Daily Gratitude: This is fairly easy if you think about it. How can you be a small light today? Why not ask yourself this question every morning let’s say for one week? Just asking yourself the question will embed it in your brain so that it can start working behind the scenes so to speak. As with any thought, once your brain has the idea, it will begin to marinate it and allow it to grow. Often you don’t even have to put any more effort into it. It will just come about. If you do decide, though, to consciously implement it, all the better! How special would your day be if you went about it with one primary goal in mind – to be the light in someone’s day? You’ll be alert for opportunities to do something for another person. Your RAS (reticular activating system) will hone in and focus on what’s going on and will spot those opportunities. It will weed out the other stuff and strip away all but the specific way in which you can brighten up someone else’s life. You’ll be surprised and amazed that there is such a system inside that hard head of yours. Remember – every morning ask how you be a small (and remember that it’s small so you don’t feel overwhelmed) light In someone’s day. Then review your actions at the end of the day to see how you did!

Daily Gratitude: Boy is this a valuable and key life lesson. And since we live in the day of instant gratification, it’s hard to remember. We want to learn to play the piano within 24 hours of getting one. “Practice? Why do I need to practice? Why can’t I just sit down at the piano and play like a classical master?” Think back to a baby learning to walk. The baby didn’t go from crawling and sticking its feet in its mouth to see how they tasted. They had to focus – as much as a baby can focus. They had to get up, fall down and get up again. Over and over. If they quit because they couldn’t walk the first time they tried, where would we be? Maybe cut out a picture of a baby trying to walk and put it over your piano (or wherever else you’re learning right now). Look at that baby every time you get frustrated that you haven’t yet been invited to be in the most orchestra in the world (or some other grandiose plan your mind has concocted). Small steps. Consistency and persistence is what makes you great.

Daily Gratitude: Can our purpose in life be this simple? I think so although it’s much easier to say Than to live. However, no matter how you pray (using “God” in your message, doing meditation, setting intentions, whatever you consider as a power outside yourself), this should be the essence of each and every day of our lives. We must get out of ourselves. We are a tribal being and as such, we are supposed to be caring for each other – in order to ensure the continuity of the tribe. Our purpose is NOT to go out and get everything we can just for ourselves. Ask for guidance every day on how you can best be a blessing to someone else. That guidance will come if you ask for it. What feels better? Getting a package that you ordered from Amazon. Or, getting a surprise package from someone? When you get someone from someone else, it’s not just about what it is but it’s also about the thoughts and meaning behind that gift. It is much more than what is in the box. Try it for one day. Be a blessing to someone else.