine for them. I’m not here to judge any person’s action or inaction. I am here to strengthen my relationship with my Creator. I’m here to fulfill His purpose for me. I’m here to do that. I requires being uncomfortable. It requires action. I’ve learned, from personal experience, either do it or shut up. Today, Tuesday, January 16, 2024, I am grateful that: A couple more opportunities have appeared. Each in their own right helps me move towards fulfilling my purpose. One is long term and will take lots of cooperation of some powerful people and entities. The other is quite straight forward and will only elbow grease and ingenuity. Victoria and I spoke today. Great conversation and we’ll be moving forward together on an endeavor. The preliminary research shows it’ll fill a void and service and quite underserved market. My contract started today. It’s my lowest hourly rate in over a year. I am still looking for additional contracts as this one will be insufficient to meet my needs for this quarter. But something is better than nothing. Do you talk more than you act? If so, be still and know you must act. If not, are you certain the actions you are taking move you in the right direction? Are you certain the actions you are taking are in the right sequence? If you’re uncertain or there’s any doubt, perhaps you should seek wise counsel. Abe, Be Greater

Execution Is Key You and i can have all the best ideas on the planet, but without implementation they sit idly in our heads. Execution is key. It is vital. I say this from experience, not from something I’ve read about, but rather experienced. I’ve had tons of great ideas over the years. I foolishly told them to others. The others executed and I did not. They reaped the rewards and I sat by bitter, thinking how I’d been wronged. I hadn’t been wronged. I freely gave an idea. I shared it with someone that saw the value of the idea. Someone else took the idea and implemented it. They made it work. I, on the other hand, did not. I sat by and thought about other things to do and how great those things would become. Talking is great, but action is where the metal meets the road. Meaning, without action, implementation, or execution, all those great and wonderful ideas sit in our heads. In between my ears is just that. Those thoughts aren’t actually physical and they will never become physical without action. Once, I heard a speaker say think about all the unwritten books lying there in the graveyard. The cemetery is filled with unrealized potential. Potential is a wonderful when it meets reality. Yet when it doesn’t it’s just something we can all see or feel, but it never comes to pass. If you’re sitting around thinking of ideas, of all the great things you would or could do but don’t, if you’re seeing friends, family, and colleagues living their dreams and you’re not, there’s a key difference. Execution. Break away from your distractions. Leave your phone and tablet, at a minimum turn them off. Grab a pen or pencil and some blank paper. Put your ideas on paper. Write them down. Then write down how you will make those happen. Your ability to write a perfect plan is an ideal ad it probably won’t happen the way you planned. The main reason for this is your inability and ineptitude in formulating plans. But this first plan is the beginning of something great. There will be other plans. There will be other ways to improve and you will, as will I. Get your plans on paper. Review them every morning and every night. Do this when you first awake. Do this before you go to sleep at night. Do not let one day pass when you do not review your plans and make some progress towards its completion. Remember, execution is key. Today, Thursday, June 13, 2024, I am grateful that: I was able to get to the city yesterday. It was good seeing Dale and Helen. Their daughter is really growing, hard to believe it’s been over five years since I met them. I’m becoming restless again. The times in my life when I’m unable to rest well typically mean I have unfinished business. It’s true now, just like in the past. I stayed awake finishing some things last night and will continue to do so until my objective is completed. Most of the tools I need to accomplish my mission are available and affordable. Those I can not afford, I will. Those that I need but aren’t yet available, will be soon. It’s a matter of time and execution and I’m well on my way. Do the work mentioned earlier. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Finding Your Number For about a week or so I’ve been putting together an action plan. It’s not about the items as much as it is about the time and resources each item required for completion. With this info I’ll be more prepared to move forward. The thing about mapping or planning out my next few moves is I don’t particularly care for planning. I’ve lived without a plan for longer than I care to admit. In fact, it’s amazing I’ve been able to get as far in life as I have without proper planning. I’m aware it’s a shortfall and I’m working to eliminate or at least lessen this deficiency. When it comes to mapping things out, there’s a ton of resources available. Personally, I know exactly where I’m going, how to get there, and only need to determine how much time and money it will take. The two parts I’ve completed took a bit to get together, but they’re done. I haven’t mapped out the next century of business, but I have mapped out the first phase. The initial launch is my primary focus. Afterwards, it’s assessing and iterating for improvements. This first step, the launch is challenging for a couple of reasons. First of which is doing something that hasn’t been done. I had to give myself a bit of time based on how long it’s taken to finish on step, then add a bit more time for the learning curve. I’d initially planned on launching before the end of August and I’m currently seven days behind. The second step is the production costs. Each video I’m producing requires six steps at the moment, but it’s going to expand to a more in-depth editorial process which will include at least three more steps. That being said, it’ll require more time. The time is no problem, but the longer it takes to have a finished product, the more money is expended. Without a product or service offering, there’s no income. No income means bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means I didn’t get it done. To avoid this error, I need to find my number. The number is two fold. How much do I need to continue production? How much will I give in order to get what’s needed? Those are the two components. I do not and probably never will believe in something for nothing. Nature has balance. I don’t get to receive without giving. To receive my number, first I have to find it, then I have to determine how much I’m willing to give in order to get it. I must move quickly too. I believe every window of opportunity closes. While my window is open, I must act decisively. Today, Friday, September 6, 2024, I am grateful that: Herb and I spoke yesterday. The more we speak, the more I realize how important our relationship is. It’s great to leverage the wisdom and expertise of those a bit further down the same path. The soreness in my right hand has almost dissipated. There’s still some tingling and numbness, but there is improvement. It’s been seven months since the accident and when I get frustrated, I think of sitting there in a soft cast, on pain meds, straining to breathe, and not knowing what happened. A bit of soreness intermittently is small in comparison. I’ve got my number. I’m not sold on the fact it needs to be the amount it is, but I am reviewing the data and will verify today. It’s great to know my number, how it’ll be invested, and the returns or potential return on the investment. What will it take to get where you’re going? What’s your number? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Fresh Start As this new year begins, most people have set resolutions. Things they want to and say they will accomplish in 2024. The interesting thing is most, over 90 percent, will abandon their resolutions by February. That’s slightly tragic, but it’s the story of the masses. We’ll dive into this at some point in the future, but for the moment, let’s harness the vigor from this fresh start. I’ve taken a hiatus for more than two months. Prior to my respite, I wrote these lists five days per week. I didn’t publish my lists as they’ve been a means for me to stave off my challenges with depression. Writing has has proven to be a mans of self discipline. The act of “Disciplined Creativity” is something that escapes the majority of creators. We, I do it quite often, take our gifts of creativity to granted. We, I’m talking to myself too, typically wait for inspiration to strike before creating. What I’ve learned over the years of writing these gratitude lists is, “I’m inspired when I write.” It’s not the other way around. Read that again if you must. Here’s the point of this list or post. If you’d like an accountability partner. If you like to have someone else to visit or watch or periodically chat with about your journey, I’m here. This post is here. As I continue to grow, my actual blog will get set up and you’ll be able to comment. I’ll also create some sort of community or forum, when and if needed. But for today, simply read it and come back tomorrow. Years ago I had a friend of mine tell me, “You’re the fastest sprinter in a marathon” and at the time, her statement was totally accurate. That’s not true today. So, as you embark on this new year with all your resolutions fresh in your mind, keep moving forward. If, when things get challenging, when it gets tough, and know that it will. I will be right here. I’ll be doing what I’ve been doing for years now. I’ll be putting fingers to the keyboard, communing with my Creator, and displaying “Disciplined Creativity” for all to see. Use this however you like. You can say negative or positive things, because “what you say about me is none of my business.” Today, Monday, January 1, 2024, I am grateful that: Today was calm. I did a few things, but nothing major. Had a couple of calls with some friend, but mostly watched football highlights and relaxed. I began putting together a website, but it’s not quite finished. I’m writing once again. I’ve taken breaks before and every single time I resume, it’s as if no time has elapsed. It’s like the reemergence of an old friend. No matter how much time has passed, it seems as no time has passed at all. I’m publishing things for the first time. I’ve got hundreds to get done, but once the site is up and running, I’ll begin to post. I have made that decision. My experience may benefit others, so I’ll do what I can to assist. Moving forward, what’s the one thing you can do to be greater? Write it down and keep that one thing with you at all times. Abe, Be Greater

Help Comes Later This journey begins with an outburst of crying, a slap on the butt, health and vision check, measurements, and so on. Your entrepreneur journey could be related this way as well. First the crying from leaving the safety and stability of your current career. Next a slap on the butt when your customers or clients don’t flock to your business, even though you think or know you have a great product or service offering. Afterwards the wisest of entrepreneurs do an assessment of where they are and how they’re performing. And the journey continues with your first feeding or vitamin K injection, which could be a cash investment from family and friends or venture capitalists. Not sure where you are in this journey, but recall where you’ve come from and what you’ve completed so far. You may, just like me, not be where you desire. Your journey’s destination may seem so far away and your current situation may lead you to believe you’re unable to accomplish your objective. That is probably true, to a certain extent. In your current situation, with your current resources, your destination probably is unattainable. You and I may very well be deficient in several areas to reach where we’re heading. The thing to remember is help comes later. Help in the form of new relationships. Help in the form of unexpected opportunities. Help in the form of new educational and financial resources. Help will arrive, in my case, at the most opportune time. When it’s toughest, most challenging, and seemingly impossible, help arrives. Interestingly enough, if you quit, you’ve lost all momentum and tons of time, effort, and energy. An additional benefit of perseverance and resilience is the strengthening of character. In this instance, character means a defining quality or feature. Imagine if friends, family, coworkers, and the like knew you as a person that sticks with a thing. If they defined part of who you are and what you do as someone that doesn’t quit. Imagine the inspiration you’d provide to others when you informed them of your newest endeavor. Imagine the champions and cheerleaders you’d acquire by simply stating what you’re doing. They’d become convinced you’d accomplish your newest endeavor because it’s part of who you are and what you do. An ancillary benefit is the belief you’d build in them. Quite naturally, they’d begin to compare themselves to you and with or without saying a word to you, they’d see similar traits you display that they possess. Your willingness to continue may provide confidence for others to accomplish a thing. Those watching may also provide you a needed moment of reprieve, an encouraging word or nod or smile, on those days when it’s quite uncomfortable. Help is on the way. It will arrive, don’t stop. Today, Monday, August 19, 2024, I am grateful that: Rick and I got a chance to grab a bite to eat on Saturday. We’d had conflicting schedules last week, but got a chance to hang out and share a good meal. Great guy from Canada that’s transitioning to Cebu, he’ll settle into his new environment just fine. I was able to finish most of the administrative work needed to send to Herb. I’ll wrap up the rest of it this morning, but the heavy lifting was finished over the weekend. I’m hoping it’ll provide enough insight into my pricing as this has been the most challenging aspect for me to convey to prospects and clients. Although it’s hot and humid at night, I rested well. Up without the alarm and refreshed, I started my day and looking forward to accomplishing more than this list. I’ve printed a list of things to finish before the end of the month and I’m gonna work to see if I can get the rest of those things finished before the week is finished. Finishing early isn’t a bad thing. Are you willing to keep going, even if help doesn’t arrive? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Ideal Situations How I behave in ideal situations is different from my daily life. Meaning, when I have little to no stress, plenty of money in the bank, my health is good, and work is good, my attitude is significantly different than at other times. This poses two interesting situations, first what to do when it’s not ideal and second how to insure things are ideal all the time. I’ll look at the not ideal situations first. Life has its ups and downs. Things will never remain ideal. Defined as one’s conception of what is perfect or most suitable or, existing only in the imagination, an ideal existence may seem impossible or fleeting. The usages and definitions have changed over the centuries, but it’s origins are both Greek and Latin. The Greek meaning “act of thinking” and later a “mental image or picture.” I’m sure you can see the ideal version of work, home, cars, clothes, and the like. Your mind’s eye can put it in clear focus for you and you can truly envision yourself driving a particular car to a particular home and dressing in a certain manner. I’m sure you’re able to see the types of food you’ll eat and who will prepare your meals. That’s the ideal situation and if you’re not living that ideal life today, how can you achieve it? Well, it comes with a bit more clarity. It comes with a bit more determination. It comes with a bit more resolve. It comes with working towards those things consistently. It comes with seeing that ideal version of life a couple times a day. To think about it, see it, smell it, and feel it within your being. It comes with training your mind. It comes with training yourself. I’ve been able to do this but for brief stints of time. I proclaim ignorance in not continuing along that path. I’ve lived my ideal version of things repeatedly. It’s awe-inspiring. Each time I was able to recognize I was in my ideal version of something, it sent tinkles up and down my spine. The realization of something actually occurring in real time the way I thought it would was surreal. I was unaware that I needed to keep the vision going. So it came and went, never to appear again. If you’ve had glimpses of your ideal self, your ideal work, your ideal home, your ideal car, those things must be top of mind, at all times. You and I must continue to bring those things into existence with the obsessive thought of them. Plant needs water and sunshine, your ideal, your vision does as well. Today, Thursday, August 22, 2024, I am grateful that:

Increased Visibility If you’ve been reading my lists for a bit or not, I believe words have power and meanings. I am quick to search for a definition because sometimes words don’t mean what I think they mean. This morning visibility is the word to define and it’s about what I thought it was about. The state or being able to see or be seen is one definition. Interestingly enough the definition has evolved over the years and it once meant to have a sense of prominence, public attention, or fame. Using both past and current definitions brings about the title this morning. I’ve done a really good job of flying under the radar. In years past some of my closest friends and family members didn’t know what I did for a living. I would be vague in my answers if asked. It wasn’t as if I had anything to hide, but my thoughts have always been along the lines of not identifying myself and who I am with what I do for a living or a paycheck. I can say this mentality is something I adopted at least twenty years ago, but it could be much longer. The point is I have to increase my visibility. I’m at a juncture in the road when it’s time to be seen. It’s now time to increase my sense of prominence or fame. It’s now time to let others know how I can serve them. This may have been the case when selling Life Insurance. It may have also been the case when I was a Financial Advisor. It could have been the case when I sold new or preowned automobiles. It could have been the case with my stint in Publishing and Copywriting. There’s a few other professions, but you probably get the point. My lack of visibility may have hindered my usefulness to others. My flying under the radar may have stopped me from serving others. My desire to be me and not what I do to make a paycheck could have inhibited my usefulness to family, friends, and colleagues. As I reflect while typing, one of the reasons was not wanting to accept a label in my profession. Another was in my heart of hearts, I knew this career choice wouldn’t last, like selling cars. Some that have known me the longest will ask, “What are you up to these days?” They’ve seen me morph from one profession to another then watched me do it again and again. My current profession is by far my longest stint in any endeavor. I attribute that to living with purpose. For the first time ever, I’m doing what I was created to do. It’s something I don’t always enjoy, but it’s my reason for existence. Accountants or lawyers or doctors may feel the same and that’s great for them. My polymathic career lets me know and believe that I’m willing and able to conquer most professions. I can thrive and survive doing just about anything for a paycheck, yet it lacks fulfillment. I lack contentment. I lack something I never knew existed, until I discovered my reason for being. Now that I’ve discovered and have been living with purpose, I’m acutely aware. I am cheerfully informing most of my abilities. I’m gleefully explaining my endeavors during interactions. One reason is I know I’m not changing to do something else. Another is I’m not bored and unfulfilled. More importantly though, I know the more visibility I have, the greater impact I can provide. An increased visibility facilitates the fulfillment of my purpose. Prominence, fame, and the like will assist in me in accomplishing the reason I’m alive and of course, those are all worthy reasons. Today, Monday, August 5, 2024, I am grateful that: The weekend was relaxing. I got one contract last week. Interviewed for two other contracts, one turned into a short term, one off project with possibilities of something longer term and the other may yield a second interview this week. So to have a relaxing weekend was great. I’m letting my audience know I can assist. I’m keeping my mouth shut as it pertains to everyone, but my ideal clients are being informed. I happily let them know how I can serve, but everyone else, I keep my mouth shut. I’m able to see some light at the end of the tunnel. The light, I believe, isn’t a locomotive, but rather the conclusion of a phase of development. This evolution will entail a bunch of things and acknowledging milestones will be one. Do you identify yourself by what you do for a living? Is your profession your main identifier? Are you content and fulfilled with that identifier? If you could change this, what would that look like? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Karma, Payback, and Being Around From as early as I can recall, my parents, friends, teachers, and nearly every adult I encountered have distilled valuable lessons. Several have spoken about the you get what you put out there. Meaning, if you fill your life and time and efforts towards putting positive things into the universe, those types of things will come back. Others have shared about the same with negative negative traits like lying, cheating, and being out and out deceitful. The challenge with living is longevity and being able to see some things come back around. At 52, I am old enough to have sen some things come back around. I’ve been on the planet long enough to see some of my efforts and good deeds come back with dividends. I’ve also seen some of my less positive and wish I take it back moments come back as well. As I think about it, I’ve probably wasted weeks of cumulative time thinking about getting revenge or payback from some misdeed I’ve perceived as happening. The farmer knows that you reap what you sow. Their entire profession is based on this one immutable truth. The time invested in sowing brings a yield greater than the initial planting of crops. Just like with any other deed though, you have to wait for it to come back around. The harvest is greater than the sowing, but it’s also later. There’s a rap verse that says, “It gets greater later, a little scratch and then some…” I’ll say what I’ve heard and learned over the years. You reap what you sow, but not when you sow and it’s always more than what you sow. You can live a life sowing seeds of deceit and misgivings and discord and all of those will return greater harvest than you can imagine You can also sow seeds of honesty, caring, compassion, and servitude and all of those things will return a greater harvest than you can imagine. We all have a choice, but some make decisions. Decisions don’t change, but choices will. I would highly encourage you to make a decision to live a life sowing and reaping harmony, servitude, and gratitude. You can add to the list as many as you like, but know you reap more than you sow. Life is finte, it will end. The things we do today are the things that’ll continue, throughout time if we’re lucky, to serve and benefit others. Today, Tuesday, June 25, 2024, I am grateful that: My new condo is ready for move in. I’ll get the movers scheduled and be back in the city before the week is over. It’ll be great to be near civilization and the hub of happenings in Cebu. I got a contract and accepted last night. It’s offical that my drought is over. I’m declaring this, that even at a low rate and low weekly limit, this is the beginning of something bigger. Gotta prime the pump before water flows. My entire workflow with systems are almost formed. I’d been struggling with removing myself from the process, but I’ve almost got it completed. I can intervene when desired, but my constant input and work won’t be essential to success as the systems we’re implementing are designed to make the process smooth and effortless for out new partners. I’m not participating in pettiness. The weekend brought about chance to do so and the last few days have as well, but I’ve remained adamant in my stance from SAturday and will do so daily, if needed. When others behave poorly, I do not have to participate or reciprocate. I can elevate all the negative nonsense and continue to do what my Creator has me doing. Are you aware of the seeds you’re sowing? When your harvest is ready, will you excitedly gather your harvest? How many people, places, or institutions do you seek revenge on? If the answer is none, outstanding. If you have a list, ask yourself how you, your family, your friends will benefit if you exact the revenge you so desperately desire? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Know The Tools In the past, I’ve written about knowing the rules. I wrote about how a friend of my Dad told me that if I were going to play the game, I had to know the rules. Well, those words are still true, but today is a bit different. Today, it’s about knowing the tools. In my case, I’m not referring to a level of competence but rather a level of expertise. There are four tools I use with regularity. Three are free and one is a paid service. I’d been thinking of a better, faster, more effective way to accomplish a couple of tasks and posed a hypothetical to my assistant. They quickly replied with yes. Next, my assistant provided step by step directions to accomplish my desired outcome. As I sat reading the reply, I thought to myself that I’d been using these tools, one in particular, for a couple of years and didn’t know about these features. Granted, there have been some updates to the paid tool, but even with the update, I ignore the announcement emails. If I even take the time to open the email, I skim the headline and don’t think much more about it. That’s been a costly mistake. It’s cost me time and money, one I can make more of and the other is finite. If you’ll recall my basketball analogy. There are millions of kids around the country that play basketball in their neighborhoods or backyards. Of those there may still be millions that play in elementary and junior high school. In high school let’s say the pool drops to one million players with about 80% or 800,000 playing varsity. Of those 800,000 varsity players. To keep going a bit, there are 1,740 NCAA men’s basketball programs in America with a little over 27 thousand participants. This includes Division One and Division Two programs. The National Basketball Association has 30 teams and each team has a maximum of 18 players during the season. Meaning of the millions of kids that play casually in their youth, only a maximum of 540 will play professionally in the NBA in any given year. There are five starters on each of the 30 teams, so that gives us a total of 150 starters. To be considered one of the best in the league means to be selected to the All NBA team and first team All NBA team has only 10 total spots. To be one of the best of the best in this arena requires an exceptional amount of discipline, talent, fortitude, and a few other traits. I haven’t spoken with or interviewed a single NBA player, but I can say with certainty they all know the rules of the game. They all know the tools as well. They all have a level of expertise, in regards to the game, the casual fan will never possess. After all, they’re one of only 540 to have that opportunity. To become elite and considered at the upper echelon of your profession will require a certain level of expertise. It’ll require you applying a depth of knowledge most in your industry will never know. It’ll baffle those outside of your industry and left most dumbfounded. Unless you do what I’d been doing, casually playing in the backyard or my neighborhood. Money follows mastery and I’ve only mastered a couple of things ever. Now I’ve chosen to embark on another quest and I’m at the Unconscious Incompetence stage of learning. Imagine the little kids that have a tough time dribbling a basketball with one hand and that’s me with respect to my newest venture. Lots of practice, coaching, and playing will be required. More hours than I can calculate will be required. But with hard work, discipline, consistency, fortitude, and perseverance, I’ll arrive at my industry’s starting line up of the All NBA team. Today, Wednesday, June 19, 2024, I am grateful that: Tools don’t have to be tangible. I recently finished a call with an in depth resource, a gentleman I’ve known for over a decade. The tool, in this instance, was experience. He shared his experience in several areas I needed to address. Great relationships with people more experienced has proven vital. I’ve got a bit more clarity and insight on the direction I need to take. I’d been pretty certain and after my conversation earlier, I’ve received more confirmation. It’s good to get candid feedback, when I’m doing well and not so well, the candid matters just as much as the feedback. I awoke to rain and cloudy weather. It was a brutally hot summer. Every news clip or local said it was the worst or hottest summer they can recall. To have the benefits of waking up a bit cold, versus sweaty, is something to appreciate. Have you identified the tools you’ll need to accomplish your tasks? Have you mastered those tools? Name one thing you can do today to move closer to mastery. Do that thing now!!! Abe, Be Greater!!!

Living Your Legacy Each and everyday that passes will never return. There will never be another day like today and as such, the present really could be considered a gift. If you’re like me, you’ve heard,maybe said it, but don’t live it. I’ve gotten lulled into complacency, taking today for granted and knowing I can do something else tomorrow. That sounds good when I say it, but the truth of the matter is; we really only have today. Tomorrow is an illusion. How I live and what I do today, becomes my history, my legacy. One of the definitions of legacy is an amount of money or property left to someone in a will. Money and property have value and the inheritance of such may prove beneficial. My question is “What will be your legacy?” It’s what I ask myself on the days I don’t feel motivated. When I’m not inspired to work on particular project, I often mumble to myself that this will be part of my legacy. When I don’t like my answers, I get moving again. I lose a little sleep. I stay awake or ge up a little early. I dig in and get things done. There are times we all may get a little tired. There are time we all may not be motivated or inspired There are a few questions I ask myself if I am lucky enough to remember, when those times hit. The reason it’s important for me is not today. It’s for my future self. My activity today shapes my tomorrow. I have live enough unproductive days to experience the consequences of that behavior. I’ve also lived enough productive days to reap the rewards. In each case, I have a preference for rewards versus consequences. Your preferences may differ and that’s totally ok too. I’m living today, but thinking about what will be said of me when I am longer on the planet. I’m living today with thoughts of my legacy. It’s a simple enough concept. It may even be considered profound. I know one thing is certain, lying in a hospital bed unable to take care of myself was a game changer. It was a wake up call. Sadly, it’s not the first time. Something similar happened when I was a much younger man. That episode put me on a path quite different from my peers. In fact, I only speak with one or two friends from before that episode. This incident may play out in a similar fashion. Time will tell. Today, Friday, May 10, 2024, I am grateful that: I get to record the audio portion of my course today. I’ll leave home in less than an hour, hit the studio, and get it done today. Then there won’t be much left to finish. I am willing to adapt to new things. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again comes to mind. I don’t keep trying until I assess if I’m doing the right things first. What I’m doing may be the absolute wrong thing. An unexamined life is a life not worth living comes to mind. My physical recovery has progressed enough to move around, type, and walk far enough to get most of things I need done. Three months ago I couldn’t stand unassisted. Today, I’m able to get up and go for walks and what not without any pain medication. Taking my health granted may very well be part of my history and not my present or future. It’s okay, until it’s no longer okay. Are you living with thoughts of your legacy? What will people say about you when you aren’t here anymore? How will your actions today impact your legacy? Is that what you desire? If not, the day isn’t over, do something that’ll change things how you’d like. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Making Money For years money and making the most I can has never been my focus. Most of us say how much we make at our jobs, in our businesses, and so on. The truth of the matter is something I hadn’t realized until it was pointed out by someone else. As individuals we don’t make money. Governments make money, not people. We take money. Money is given and we take it in exchange for a product, service, or skill we provide. The more valuable our skills or service, the more money we take in exchange. Once I heard this gentleman, it became clear that although I thought my skills were of value to others, I was either unwilling or incapable of exchanging them for what my peers did. Another reason for lousy financial performance is partly lack of acknowledgement of my skills. I get to a place when I have mastered or become confident with a skill that it become pat of me. Meaning, I start thinking that I’ve always been able to do that particular thing. I quickly forget the hours of practice I put in to get to where I currently am with a skill. In my mind, I start thinking I’ve always been that way. Or, and this may be the worst thing, I don’t value the ability to adapt new skills. My inability to properly value my skills is the main reason I haven’t taken down as much as some of my peers. Coupled with the reasoning that money is’t that important, as led me to my current state. Being incapacitated, unable to work, unable to perform those things which others consider valuable and I consider basic, has led me here. Dependent on others for my livelihood. My relationships have saved my life. It’s more pronounced now than in years past. It’s also become evident that people are definitely willing to exchange money for my skills. Lastly, it’s apparent to me that taking down as much much as possible, as quickly as possible, is essential. At a moment's notice, in the blink of an eye, I could have been killed. I am still not whole or normal, more than two months later. Tomorrow isn’t promised comes to mind. My purpose isn’t fulfilled and my legacy hasn’t been secured. Today, Monday, April 21, 2024, I am grateful that: After searching for a viable video maker, I found one. It’s not perfect, but it’s affordable and simple to use. I’ve got so much that needs to get done and I need something tht’s simple for me to train someone to use. Veronica was willing to offer some assistance this weekend. It’s not often, but when I need it, she’s there. This time explaining cultural difference, last time when I was in the hospital. My vigor is returning. I am filled with more energy than in the last couple of months. I need increased energy to work in multiple time zones. I’ve jokingly said, :I’m international” and now I have to live those words. Are you taking market value for your skills? Is it plenty> If not, which skills could you master to enhance your value to other? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Mentors Make Me Money “A fool learns from his own experience. A wise man learns from someone else’s.” Put another way with something a bit more familiar, “Experience is the best teacher.” I believe both to be true. I also believe the second quote is incomplete or misleading. It doesn’t say it has to be your experience. And that’s why mentors make me money. Mentors flatten the leaning curve. They distill decades of experience into insightful lessons shared during lunches, dinners, and phone calls. Mentors, especially those within your own field of study, save immense amounts of time. They shave weeks and months, perhaps years of trial and error experimentation. Mentors secure their legacy during each and every interaction with those under their tutelage. You can’t give away what you don’t have. If you’re young or new in a profession, my experience is to find a mentor. When I sold cars, I found someone that sold more and had been selling longer than myself. When I sold life insurance, same thing. Same experience when I became a Financial Advisor and the same holds true when I began writing full time. I can’t stress enough the value a good mentor delivers. Today, Thursday, January 4, 2024, I am grateful that: Herb and I had our weekly conversation. The lessons I’ve learned over the years can’t be accurately measured with money, nor with amounts of time saved. D.C. and I had a brief conversation earlier. Not an extended talk, but it’s great to stay in contact and not have so many subjects to catch up on that our calls take an hour or two. He seemed as if his mindset was positive, so that’s always a plus for me and him. Heck, that’s a positive when I speak to anyone. I’m back to writing once again. It’s great to begin writing with my audience in mind as compared to writing to enhance my relationship with my Creator. I like the dual benefits. Who do you know that has at least two decades of experience doing what you currently do for a living? Make list of those people. Abe, Be Greater

Mini Milestone Celebration Yesterday I was able to complete the first draft or iteration of a project for my mentor. I’d been working on it for over a month and faced a bunch of obstacles. It’s not ideal, nor is it the way I envisioned it, but it’s close. The technology is basically in the first generation and although I can see where it’s going and how it’ll improve, what I sent over to my mentor will have to suffice for now. Last week I’d written about iteration and making improvements later, but having something to put out now. I took my own advice and applied that very lesson. It’s not perfect, but it’s really good. At least I think so and I’m certain my mentor will think the same. Ideally the version I sent would be the version I envisioned, but we live in the real world and ideal is not always the case. With the first version completed, I celebrated. A low profile and rather basic celebration, but a celebration nonetheless. I ate lunch at one of my favorite places and I strolled around casually reveling in hitting a milestone. A bit later, I walked around my new building and actually did something I don’t usually do, I bought a fancy coffee. For health reasons, I drink black coffee every morning, no sugar, no cream. Since I was celebrating I chose to indulge with cream and sugar in the form of a latte. I’m aware eating lunch and drinking a latte isn’t much of a celebration. I’m also aware that staying close to home, not hitting the bar with friends and drinking away the night isn’t much of a celebration. However, basking in the moment and acknowledging the accomplishment is the celebration. It’s another step along the journey. Yesterday’s accomplishment inches me a bit closer to the end goal. It puts me just a little closer and that’s worth noting. Oftentimes we may think the accomplishment is too small. Oftentimes, if it’s not the end goal, we’re dismissive. I’ve been that way in my past and I’m sure others have as well. I no longer desire, nor will I allow myself to diminish my accomplishments. Some may have enjoyed a night of revelry if they’d accomplished the same, but for me, I’m well aware there’s more that’s needed. I’m not at the end of my journey, but I’m a little bit closer. Today, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, I am grateful that: One milestone was achieved. I’ll set another milestone of one per day until the end of the month. That’s my new task at hand. Prompting is becoming less challenging. It takes practice as with everything, and I’m happy to be more comfortable with something I hadn’t even heard of a year ago. The thought of practicing and learning the piano came to mind. It may be something that’ll aid in my rehab. I’ll speak to a professional and get their expert feedback before continuing, but it may truly assist. The mere possibility brings hope. How do you acknowledge completion of milestones? Abe, Be Greater!!! id 501041064749-p8r11ful09bjdqvolg04lp7aask232lt.apps.googleusercontent.com Secret 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

Missing The Mark Ideally, I write five days a week. My gratitude lists are a means to stave off depression and enhance my relationship with my Creator. We all miss the mark on occasion. I have missed my mark twice this week. Yesterday and the day before I missed my mark. It happens and I’ve come to accept the fact that I am not perfect. Ideal is defined as most suitable or satisfying one’s conception of what is perfect. To put it another way - It would be perfect if I wrote my gratitude lists five days a week. That’s perfection in my mind, but reality often differs from what I conceive in my mind’s eye. This is probably true for others as well. Some may think of the ideal car, home, school for their kids, or position at work. Others may think of their ideal client or customer, their ideal amount of compensation or the ever elusive work life balance. Whatever your ideal version of something is I can guarantee that reality will likely be different. It often is and that’s okay. Getting closer than nothing is wonderful. Manifestation in perfect or ideal form takes practice and time. It’s not something that’ll occur perfectly the first or second time, in my experience. There are numerous times when I’ve envisioned something only to have it turn out quite differently that my vision. There are other times when it was perfect. Some say be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it. I say be specific in what you wish for cause it will happen. Years and years ago I wanted a job where I had flexibility with my schedule and I could travel, meet different people and make good money. After entering the insurance industry all of those things came true. I traveled to these small towns in Texas, met interesting people, and made what I thought was good money at the time. The position also came with getting up at 4 or 430 in the morning, driving for hours on end to reach my destination, and spending tons of time alone in the car. I also envisioned myself penning my book in Rio de Janeiro. The first month I was there wasn’t anything like my vision. After finding another place to live, my vision revealed itself the first morning in the new place. The view from my window was the same as I’d dreamt about for years prior. Had I been even more specific, I may have envisioned myself having conversation in Portuguese and not struggling to communicate, but again, manifestation takes practice. We all have our ideal version of things. I’ve yet to meet and I’m doubtful that I will ever meet anyone that everything has always gone as perfectly as they’d like. I’m guessing somewhere, someone exists that that is the case, but I haven’t met them yet. What I know is perseverance and resilience are paramount. Being able to stick with the plan is vital. Being able to remain flexible is essential. Being able to adapt to changing circumstances and push forward even when you miss your mark is what’s paramount. Do not stop. Do not quit. Keep going, no matter what happens. Your ideal version of what’s to happen may be a little different than reality and that’s totally okay. Today, Friday, May 17, 2024, I am grateful that: My first draft of my course is completed. It’s not ready for launch, but it will be before the end of the month. After putting everything together, recording the audio, and compiling some activity sheets for students, I learned or remembered some lessons I’d forgotten. The principle that you haven’t mastered a subject until you can teach it comes to mind. Herb and I had our weekly conversation. After completing my course, I’m sure I’ll have at least one of his books to complete. He’s got several, but we’ll start with one and build from there. The same will be true for Diana, except she doesn’t have the books. She’s got tons of subject matter expertise that’s needs to be documented. I’m beginning to see some of the fruits of my labor. I’m not in harvest season yet, but I can see the my crops are almost ready. It’s a great feeling to get to this stage. All of the pieces of the puzzle are nearly in place and I’m ready to place them in their proper places and admire the completed picture. How do you deal with missing your mark? Do you criticize yourself? Are you understanding of what made you miss your mark? If those things were out of your control, do you give yourself some grace? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Money, Mastery, Mentors, and Missions In keeping with a theme taught by Mr. and Mrs. Logan before I became a teenager, if you don’t know what a word means, use the dictionary. I’ve since learned that some of the words I thought knew what they meant, the dictionary had a different definition. Let's lay a foundation before we build. Money is currently a medium of exchange. Mastery is comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment. A second definition would be control or superiority over someone or something. Mentor is an experienced or trusted adviser. Missions are a strongly felt aim, ambition, or calling. If you or someone you loved needed immediate medical attention, after calling emergency services, an ambulance would arrive at your place. The paramedics would do an assessment, then transport you to the nearest hospital. Next, an emergency room physician would assess once more and begin treatment. The paramedic and the doctor both have a mission, to render medical aid. But the doctor possesses comprehensive knowledge or skill as compared to the paramedic. During their internship and residency, the doctor was partnered with a more experienced person, a doctor who already completed their training. Someone who demonstrated superiority over something, the treatment of patients in emergency situations. Both paramedics and doctors are in the medical field, yet oe possess mastery while the other does not. The average annual salary for one is about $50,000 per year, the other is more than seven times that amount, a little more than $370,000 per year. I’ve heard it said that ‘money follows mastery’ and if you needed proof, there’s one example. I’m currently on a mission, to fulfill my purpose. Part of which requires me to master a few more skills. I will. If you leave your house without knowing where you’re going, chances are you will wander around aimlessly for minutes, hours or longer. You also need to know why you’re leaving home to begin with. If you know where you’re going and why you need to, little things like road construction, detours, and delays will not deter you from your destination. Those small inconveniences may slow you down, but they won't stop you. A good friend of mine says, “The what and the why are free…” and there you have it. Today, Friday, April 25, 2024, I am grateful that: Clarity is returning. I’m not normal yet, but things aren’t as fuzzy this morning. Speaking and writing with metaphors is something I do well. Being unable to do so before is a great indicator of how cloudy my thoughts were. I discovered my mission or purpose years ago. The past six or seven years compared to the previous few decades is something I wouldn’t trade the experience of. Living and learning with a specific mission in mind has gotten me further along my journey than most other things combined. Albeit small, I did receive a direct deposit today. It’s the last few hours on a freelancer contract, but every peso counts at this stage. I won’t complain about my lack of financial resources, but I will never allow myself to return to this place financially. What’s your mission? Which skills are required to accomplish it? Which of those skills have you mastered? What can you do today to move a bit closer to mastery in the areas that are lacking? Abe, Be Greater!!! Confidence Career Interview Motivation Communication (Listening, Public Speaking, Presenting) Strengths / Weaknesses Self Understanding Leadership Optimism / Positivity / Happiness Organization / Efficiency Families / Parenting / Relationships Purpose / Passion / Vision Assertiveness / Attitude

More Cooking Yesterday I wrote about following recipes and having all the ingredients. I expressed the need to have a recipe and just as important, to have all the ingredients before beginning. I also talked about my experience with improvising and although exciting in the moment, I failed to either duplicate a great recipe or created some dish I never wanted to taste again. After acquiring your recipe and all its ingredients, it’s almost time to start cooking. For as long as I can remember, my Mom handled things in the kitchen. From cooking to cleaning, she ruled her domain. One of the things she would often say about cooking is “Clean as you go.” I mentioned yesterday how I enjoy cooking, but not cleaning. Seems to take the joy out of something I really enjoy. But that’s a lesson for another day, today we’ll discuss the meal itself. Having a recipe and all the ingredients doesn’t mean we get to start eating right away. Heck, we don’t even get to start cutting until we’ve done a bit of prep work. Prep meaning preparation or preparing meaning it’s now time to clean our cooking area, measure our ingredients according to the recipe, and make sure everything is ready to go and in place for the masterpiece we’re about to prepare. If, for example, we’re preparing a chocolate cake, we’d need flour, butter, chocolate, amongst other things. We’d also need a mixing pan, a spatula at a minimum, something to grease our cooking pan so the cake doesn’t stick, and we’d need to preheat our oven. Having a recipe, a formula, doesn’t insure our success. There’s still work that has to be completed before we actually begin. Once we’ve measured and mixed our flour, butter, chocolate, and other ingredients, we’ll transfer them from our mixing bowl and into our cooking pan. Afterwards we’ll place that in our preheated oven and finally set the timer. Notice, we’ve put in a bunch of work and we still haven’t eaten. What’s worse for me and maybe not for you, is waiting. Now that we’ve put in all the work, it’s in the oven, our cake isn’t ready to eat. We still have to wait. If our recipe says cook at a certain degree for 30 minutes and we remove the cake at 20 minutes, we’ll know the cake isn’t ready. If we let the cake cook for 40 or 45 minutes, we didn’t follow our recipe, it’s dried out, not as moist, and not even close to what we’d anticipated. But, if we remove it 30 minutes, we still can’t dig in and take a hearty slice. We must let the cake rest. We must let the cake settle and cool down a bit before we enjoy the fruits of our labor. The same is true with life. If our meal is to retire as a multimillionaire at age 65, there are some ingredients we need to fill this recipe. First we’ll need a career, white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter. We’ll need some sort of valuable skill we can exchange for money. In this instance let’s say we’re a mechanic. We start by going to a trade school that teaches us the ins and out of our industry. We acquire the tools, metaphorical and literal, place them in our toolbox and get to work cooking. Next, we’ll need a way to set aside our excess money. The excess we have needs to grow over the time we’ll work in our careers, that’s basically our cooking time in the oven. Our recipe shows us that we can save or set aside more than what’s called for, but if we save 15% of our $30,000 per year salary until we’re 65, with an average of 8% returns every year, we’ll retire with well over a million dollars in our retirement account. The math aside cause it maybe confusing, it’s our recipe. Set aside at least 15% of our income and let it cook until we take it out of the oven. We can save more, according to the recipe, we could change all the numbers, but the thing to remember is we have a recipe. We knew what we were doing, cooking a retirement dinner, before we began. We gathered our ingredients by educating ourselves with a skill we could exchange for money. We generated an excess of money and put into our mixing bowl with an interest rate that pays us money on what we put in. We put our mixture into the oven and set the timer. Now we wait for it to finish cooking. No more, no less, heck we don’t even have to keep checking on our cake. We just let it cook. We can have a recipe. We can have all the ingredients. We still have to assemble. We still have to cook. We have to put in work, before the reward. It’s the way of life. Today, Wednesday, September 11, 2024, I am grateful that:

Moving Ain’t Fun Without giving too much energy to negative things, I’ll say over the weekend I moved to a new place. About a week or so ago, and it’s been brewing for longer than that, my landlord must have thought I couldn’t count to five. He kept insisting I owed him a couple months of back rent even when I produced the receipts he’d written. It’s Southeast Asia and none of them like to loose face, so after producing the receipts proving I owed nothing, I found another place to live back in the city. When I first arrived in Cebu I lived in this neighborhood. My new place is a bit closer than my first and it’s new. I’m the first person to occupy my unit. It’s smaller than most of the places I’ve lived, but the community here is a bit more upscale. It’s a nice change of echelon. A couple weeks ago I’d written about my inability to set and maintain a standard. I’d written about how I’d typically go with the flow, tell myself I’m outside of America and things will be uncomfortable. Today, the most uncomfortable part of the journey is unpacking and getting organized. Interesting thing about the entire situation is I never asked to live here. One of my friends owns and manages several condos throughout the city. When we were talking about my situation with the landlord, plus he knew of my desire to move back to the city and be closer to doctors and hospitals to continue my rehab, he offered this place. It’s a sweetheart deal. It’s a premium unit and out of my budget at the moment. Six months from now maybe not, but today, I couldn’t afford this place without his assistance. Move in, cover your utilities, and you can stay for a couple of months until I’m ready to get it decorated. He’s currently building out four or five other units in the same building so this one was sitting empty. I own all my furniture and needed an unfurnished place. Most are setup for tourist, which I’m not, so to find unfurnished in a new building in this location with the setup I currently have is my Creator making himself apparent once more. Throughout life, if I stop and assess different experiences, it’s clear how He has taken of and put things in place to make my path less challenging. Most of us are too busy trying to make a living that we don’t enjoy life. One of the benefits of writing consistently is these quiet mornings and the ability to reflect on what’s happening and how. I get to show others what happens while living with purpose. I get to show others how our Creator works, even with a small sample size like another place to live. Others can see me in motion and maybe, just maybe think to themselves that if he can do it, so can I. Moving ain’t fun, it ain’t pleasant, and it’s not something I typically enjoy. This move however has been simple and straightforward. I never even spoke with a realtor or searched for a property. I didn’t put down a deposit for the unit or any utilities. I said what was needed and my Creator made that possible. For years several of my friends have said, “God will either bless it or block it.” That’s the case here. He blessed it and I’m telling you about it cause I ain’t so special. If He will do it for me, He certainly will do it for you too. Today, Monday, July 1, 2024, I am grateful that: The new place feels more like home. It’s smaller and I’ll need to purge some belongings, but the location is ideal. There are a few more locations that are near and when the end of my arrangements nears completion I’ll check some of them out. But being back in the city feels more like home than living in the rural areas. I’ll be able to get more work done today. I’ll be starting a few subscription services since I’ve finally got the cash to get those started and that’ll be the beginning. I’ll still have to do the heavy lifting with work, but I’m positive the technology already exist that’ll enable me to automate the entire process before the end of the year. I’ve met a few cool people already. One of them, Gune has a son attending culinary school. I was able to give his son some of the dinosaur egg salt I’d gotten and he was stunned. The live in the on country and had only heard about it. They’d never seen it or owned it. It felt good to pass along something so rare and precious to a chef in training. Moe was able to stop by a couple of days ago. He came through, made sure I was in the place, then helped a bit. Nothing too big, but all things I’m unable to do with limited use of my right hand. It’s really good having friends. Can you see how your Creator makes things possible in your life? How often do you take time to reflect on those occurrences? Are there any ways you’d like to improve in that area? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Of Course I Know Why Before going too much further down this new path, let’s review. I’ve written about discovering your purpose or the reason you were created. I’ve also written about being intentional or moving and acting with purpose. I’ve written about much more than that and not sure entirely of where you may have run across these posts, but that’s the starting point. I’ve also written about how to keep moving forward when things get tough. Today, I’ll write a bit about what’s the reason for doing what you’re doing. Tons of us talk about having a reason, but they’re usually flimsy. It may happen that you need to pay your rent or mortgage. It could be the need for recognition in your career. It may also be an opportunity you didn’t want to miss. You may have countless reasons for taking the path you took. Here’s what I know for certain: your reason needs to be strong. For me, I believe in my Creator. I believe there’s something bigger than us that governs all. I won’t go too far down that path, but I believe my Creator gave me a set of gifts or talents or better yet blessings. There are things I do better than most. There are things that I have consistently taken for granted for decades or for as long as I can recall. There are things which require little to no effort on my part. These things are almost second nature and I wield them with mastery. I know what they are and I’m willing to use them. Years ago I sat and assessed myself, my gifts, my abilities, and my current situation. I determined what I liked, what I didn’t like, and put it on paper. I kept reviewing those things for several days, maybe weeks. I then began to ask “how can I use these gifts?” I also asked, “What will you not do?” or “How will you not use your gifts?” I also asked myself, “What’s your reason for doing it in the first place?” It’s great to have gifts. It’s great to have talent, but the mastery and application of talent requires effort. When I don’t know the reason for doing something I tend to be lazy, without direction, and rather slothful. I recalled some reading I’d done. Napoleon Hill wrote about nine basic motives. I went through that list thinking of myself, my talents, and what I desired. Those became my reasons for doing what I am currently doing. Those things laid a foundation to build upon. Those motives ring true today, and for the last six or seven years, and probably rang true when the author wrote them. I just changed the name of the post from “Of course it’s possible” to “Of Course I Know Why” since I ventured a bit further down this road than intended. Friends ask what’s got me doing what I’m doing. Friends ask my reason for continuing down this particular path. Friends and family alike may be curious about my choices and that’s fine. I’m no longer curious. I know. When you know, you know. Some people get this lesson early in life. Others like myself, it takes a bit longer. The reason for doing what I’m doing and moving forward when others can’t see what I see is simple. It’s the reason I exist. Not much more can be said about that. I have distilled it down to its barest of essence. I do what I do because it’s what I was created to do. When it’s tough, when it’s seemingly impossible, when it’s easier to quit than to keep going, I keep going. Of course I know why I’m doing what I’m doing. Of course I know why I won’t quit. Of course I know it’s possible. Of course I know, of course! Do you? Today, Tuesday, August 27, 2024, I am grateful that: I found a site to help with content generation. Not my original content, but rather repurposing content for social media. I’m not good at changing the size of videos and what not, but I’ve tried it and it works. Happy about that. I’ve got what I need today. Some days are leaner than others. Money, or lack thereof, is an issue today. It’s not from a poverty mindset, but rather a shift in mentality. I’ve made a few decisions since my accident and I have less options to generate an income during this phase. It’ll change in about a month, but it’s lean at the moment. The summaries and videos I’m putting together are helping me and possibly others. My original intent was for others, but I’m gaining some benefits of listening to books I’d read years ago. It’s great to have refresher courses, especially in areas I consider vital. Do you know why you do what you do? How did you figure that out? If you haven’t figured it out, how will you? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Plan To Paper Today is about putting my plan on paper. There are tons of other resources I could use, but being a bit old fashioned has its benefits. Pen to paper is the way for me to go today. I’ve got it pretty much laid out mentally. My edges are set. Now filling in the rest of the puzzle is vital. I spoke a bit earlier today to Victoria. We’re in similar places as far as planning is concerned. She’s launching her restaurant while running her other endeavors. We both spoke of our plans and the sequence. We offered each other input for improvements and shared both what’s worked well and not so well in previous experiences. Part of the collaborative process requires the sharing of experiences. Good and bad, right or wrong, our experiences inform our current and future decisions. “Experience is the best teacher” and I’ve started adding, “but it doesn’t have to be mine.” I can increase my chances for success by emulating the experiences of those who’ve already achieved success. I can also lessen my chances for failure by avoiding traits and habits of those who haven’t experienced the success I’d like to achieve. Putting pen to paper with my plans has always worked. I can’t recall a time when it has not. In fact, I can’t think of anyone I have met that doesn’t have the same experience. Planning is essential. I can do what I’ve done in the past and move without a plan. Things tend to work out, but not like I’d like. I continue to exist, but not thrive. I am alive, but not living life. Only existing. Abe Newmeyer has plans. Abe Newmeyer sets those plans to paper. He reviews his plans at least twice per day. Abe also moves towards completing those things needed to accomplish what’s been planned. He then scratches those things off his list and moves on. Abe doesn’t always complete the items in order, but inevitably, all items are completed. Affirming works well too. This iteration or evolution will require the aggregate of my experiences and that of others. Growing into His ideal image will require immense effort. Concentrated and sustained focus, intensity, and persistence. It will require more than I’ve done before as the benefits will be greater than I’ve received before. Free has no value and anything worth having has requisites. To do what’s required, no more, no less. To abide by the rules of the game, to show discipline, adherence to a code of conduct is what’s required. It’s what I, Abe Newmeyer, will do. Today, Monday, May 27, 2024, I am grateful that: My edges are completed. I’m putting the other pieces in place, but for now the edges, my foundation if you will, is laid. I’m willing to share my experiences with complete strangers. That’s been something I’ve been reluctant to do for years, but as it stands today, no harm, no foul. I can’t think of a better, more effective means to fulfill my purpose. That, along with my hate of hypocrisy leads me to think and move on my current course. Some may not appreciate me leading my example, but those aren’t my audience or ideal client. I’m wanting to appeal to those willing to share the journey with me and develop an understanding of what's required to get to this point in the journey. My weekend was productive. It wasn’t bout relaxing, but working on becoming competent with resources needed for my edges. I did that happily and will continue to work on mastering the tools and skills needed to accomplish my mission. Do you have a plan? Is it handwritten? If not, do that now. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Progress Is Essential When moving towards my purpose and its fulfillment, I’ve learned progress, even miniscule amounts, is still progress. Some may claim tremendous results are needed on a daily basis, but in my experience that hasn’t proven true. What I’ve learned is moving with immense effort makes me the “fastest sprinter” in a marathon. I’ve written about his before, but repeating it is never a bad thing. The reason is simple - I tend to forget some lessons. Each day is a gift, never to be repeated. Therefore, should I waste this day not doing at least one thing that moves me closer to fulfilling the reason I was put on the planet, I have squandered an opportunity which will never come again. The present is the gift. Fleeting into the ether of foggy memories and bygone glories told amongst family and friends, these glory days will not come again. I have to remember that my present today, my action today, my inconsistency, sloth, or grit and resilience, are what comprise my future tales. I can, and more than likely will, recount with great enthusiasm the overall period, but my definitive recollections, facts if you will, are these lists and the insights they provide. I’d thought about and read about writing letters to my future self. I’ve done those on an experiential basis, but for me, the effectiveness of writing consistent reasons for gratitude are proven and I am quite reluctant to change what’s worked so well. Today, Wednesday, January 3, 2024, I am grateful that: I made some progress on a project for Diana. It’ll become a keystone for her brand and I’m happy for the chance to serve. I’m also happy for the chance to work on my craft. I’m making progress towards my purpose and documenting it for others. The preliminary site is up and published and as the week progresses, I’ll be able to get a more suitable and professional site built. The emergence of Abe is underway. Over the last few weeks I’ve found myself speaking in the third person. I’ve found myself defining attributes of my alter ego and it’s refreshing and empowering. This’ll prove educational. What progress have you made toward fulfilling your purpose today? If the answer is nothing, do something now. Abe, Be Greater

Putting It All Together Yesterday, I wrote about being able to see the complete picture, the entire puzzle if you will. I wrote how I could envision all the pieces of the puzzle coming together to form a completed and quite beautiful picture. I haven’t had this type of clarity of vision in years, maybe longer. It’s refreshing, but also a bit frightening at the same time. Refreshing because I can clearly see how all the hours invested will begin to provide returns. Frightening because I’m well aware of the amount of work required to put this particular puzzle together. This puzzle will require stretching in ways I haven’t stretched before. It’ll require growth in areas that are atrophied. It’ll require stimulation of those areas along with intense and extended exercise. It’ll also require the development of areas I thought I had mastered and falsely believed it to be true. Finally, it’ll require the most challenging, yet vital part of it all, schedule a honest and fearless assessment of my situation at least quarterly, but maybe more often. I’m certain there will be other opportunities, but I’m not entirely certain of my desire to continue to pursue them. I’ve had more than my fair share of said opportunities in the past. I’ve squandered most of them. As I sit and envision this particularly opportunity, how things have become quite clear, the lasting impact it’ll provide myself and others, I’m hard pressed to NOT take full advantage of it. This aligns perfectly at this stage of my development with my objective. Not taking full advantage would be akin to spiritual suicide. Most, if not all, of the stress and anxiety I feel is in my mind. I’ve put an immense amount of pressure on myself to make this work. The trick is, whether it works or not is irrelevant. Putting it all together and taking the action is what’s relevant. I’m in the action business. He handles results! Today, Tuesday, May 20, 2024, I am grateful that: Vigor is returning. One of the things that’s happened before and it’s happening now is my increased energy levels. Waking up before the alarm and getting things done while most are sleeping is something I haven’t done in years. It’s a great feeling albeit fleeting. The possibility of what I’m doing now can benefit others years from now. Planting a seed takes little effort, but the germination, growth, and blossoming of the plant could take decades. It’s great to be in the planting business. I get to wear two or more hats at the moment. I’m not only planting for my next harvest, but I’m also harvesting what’s in the field. I’ve been putting in the work for years now and reaping what I’ve sown is at hand. The business of others is not my concern. My concern is doing what I was put on this planet to accomplish. I can tend my business and leave others to do the same. Can you see how what you’re doing now fits into the overall picture? If not, have you contemplated this quietly? How will this help me accomplish my mission? Ask yourself this question repeatedly. Your answer will be revealed. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Remaining Resilient Todai, I’m up, slightly refreshed and more determined than yesterday, this weekend, or last week. I’ve got to get it. Now that I’m certain what “it” is, I\ll map out a plan and get to work. This life has been challenging. The last few months have been particularly tough, but I’m still here. I will continue doing what I was created to do as noone else will fulfill my purpose. Resilient means able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. I don’t typically have a problem with definitions, but quickly is subjective. In this moment, two months seems like forever. In the grand scheme of my life, two months is one of 312 parts of my life, as a fraction it’s approximately 0.003 of my entire life so far. That’s if I were to drop dead while writing this. It’s three one thousandths of my life on the planet so far, not a full percentage yet. It’s temporary, short term, and I guess if recovering took another four months or 0.01 of my life so far, it still wouldn’t be a full one percent. A bit of arithmetic is soothing and when I look at the numbers, because I had to use a calculator, it seems so small. Not one percent, not a full percentage. Of the 624 months I’ve been on the planet, I’m talking about two, maybe four or possibly six. So maybe, in terms of life and textbook definitions of quickly, like the dictionary, it’s possible I am resilient by the purest definition of the word. The point I’m making is life happens. It will become difficult or challenging. Some days will be easier or less challenging than others. Each day is different from the last. No matter the circumstances of the day, you and I must remain resilient. We must! Do not surrender your hope. Do not surrender the possibilities of what’s to come! Do not yield to temporary circumstances. The next day, tomorrow will be different from today. You can live to fight another day, but only if you keep going. I have learned each of my past experiences makes me better equipped for future occurrences. “That which does not kills, make you stronger” comes to mind. I have not stopped yet and I have wanted to. I keep going. Call it idiocy, insanity, or resilience, I do not call about the labels. I care about moving forward no matter the costs. No matter the situation, I will not surrender. No matter the current circumstances, it’s only temporary since every single day is different from the last and unique unto itself. Today, Monday, April 7, 2024, I am grateful that: The weekend was restful. I got a chance to formulate a plan for the next few weeks. Things are going to start moving more quickly and I won’t have this idle time like now. I am doing my part to make sure I can maximize my physical and mental health. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a locomotive in route to run me over. It seems like that some days, but feelings change and fact do not. The basic math I did earlier remind me that this is only a short in comparison to my entire life. I know from experience this is only temporary. Jan and I got a chance to talk yesterday. We hadn't spoken in probably a year. It felt good to catch up with and confide in someone that’s known me for such a long time. We’ve both been living our lives and it’s reat we had some time to catch up with each other. When it’s tough, do you remember it’s only temporary? Have you done the math? How long has this tough spot been going? What percentage of your life is it? When you seen the percentage of fraction, how much hope does that provide? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Selecting Opportunities In less than a week, several opportunities have presented themselves. Two have come to fruition after several months of possibilities and one during a conversation a bit earlier today. The interesting thing is one is immediately executable. The second can take a bit of time, but could prove profitable and produce a residual income stream. The last opportunity from a conversation earlier could have an immense impact, not just for myself but for a minimum of millions of people on an annual basis. I’ll take the low lying fruit first. It’s simple, straightforward, and requires the least amount of work. Additionally, I can implement this within a week and start seeing results before the end of the month. The next opportunity isn’t entirely within my control, same with the third opportunity. So although potential, waiting for so many moving parts to align will require tons of planning and patience. When making decisions about how to invest my time, effort, and energy, I have to take some time and run through a risk, reward analysis. I have my process for evaluations. If you don’t have a process, I’d suggest you find and use one. Today, Monday, January 8, 2024, I am grateful that: I got a chance to talk to Sherman earlier. From our conversation, an incredible opportunity to help the residents and visitors of this island. Before week’s end more information will be obtained regarding feasibility. Victoria and I had a chance to speak. Told her about the chance to get the dinosaur egg salt and she was definitely thrilled to have it at the ready. To watch NFL highlights and relax. Didn’t order pizza, but that’s totally ok as well. Ate leftover barbecue. Had a chance to eat and hang out yesterday with Poe and a bunch of the usual suspects. Fantastic food and fellowship, as always.. Saturday I had a chance to attend the graduation of Rian. His commencement address carried the same message of hope we’ve all heard many times. It was great to hear it again and realize that even at 30 years thars they’re senior I am hopeful for the future and the possibilities it holds. How do you evaluate opportunities? When was the last time you used that method to choose the route to take? How or would you change that decision today? Abe, Be Greater

Slow Progress Is Still Progress This weekend brought about the realization that things aren’t going as fast as planned. On the physical rehab front, it’s so slow I’m a bit discouraged. Being unable to function normally is taking its toll on the work front in particular. I’d been working on a project and was waiting for a couple of things to fall in place and then I’d be able to submit the first draft of the project. The first draft isn’t up to my standards, it’s good but not GREAT, and I refuse to send it over to a potential partner. With a lack of financial reserves, the stress is diverting my attention from the project, increasing my anxiety, and making me generally discontent. Last week I submitted a request through a government agency for assistance on the legal front. This weekend I received three calls from the police attempting to negotiate on behalf of the company. I explained the situation repeatedly and told them to contact my attorney. After all things falling in place and rendering my first draft videos, I happy that the draft if completed, albeit inadequate, but it’s at least something. The moral of the story is slow progress is still progress. I’m further along today than I was a week or a month ago. Five months ago I was hospitalized and unable to walk without assistance. That’s not the issue today. Three months ago the videos were a far fletched idea, maybe induced by all the pain medication, today the first drafts are completed just not the quality I’d hoped for or expected. Five months ago, the trucking company owners were ignoring negligence and liability. Well, that’s still the case, but at least another government agency is involved and increasing the intensity. Five months ago paying for my medical bills out of pocket depleted my savings and put me in debt. Today, my savings are nonexistent, I have more debt, but I’ll be able to generate an income soon enough. Some days it’s easy to only see one side of the coin. Some days it’s easy to lean towards the negative slant on things. Some days are not today. Today, I’m sitting with keys on my laptop and typing, but I couldn’t even do that three months ago, so it’s progress. It’s slow, it’s frustrating and it’s my journey. No other is equipped like me for this journey. It’s mine and mine alone and I’ll continue trudging. Today, Monday, July 8, 2024, I am grateful that: I’ve already begun reworking the project. It’s a bit time consuming, but I’m making progress. The weekend was relaxing. Met a few new people on vacation. The great thing about being in the middle of the city again is the camaraderie. I’m not about hanging out and socializing much, but it’s good to have the option and exercise it occasionally. I got a chance to talk to my cousin Frank today. We hadn’t spoken in years and although I’d asked my brother to reached out to them, no one had. We caught up and he’s nearing retirement. I told him that I’m still paying my dues and I’ll be there soon. Are you able to see your progress? Are you able to see where your destination? If it’s going slower than you’d like, what steps can you take to accelerate your journey? Abe, Be Greater!!!

Spilled Milk Yesterday I spoke with Daniel. He’d started doing some research about the insurance industry. He’d already selected his niche, knew the commission structure, and wanted to ask a few questions. I shared some insights and then he asked, “Why aren’t you doing this?” He became apologetic, thinking I would be offended. “I couldn’t renew my license when I was out of the country” was my response. It’s true, but not complete. Another part of the answer ties into me being able to do something I hadn’t done in well over three months. I was able to wear my tennis shoes. My accident ins February resulted in many wounds, including a broken right arm and lots of abrasions on my right leg and foot. My right foot has healed enough and even though it’s not fully functional, I was able to use my right hand to tie my shoes. Seemingly unrelated, both illustrate my point. I have taken some things for granted and didn’t come to appreciate those things until they were gone. I definitely took the life insurance business for granted. The ability to make the amount of money I did, in the short timeframes is something I’ve yet to match in another industry. I bounced around in several niches with life insurance, but never selected one to drill down and establish my expertise. That may be a bit more challenging to relate to than making a knot while tying your shoe. Definitely something I took for granted. The same could be said for my health. I’ve had covid twice and never felt my life was in jeopardy. Quite a different perspective than laying in a hospital bed and not knowing where I was, what happened, or being in pain with every breath. Those instances bring me back to “don’t cr over spilled milk” and another, “what’s done is done.” It may very well be part of human nature to take things for granted. Even with the habit of writing a gratitude list five days a week, I took my physical well being for granted. “Taking for granted” means to assume something as true, real, unquestionable, or to be expected. I assumed my production in the life insurance business was to be expected. I never questioned my ability to tie my shoes. I always expected to be in good health. A bit of time and life circumstances has shed light on the fact that things change. Daniel did something I never did too. He selected his niche, did research, and was in the process of collecting information before making a decision. Me on the other hand, I jumped without looking repeatedly. From supplemental life and health policies in rural Texas to small life insurance policies then term insurance in the guise of mortgage protection coverage then traditional life insurance policies again and finally ending with ObamaCare. Varied experiences but not much in financial benefits. You can do what I’ve done, leaping without looking from one opportunity to the next. It’ll provide lots of excitement, some stress, and the rewards may or may not be something you want to receive. Or, you can do like Daniel and many others, research your next endeavor, choose how to specialize, and gather all the information you require to make an informed decision. Today, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, I am grateful that: I’m learning some new lessons about myself and those I choose to be around. I say be around versus invest time with since it’s how I’d viewed those relationships in the past. Moving forward, I’ll begin viewing my time with others as an investment. As a former Financial Advisor part of my training and my job was to evaluate the return on investment. When the amount received in exchanged isn’t satisfactory, it’s a poor investment and that’s how I’ll determine those I invest time with moving forward. I went for a walk in tennis shoes yesterday. Not that thrilling of a walk, but the mere fact of tying my shoes is the triumph. Small as it may sound, I am happy I was able to do it with relatively little pain. My first online course is nearly completed. I’d thought often about systemizing what’s worked well and sharing what hasn’t. My past includes tons of verbal communication of the sme. With my new perspective on residual income, this modified plan is and will work nicely. It affords me the chance to share success principles, my experiences with and without their proper application, and generate a residual income. Work once and get paid forever. An honest days work for an hoest days pay means I’ll have to work until I die and that’s unacceptable. How much time do you spend thinking about spilled milk? Could you lessen that amount of time? List a couple of things or people that if taken away today and for the next month and then returned, you’d have a challenging time expressing your gratitude? Abe, Be Greater

Staying The Course If you don’t know where you’re going, how in the heck will you know when you get there? If you haven’t heard that old question, but you’ve been reading my lists for a bit, you’ll recall my grocery store analogy. If none of those sound familiar, I’ll explain once more for those newer to my audience. Imagine sitting at home, then realizing you eed to grab a head of lettuce for your dinner salad. You grab your car keys, drive to the store, walk right over and grab a head of nice lettuce. You look around, but choose to purchase just what you need, do so, then head back home. Simple and straightforward enough, right? Now imagine the same scenario, but this time when you grab you keys, your phone rings. A friend is asking if you’d like to grab a cup of coffee. When you arrive at the store’s parking lot, a former coworker sees you and wants to talk. While you’re in the store you run into a neighbor pickup up a few things. An hour or so later you finally make it back home only to realize you didn’t buy your lettuce. Exhausted from the excursion, you decide you can skip your salad tonight and grab the lettuce on the way home from work tomorrow. Two similar scenarios, but quite different outcomes. The second situation was riddled with distractions. The first person stayed the course. The second person didn’t get what they set out to get even though they had a clear objective when they began. The first person had tunnel vision so to speak, did what they set out to get done, and enjoyed a nice salad at dinner. In life we are faced with a constant barrage of distractions. Arriving a bit early for work, staying a bit later, long lunches, soccer or football practices for the kids, dinner dates with the spouse, weekend excursions, and I could increase the list ad infinitum. It all appears worthwhile in the moment, but these seemingly small distractions can lead you astray. The have to potential to slow your progress, delay your efforts, and deter you from accomplishing your ultimate objective. I’m assuming, of course, you have an objective, a mission, a purpose. If you don’t have one, then by all means, do what you like, with whom you like, whenever you like. If, however, you do have purpose, be mindful of distractions. They may be an accelerant, but recall the question to ask when determining if they are. “How will this help me fulfill my purpose?” If the immediate answer is “It won’t” then it’s a distraction. If the answer is along the lines of “I don’t know” then consider investing some time and further investigate the thing. Today, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, I am grateful that: I got a chance to serve Dale. He was needing some help with a few things and I helped. He helped me as well and I would call that a mutually beneficial exchange. Even with my day almost over, I’m finishing my writing for this day. Not much progress in the way of writing, but other areas were completed. I got a chance to send over all the video scripts, quizzes, and two sample videos to Herb. He’ll review, offer some changes, and I’ll get that done tomorrow hopefully. Once completed we only need to discuss payment, uploading to his platform and a bit of training. Payment is most important to me at the moment, with making sure his needs and expectations are met. I’ll do my part and he will do his as always. I’m almost at the point where I can officially launch his program and mine. It’s a bit challenging the first time around, but after each completed task, I become more proficient, the kinks get worked out, and the learning curve get flattened. This will be an interesting few months to close the year. How do you deal with distractions? Are you aware they occur? List two ways you could improve in dealing with delays and distractions. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Take It To The Max For well over a year, I’ve been working on a freelancer platform. It’s basically a marketplace for independent contractors, so there are some benefits for the employer and the employee. Last night a couple of thoughts popped to mind. First, I’ve got one contract at the lowest rate I’ve worked for in over a year on the platform. Second, the hours of the contract are less than any contract I’ve had since joining the platform. Third, and probably most important, I haven’t maxed out the contract so far this week. In a bit over a year, I had at least a dozen contracts. Every contract ranged between 20 and 30 hours per week. At one point this summer, I had a perfect storm, three contracts, three different time zones, totaling sixty hours per week. In every instance, whether one contract or multiples, I haven’t maxed out any in total weekly hours. My lesson is this - “If you can’t take advantage and maximize what I give you, what makes you think I would give you more?” That’s the question I imagine my Creator asking me or anyone else unwilling to or unable to max out what’s clearly in front of them. Same lesson applies in many areas. If I can’t be a great steward of five dollars, what evidence have I shown my Creator I can be a great steward of five thousand, five million, or five billion? There’s no evidence of my ability to handle those things. If I’m unable to handle the small things, how does that show someone, like an employer, that I’m capable of handling larger tasks. At some point, I forgot that the devil is in the details. Small things matter big time. I’m guessing and I’d have to contemplate or maybe read some lists from last year to see if I was getting close to maxing out my contracts.That’s the lesson though, treat every deal as if it’s my last. Additionally, max out every possibility. The more I max out, the more that will come. My ability to manage small things, small wages, small contracts - the miniscule, seemingly insignificant things are what matter. Today, Wednesday, January 24, 2024, I am grateful that: Diana and I spoke a bit earlier. She’s got everything covered and there’s not much I can do to be of service at this point. Some items mays pop up later in the week, but today she’s good. The lessons continue to be revealed. A second lesson in as many days. Confirmation that I need to continue to write consistently. The practice of disciplined creativity comes to mind again. I’ve got work now. A small contract is better than no contract. For me today, this small contract keeps me afloat. It doesn’t allow me to get ahead, but I won’t fall behind either. How do you max it out? Are you consistently maximizing your opportunities? Have you noticed when you max out your opportunities, more appear? Abe, Be Greater!!!

The Revenant The movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio is about a guy left for dead and who probably should have died. All of the party he traveled with assumed he died, but he did not. Without giving away the entire plot, I’d suggest setting aside a bit of time and watching the movie. We can learn a few lessons from the movie. The first lesson I can relate to is don’t give up. No matter the situation, no matter how dire the circumstances, do not quit. Next, ignore the naysayers. In fact, you may find yourself surrounded by individuals who believe quitting would be best. My suggestion and my personal experience is to get away from those people at all cost. Third lesson is just because you decide to keep going and to not quit, your journey isn’t guaranteed to be obstacle free. You and I making a decision to keep going and move with conviction doesn’t mean the world will conspire to make it easy. Again, for those of you that haven’t seen the movie, I won’t write any spoilers. In my life and quite recently, some thought I would die. Others, in more distant times, have thought I should quit. A couple have asked why I haven’t quit. Some have thought me to be crazy. I may be that and more, but at least I’m not a quitter. There have been times recently and in my history that I’ve quit. I have succumbed to comfort. I didn’t want to put in the work. I have been lazy. I chose the easier, softer, more comfortable path. My reward was miserable, including multiple hospitalizations for suicide prevention, multiple medications daily, group therapy, and individual counseling sessions. The feelings of hopelessness, despair, eventually regret and remorse of missed opportunities are not missed. In fact, I rarely think of that old version of myself. It will be the same with you and all who choose to not quit, to not surrender, and prove all thinking you were dead are supposed to be dead wrong! Do not quit! Distance yourself from the doubters, the naysayers. Choose your course and get moving immediately! Today, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, I am grateful that: I’m back to writing. After two months I can truly say I’ve missed writing. At times it’s seemed as if it was a chore. Other times, like today, it’s a pleasure. It’s essential. It’s part of who I am, my very being. I’m healing. The accident has set me behind on my progress for the first quarter. Fortunately for me, I’ve got another nine months to get things accomplished this year. The advancements of others will accelerate my progress. There are so many technology advancements in other areas that I’ll be able to adapt to help accomplish my purpose. I’m guessing when we will all work towards our purpose, everyone benefits. I’ve been able to remove myself from the naysayers. They still appear periodically, but I’m more aware of their behavior and their affect on me, so I quickly stop associating with them and those around them. The death of your old self may be needed. Those things that were once acceptable will no longer be tolerated. The course you choose will be wrought with challenges, but such is life. We, you and I, have no idea how many people are watching us. I am ignorant to the number of lives my victories will impact in a positive manner. Do not quit. Do not yield. Keep going, no matter what happens. The other side of what you’re going through is where your reward lies. Be Greater, Abe

Too Big To Fail During the housing crisis in 2008, the saying of some financial institutions were they were too big to fail. Meaning, the banks had so much of an impact on the U.S. economy that it wouldn’t be wise to let them fail. A bunch of those banks received a bailout package from the government and are still in business. Not sure of more than one that actually went out of business. But that’s for the banks, finance, and the housing market, not me and my endeavors. For what I’m working on “too big to fail” has a slight twist. If you’ve done your market research and know the size of your market, is the market too big for you to fail? If you took 10 percent of the market, then only got 10 percent of that number, then only 10 percent of that number, is that enough for your endeavor to prosper? Let’s say you are in the tea business. A quick search shows there are about 5 billion cups consumed daily. Ten percent of 5 billion is 500 million and ten percent of that number is 50 million with 5 million cups being ten percent of the last number. Imagine taking 10 pieces of something to make one penny and that’s the number. Not a penny, but 10 pieces to make a penny. That’s a pretty small number which is the entire point. Is your market too big to fail? Are you pursuing a big enough endeavor for your market, your time, your expertise, your resources and the like? With our tea scenario, if we sold 5 million cups of tea daily and made one dollar per cup, that’s a big enough market and potential source of business and revenue. But if we sold luxury homes or yachts or private jets, the market is much smaller and the chances for failure would be significantly higher. Yesterday I crunched some numbers. I probably should have done this sooner, but I didn’t. My overall market size is estimated between 375 million and 460 million. Ten percent of that is 37 to 46 million and ten percent of that is 3.7 to 4.6 million. If I’m able to capture ten percent of that number annually, I’m at 370,000 to 460,000 units sold. For easy math at one dollar profit per unit the revenue is decent. The profit per unit is different of course, but the concept is the same. Do the math. Do the research. Invest in something so much bigger than you, your chances of success are great. Today, Friday, July 26, 2024, I am grateful that: Arithmetic is all that’s needed. Basic multiplication and division are all that I needed to run the numbers. It’s not super sophisticated or complicated. It’s not being overly optimistic, but rather quite pessimistic. The numbers still work and the confirmation to continue is provided. I got to meet and dine with a guy visiting from Alabama. Funny thing is we both spent years in the same industry. It was great to reminisce about the industry, failures and successes and the walk down memory lane was refreshing. I miss the industry and may revisit, but no time in the future. Moe, Jessa, and Owen stopped by for a bit. It was different hosting and having people in my place. That’s something rather uncomfortable for me as I’m an isolationist, but I was happy for the company. Being slightly uncomfortable is okay as well, since growth typically accompanies or follows periods of discomfort. Have you crunched your numbers? How big is your market? Is it too big to fail? If you haven’t done your research, do so now. Abe, Be Greater!!!

Weekly Wrap Up The week is almost over and I haven’t gotten much accomplished. Lots of research and no completed projects. These are disappointing times to acknowledge. It’s all from decisions I’ve made and I can accept responsibility for my actions, recent and past, but this week it hurts more than normal. I didn’t realize until yesterday how much time I’d wasted. I’ve made some purchases and spent so much time looking for the software receipts compared to using the software. My old laptop died and I haven’t been able to access the software, plus I hadn’t used it in months so it was frustrating to say the least. The silver lining is I found two suitable alternatives and I’ll be able to get the same things done this weekend. Another thing about this week is the recognition of a timeline. When working for myself, tracking my progress was laxed to say it nicely. On a job, different story, but with me as my boss, quite laxed. After my accident though, I feel as if I’m on borrowed time. I have a sense of urgency I don’t typically have. It’s different. My history doesn’t include this feeling and it’s a bit unsettling. It’s uncomfortable and Im totally okay with the feeling, it’s just new. I’ve also been irritable over the last few weeks. Again, not something that’s normal, but it’s been happening. I don’t want to sit back and say that people are out to get me, but small things are bothering me like they would not have before. All these little things are adding up. I’m not about to explode, but I’m aware things are slightly more important. I’m cool with some of the post accident changes and others will take some getting used to. Today, Friday, April 19, 2024, I am grateful that: Herb and I had our weekly conversation. He gave me some input on a couple of employee management concerns. He also provided some input about my upcoming community. It’s great to have such an invaluable resource in him. Some friends from back home have reached out to check on my progress. Not life long friends, but most of these relationships are over twenty years old. I consider myself fortunate to have people I’m still communicating with that have known me for so long. There’s a little light at the end of the tunnel. My research this week gives me hope for work today and this weekend. I should be able to make some progress and move things forward in swift order. What’s something you could have done better this week? How can you change that for next week? What did you do well this week? How can you keep that momentum going? Abe, Be Greater!!!

When You’ve Got Nothing… Today is a day when I “feel” as if I have nothing to contribute. Nothing to write about and nothing to add value. It’s late afternoon and I’m just now writing as compared to when I first awaken. Typically, writing this is part of my morning routine, yet today no thoughts came to mind. It happens occasionally and some days I won’t write, other time, like today, I write a bit later than normal. I put the word feel in quotes for a couple of reasons. The most important is the word itself. “Feelings changes. Facts do not.” Tomorrow, next week, next month, or a decade from now, I won’t recall what I felt like today. What will remain of this day is what I did, now how I felt. I’ve written more than once about “FYF.” I may need to write about it again, but not today. Today is a day to deliver another message. When you’ve got nothing, recall the one time that… We’ve all got a time when we felt as if we had nothing left. When we felt totally drained, exhausted, and were ready to give up. I’ve felt that way so many times it’s almost comedic. But there’s a time for us all, when we were at the end, but had one last thing to get done. And we did that thing. The one last thing is what’s most important. The audacity to keep going when your mind and body tell you to stop. The unrelenting confidence when we think of those times. For you it may only be once. Do you remember that one time? When you’ve got nothing left in the tank, remember that time. Think about how you stood. Think about what you did. Recall the time of year, the weather, the time of day. If you’ve taken the mini excursion just now, how are you feeling? How are you sitting? How are you breathing? It’s different, right? Your body remembers, even when your mind doesn’t. You’ve got more than you believe. I’m the same way. I forget about the great challenges I’ve overcome. I forget about proving the naysayers wrong in many instances. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got one instance, use it. Build on it. Recalling the one time will get you through to the next time or this current time. If this is your first time, know this - this instance is temporary. It may “feel” like it won’t end, but that’s not true. It will end. It hasn’t ALWAYS been this way and it will NOT always be this way. This is temporary and you…you are strong enough, bold enough, courageous enough to outlast this situation. You’ve got more than enough to make it through this. You are more than capable! This is only a slight hiccup. It may slow you down a bit, but it won’t stop you or your journey. Today, Thursday, January 25, 2024, I am grateful that: I’m fully rested. I’ve been without a contract since the middle of December, but I chose to keep my work schedule. This allowed a rather seamless transition when I won another contract. So rest, although quite basic, is something that tops my list today. I’ve got a call scheduled with Blanco a bit later. Hoping we can solve a problem for him. It’ll give me a chance to serve and him a chance to move closer to his goals as well. I’m making progress on the hosting account. Nameservers setup and should be finished propagating today. Then I can build out a basic site for these posts. The questions and an exercise are above. You’ve got more than you are currently aware of! Abe, Be Greater

Willing and Able Several weeks ago and maybe a bit longer, I heard a speaker sharing a story from the Bible. Two guys were going to be burnt alive by the king and one of them told the king something along the lines of, “If you throw us into the furnace, we serve a God that is able and willing to deliver us from its flame.” Now, I don’t typically quote Bible verses or tell Bible stories, mostly because I’m not a Bible scholar and I don’t like talking or writing about things I don’t know well. This story delivers a message that’s been resonating with me for weeks now. Last week I’d written about the turning point and point of safe return. This writing is more about faith and beyond faith, resolve. And more than resolve, it’s conviction, which is a firmly held belief or opinion. The origin is Latin and meant “to overcome decisively.” How about that etymology? To overcome decisively, coupled with belief in you’re serving something “willing and able” to see you through. We’ll just let that marinate for a second. Think about that would you? When I struggle with belief, with conviction, of Him and His ability to get me where He wants me to go, I have to recall past triumphs. Not my victories, but what He has done, when I get out of the way! I struggle to recall, at times, the significance of His power. I struggle at times to recall His grace. Days like today and the last week or so, those are the times I struggle. I become uninspired, laxed, lazy, and complacent. I don’t move with certainty, or rather, conviction. These are the days to remember. I must remember what has happened. I must recall the victories, big and small. From surviving a nearly fatal accident this year. To the paying of my hospital bills, while I was in a coma. To living in another country with no money for over five years. To burying two parents, two older brothers, and two best friends. I must remember bouncing back after countless jobs and multiple careers. I must remember through all of these ups and downs, gains and losses, He has carried me through. Just like the poem, Footprints, “It was then in your times of trial and suffering, when you see one set of footprints. It was then that I carried you.” I serve a Creator that’s willing and able. I have been serving and I will continue to serve. When it’s easy, when it’s hard, I will serve. I will ask for help and I will receive more than I need. I will continue to live, thrive, and fulfill my purpose for being on this planet, at this time. I will do what I was created to do. Today, Wednesday, September 4, 2024, I am grateful that: I got a chance to talk to Gary briefly today. He was on the other line at work and we didn’t talk long. It’s great to have long standing relationships with people. The older I get, the more important those relationships become. I got a chance to talk to Grady. We spoke about the roofing business. His ex-wife and a friend of mine recently died. So I wanted to make sure he was doing okay and he was. I’m remembering what my Creator has done and is still doing. His grace is something that’s too easily overlooked and I’m happy the days I can recall. I’m a walking testament, but some days it’s shameful. I have to recall and live as if I remember. Today, I’m happy I remembered. How often do you commune with your Creator? Do you live with purpose? Do you live with conviction? If not, how can you? Do one of those things you just thought about today!!! Abe, Be Greater!!!

…Checking It Twice… This morning as I’m thinking of a title, wind from my fan blows the lists I’ve taped to my wall. These lists have all the action items I’ll get finished this month. The lyrics from Santa Claus Is Coming To Town popped into mind. “He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty and nice” and so it goes. I’ve made my list. I’ve checked it more than twice. I’ve been naughty and not so nice. My last spiritual advisor and I would talk on my way to the office years ago. Monday through Friday we’d end our calls with him saying, “Give ‘em your best Big Man” or “Give ‘em a 110%.” Either way his message conveyed the same thing, do your best today. I can say over the last few days, maybe longer, I’ve done something but it wasn’t my best. One of the greatest benefits of reflection is discovering deficiencies. As I type this list in the mornings I get to contemplate what I’m doing, what I planned, and what I’ve done. If it’s not going to plan, I can change. If it’s not going as well as I’d like or plan, I can change. When I’m not doing my best, I can and usually do write about it and change. Hence the reason for writing about it today. I can do some thing a bit better. I can put in more effort. I can get a few more things finished. I can setup or implement another process or system. I can pack more into the stream of life. I hadn’t been doing that as much as I’ve done in the past. I’d gotten a bit comfortable and that’s a failure on my part. Some may say or think to themselves, “Well you did something and that’s commendable” and I agree. The point of my life at this point isn’t about doing something, it’s about being impactful. In order to have a ‘strong effect on someone or something’ just doing something isn’t enough. A strong anything requires more than a casual doing or going through the motions. I can’t be impactful going through the motions. I must move with intention, with force, better yet, deliberately. If I had to offer a grade and assess my past performances this month, I’d be happy with a “D” but I’m sure it’s more like an “F” and that’s being honest. I could say I’m doing what the average person does and that may be true, but I’m not average. I’ve never been average. No one really is average, but we fall into a curve of mediocrity from lack of passion, purpose, and deliberate action. I possess purpose. I’m relatively passionate and my actions are deliberate. I’d written about increasing intensity a little while ago and that’s the key for this particular challenge I face. Today, Tuesday, August 20, 2024, I am grateful that: Although it’s late, I’m finishing my list. Everyday isn’t super productive nor my best effort, but most days get some things done. I’m willing and able to self assess. Also, having those I can rely on for objective feedback is vital and I have amassed quite a circle of confidants. I got everything sent to Herb. Every piece of info he’ll need to make an informed decision. I’m hoping enough info was provided to properly convey the value in the service I’m delivering. I don’t believe I’ve communicated that clearly enough. Will you deliver your best today? Abe, Be Greater!!!