We don’t need a magic routine or a lucky charm to show up each day and do our best work. When we eliminate conditions, we increase our contributions.

I spent years avoiding the responsibility of sharing my work because I didn't think I fit into the world of Austin startups, entrepreneurs, and flashy accelerators and incubators and refrigerators or whatever. Thanks to my mom, I can now see the only real requirement for being an entrepreneur is to fill real a need with your unique skills and perspective. And to get really good and never quit.

Our tears show us who we are and who we’re called to be.

Even though our brain is wired to help us forget painful and negative experiences, we still get wrapped up in our frustrations each time our lives don’t go the way we want them to. Might we remember we won’t remember most of our present aversion to discomfort and carry on with grace.

If you're anything like me your head isn't always the safest place to be. Whether it's the stories you're telling yourself or the thoughts you're allowing to persist, our mind can turn the entire world into a haunted house if we let it. Here's the good news: We have more ability than we realize to influence what happens in our noggins. Though we can't always control the incessant head chatter, if we're purposeful we can get to a place where every thought doesn't also have to be a threat.

We believe one day we'll construct a life without distractions when we'll be able to be who we were meant to be. And the days keep passing. The truth is we'll never have perfect circumstances. What if things never slow down? What if the challenge you're facing with your family or your health doesn't ever let up? Then what? We must stop waiting to do what we were meant to do in the hopes we'll one day be given the gift of more time and less challenges. Dreams of a future supported by perfect circumstances will only delay a life meant to be lived today. Participation here and now is the answer, not more time.

Though our circumstances might not present us with opportunities for car chases or heists or revolutions on a daily basis, our wiring is still the same. Meaning we still feel fear, wonder, awe, and the rush of doing something risky. We feel it in our bones when we to choose to be bigger, more confident, or different when it's the last thing we want to do. The moments when we feel those things are what punctuate an adventurous life.

Being young and getting old teach us what matters most. There is a special innocence and wisdom woven together into an important truth about the human spirit most present when we enter and exit our lives.

Recruiting a bunch of all-stars is surprisingly not the most important ingredient of a successful team. Talent and skill don’t matter if the individuals at the table don’t feel safe to be themselves and share their ideas without fear.

How many of us miss out on opportunities to add value to others because we’ve determined they’re not able to receive our help in the way we want to deliver it?

It's graduation season and everyone is terrified their futures aren't going to pan out the way they expected. Don’t worry - I’m here to assure you the rest of your life doesn’t have to be so disappointing, if only you’re willing to work on your expectations. The secret to unlocking our potential, creating opportunity for ourselves and finding fulfillment is to remember our attitude in the present matters more than the alignment of our plans for the future. When we're grateful we can grow up to be great.

Rarely are the ways in which we hurt one another intentional. Our instincts are mostly designed to protect us, but often materialize as defensiveness or combativeness. If we can recognize poorly evolved instincts don't make for bad people, perhaps we might heal and grow closer together.

To grow it’s essential we own the fact we have given others power over us because we’re hoping they’ll gift us approval we must learn to cultivate ourselves. When we stop giving others permission to dictate how we feel about our worth we’re free to experience peace and contribute without fear.

I was once scared of the idea I might end up living a normal life. For as long as I can remember I wanted to embark on my own hero's journey and rejected any path not exciting enough. Yet I'm beginning to see how my obsession with adventure was distracting me from the opportunities in my presently ordinary life. I'm learning to love a regular existence, because a normal life is the meeting place for the circumstances necessary to launch someone reluctantly onto an incredible journey.

We're a strange species. It seems like we enjoy learning the same lessons over and over again. I've found it helpful to pause and reflect on the things about myself I know are true, the lies I tell myself, and what allows me to best navigate life. Though the past isn’t a place to live, it can be a great source of wisdom - an instruction manual of sorts for how to move forward. We'll never live our lives perfectly, but by now you probably know yourself well enough to create default decisions or mindsets for scenarios you frequently encounter.

We waste a lot of time looking at the wrong scoreboard. The lives and the accomplishments of others are none of our business. When we keep our eyes on our own scoreboard and measure the things that really matter, we're able to make contributions that transcend point systems and actually add value to others.

What we really want when we're searching for answers is a meaningful and real connection to the deepening and widening story of our lives. When fully engaged in the journey, knowing the answer to the question du jour pales in comparison to experiencing the joy of each moment.

Many of us spend our lives waiting in the wings for an internal voice to give us the wisdom we need to move forward. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. We receive the gift of intuition from our internal guide when we’re participating in our lives with no safety net. Wisdom is not a gift received in times of peace.

Raise your hand if you spend time throughout the day thinking about what others might be thinking about you… Wait...you do that too? Crazy. For those of us who find ourselves obsessed with doing things right and live in fear of judgements people are probably making about us - we have some brain space and internal peace to reclaim. When we ground ourselves in reality and remember it's not all about us, we can find the freedom to do our best work and navigate life with more joy.

What do we do when our work just isn't very fulfilling? Well, we can keep searching for the next career path that might bring us satisfaction - or we can realize we're responsible for our level of fulfillment in our work. Learn how to make anything meaningful and you'll find the fulfillment you've been looking for.