Spending time in the moment reflecting upon an important message is a good use of time in my humble opinion. Doing so via the blockchain is a fantastic way of creating a positive post and I love the #thoughtfuldailypost movement championed by my buddy @wesphilbin. Though we are 28 days since my last #thoughtfulDAILYpost, hopefully I will be forgiven.

As a consolation, I offer you, the most influential of my 1180 followers, an unprecedented 3-fer.

The power of Contrast

If it were me, I would exchange the word ego for perspective. Otherwise, I have seen some of the best brainstorming and inspired solution design happen around a table surrounded by the most unlikely combination of characters.

I heard once something like 'If two people in a relationship (marital, business, otherwise) are in agreement about everything, one of them is redundant.' I believe strongly that everyone can learn something from every human interaction if they choose to. When you engage strong individuals of unique beliefs and experiences, they will challenge each other and not only bring out the best in each other, but improve eachother. Iron sharpens iron.

WWPZS (What Would Preachy Zeke Say?): Be the one at that table to celebrate the diversity and keep the group focused upon the objective.

Night Sight

Though the goofy font and capitalization variety annoys me to no end, I can appreciate this strong and individual message.

While camping, I really enjoyed walking away from the fire (coated with plenty of bug spray) and wander a trail without a flashlight. Immediately, I would be blind as my eyes adjusted and it seemed to take forever to be able to adequately perceive my surroundings. I would venture off enough to be in complete darkness except for the filtered natural light. When I paused long enough to return to a more natural or primal state, the forest seemed to come alive. Maybe it was the weed speaking but you really feel part of the raw nature of it when you can calm your breathing, dilate your eyes, and watch as nature accepts you and proceeds with its course. It is a great feeling to see within the darkness.

WWPZS?: When things are darkest, passively pause to observe and bask in what you might see. Also, remember being in that dark moment when things seem not so bright.

Between Here and There

Viktor Frankl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl may look Eugene Levy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Levy but his story is as remarkable and inspirational as this ~100-year-old quote.

I remember a discussion in a post months and month ago where I admitted that I am working diligently on reacting less and responding more. As a self-professed optimist, problem solver and crisis manager, I found myself springing into action verbally or actively and having to stop myself to say 'waitasec.' While that took discipline, I decided that my response in non critical situations should really be the 'waitasec.' Months and months later, this glorious quote catches my attention. It should mean something to people consuming it and looking for empowerment.

WWPZS: Not only can you choose to leverage your years of experience to respond and positively influence a situation, you can practice this and grow to achieve greater freedom.