Simplifying means doing or experiencing less in the moment. It also removes things from your life to make that more manageable, but it does not need to mean having less in total.

I was told something once, or maybe I read it—it doesn't matter, but it has always stuck with me. It is both simple and very complicated. It is easy to understand, yet it can take a lifetime to figure out. I was told, "You are not your feelings."

Reading this book was not just a journey into note-taking techniques for me. It led me, and a surprising number of other readers I found on the internet, into a transformative practice that challenges the conventional wisdom of how we compile, process, and generate knowledge. If you love note-taking and knowledge management, enjoy writing (or would like to), or are involved in researching anything, I highly recommend you take a spin through this book.

Generally, I wouldn't say I like business books. When I say “generally,” I mean I hate them all the time. I try to be open-minded. Maybe there are a few out there that I would enjoy, but I haven’t run into them yet. I’m also not a huge fan of self-improvement books either. Business books are like the worst of the self-improvement ideas written with big corporate words to make them sound impressive. I now only want to read book abstracts to help me through this process. If an abstract hits a chord with me, I might download the book. I’m not holding my breath for that, but who knows??

Malcolm Gladwell pretty much branded the concept of "10,000 hours of practice" rule in his book "Outliers." He is a respected author and can be very influential. In no way will I dispute his writing or his expertise. I have gained much from his work over the years. But the more I have thought about the 10,000 hour rule the more I have been depressed by it.

Our prayers are the daily verses. The story of our personal lives, the struggles we feel, the help we need, and the joys and the gratitude we feel all are written into our daily verses. The chorus becomes the weekly Sacrament Prayers

All of us are in this together and all have the same issues. We are all human. We all get colds, we all cry, we all feel love and pain, we all stink if we don't shower or wash up, we all poop, we all stub our toes, we all get old and get pain in our joints, we all have family that we struggle to get along with . . . no matter who you are.

My good friend implored me to read "Everybody, Always" by Bob Goff. Bob Goff is a New York Times bestselling author and known for his unique perspective on life and faith. In this book Goff challenges readers to love everybody, always, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Through his own personal stories and experiences, Goff shows how loving others can change both their lives and our own.

A few years ago, my wife gave me some coaching and told me all she wanted to hear from me (or sometimes from her friends) when things are not going well is the words, "that sucks."

Time tracking can help us understand how we are spending our time and find balance in our life. It will not solve all your problems, but it may help you find a better balance. Finding that balance while trying to stay productive and successful is not easy. Our normal measurements are all out of whack.

It is easy to think of practice as something we do for only certain skills in life. We practice playing musical instruments, we practice athletic team sports, we practice when we learn how to play a new game. Practice should be much more than that, we just don't usually use that word in other areas of life. Working to change or improve is practice, or it should be.

Too much time on your hands and having no time on your hands lead to burnout, dissatisfaction, and ultimately leaving the situation.

I recently found a few words of Nehemiah helpful. He gave me some ideas to help in creating the environment I need for more positive thoughts. He mentioned the words “be no more a reproach” in one of his motivational speeches to the people of Jerusalem and it made me stop and think (Nehemiah 2:17). I wondered if I could take the rebuilding of the walls and gates of the city of Jerusalem as a metaphor, or maybe as an example, of how to guard against personal reproach.