It's not about discovering who we are, it's about recovering who we've always been. This is tough stuff because it's not easy to believe we have what we need. Why do we have such an aversion to believing some of the most beautiful truths can be so simple?

Of course there’s value in hard work, but hard work isn’t synonymous with internal distress. I worry about the fragility of our identities if we don’t stop believing we’re running from some predator and start trusting that we’re doing a little better than we think we are. 

Though we may encounter seemingly unending seasons of strife, we also have the ability to hone a default perspective of whimsey and wonder each morning. Growth means finding more alignment in the truth that two conflicting things can exist at once. 

I wonder if there's a deeper kind of thankfulness - one that doesn't require comparison, but wells from deep inside on its own. Like a song we hear always. So this Thanksgiving, I'm certainly thankful for a roof over my head, fantastic relationships, an amazing job and Taco Bell - but I'm also thankful for the daily opportunity to dive deeper. 

You’ve got to get deep about the motives you have for doing the work you do. You’ve got to get clear about why it makes you come alive. You’ve got to speak a language you’d want to hear and you’ve got to create content, products, services and stories that would hold your interest first. 

When we choose to punctuate our lives with new moments time slows down. There's certainly something to be said for feeling at home, but for now I'm enjoying the generosity of my friends and quiet mornings in new places. I wonder where I'll sleep tonight. 

Our real calling then is not to mark the passage of time with a wish we’ll morph into who we’re supposed to be, but to rest in the quiet knowing of who we already are. Who we’ve always been

Maybe that’s what cautious parents do when they love their kids - they introduce them to people who can tell the stories they can't themselves. It wasn’t going to be Craig who would tell his boys about the world and how to cautiously let it in, but it could be me. 

One thing I've learned about living through pain is that sometimes you can give yourself the gift of seeing just two or three seconds beyond where you are now. 

It's easy to believe the whole world is against you. It's much more difficult to live in the blind confidence that the world belongs to people who trust in the magic of love and connection. Flowers open up around their ankles. Sun perpetually shines on their eyelids. 

What important work it is to help others see things they've never seen before. What a beautiful opportunity it is to guide people to new ways of understanding. 

Do you ever have trouble sleeping on Sunday nights? Your heart is pounding and you’re worried about all the things you have to do. Have you ever imagined there is a private meeting in a secret conference room where your colleagues talk about whether or not you’re fulfilling your potential? 

Going home means finding an anchor in your identity. Home means remembering formative experiences and relationships and recognizing their influence. That’s a powerful thing. That’s perhaps the only reason we’re here: to belong and to help others feel like they belong.

When we invite others in, we remind one another that we can't do life alone. We cut the crap and realize that we're more alike than we think we are. We can always learn something from moments of forced humility.

Participating is difficult and inconvenient. Despite our knowledge that the formula works, we're still hesitant. We retreat into ourselves, we decide to be comfortable. If we're to become who we want to become, we must begin acting that way and the mindset will follow. The confidence will follow. 

I think it’s small moments of discipline that get us through challenges. In movies, these moments are collected in montages because they can sometimes be boring or kind of regular unless there’s a sweet song playing. It takes consistent hard work to be an extraordinary person. It means you have to trust the process and show up each day.

We learned to accept Don, so that means we can accept us. Despite all of the terrible things Don did, we wanted him to find peace - so that means we can find peace.

The synthesizer can talk about what's happening. They have the ability to stand back, be silent, and see trends. They weave themes together. Do you have a synthesizer on your team?

Invite others to tell you what matters most to them, invite them to tell you who they are. Because when we invite people to tell stories, we give them the chance to reveal what it is they hope for, what they're afraid of and what they really want. 

If I ever have child (a boy I hope), I’ll tell him that if I did life again, I might have smelled the inside of my post office box.