Hey, kids. I want to share with you some really important advice on the power of words, especially the ones that you tell yourself, and how just changing one word can have an enormous impact on your life. Okay, so let me tell you a story. I was a part of a gym and we were doing hit training, high-intensity interval training, and it was hard, hard.

Everyone in the class was struggling. And we had another exercise coming up and we were not looking forward to it. And the trainer came up and said “No, don’t look at it like that. You should be appreciative that you get to do these types of exercises. This is a blessing. You GET to do these exercises. You don’t have to be here.”

And I was like, man, that’s a really deep and powerful way of thinking. And then recently, I was just listening to an audiobook called Atomic Habits by James Clear. So if you get a chance, make sure you read that one. It’s a very, very good book.

And the concept is if you change the word “have” to “get” it can have an enormous impact on your life. So whenever you are about to do something that you’re dreading or you don’t want to do, but you know you need to do it, you have to think of those words that you’re telling yourself. And if you hear yourself saying the words “have,” I want you to switch it with “get.” Change have to get, simple.

It takes you from a mindset of dread and it brings you into a mindset of gratitude and appreciation. Okay, so some examples you might come across as you get older
– I have to do my homework.
– I have to practice.
– I have to clean my room.

I want you to switch those words from “have” to “get.”

So instead of saying “I have to do my homework,” I want you to think “I get to do my homework.” Think about it. There are a lot of kids out there who aren’t able to do homework. Maybe they’re not physically or mentally able to do it. Maybe they have a learning disability. Maybe they’re handicapped. You should be thankful that you have the opportunity that you “get” to do your homework.

Same with “I have to practice.” No, “you get to practice.” Not everybody again is going to be physically able to maybe their family doesn’t have the means to put them in sports. Maybe they don’t have a place to play. Maybe they’re physically not able to do it. And God gave you all of these things so you should be appreciative that you get to do these things.

The same goes for “I have to clean my room.” Turn that thinking around too. Instead, think “I get to clean my room.” There are a lot of kids out there who don’t have homes. There are kids who have to share their rooms with other family members. They don’t have their own room. Maybe they don’t even have enough things in their room that they have to clean. You were given your own room, tons of toys, and a safe place to live and play.

These things are blessings. So come at these thoughts with a mindset of gratitude and appreciation. I know it’s a lot easier said than done but get in the discipline of changing your mindset.

I would you both to remember that as you are growing up, and you start doing some things that you may not want to do, but you know that you need to do them.

I love you both.

– Dad

There are two types of people in this world, the ones who return shopping carts back where they belong and the ones who just leave them out in the parking lot to roll around freely, bump into people’s cars, and make other people track them down and bring them in for them.

Kids, we are the people who put the shopping cart back. We are the people who take 100% responsibility for ourselves and our actions. We are considerate and respectful of others, and we do what’s right when nobody is looking…even when we don’t feel like it. Some people would call that integrity.

You may hear the argument from some people, and they may be your friends, that the stores hire people to do this. No, there’s not a job description out there that says we’re looking for someone to go around the parking lot in search of shopping carts that people left next to their cars or are rolling around the street. Yes, they hire people to return shopping carts from the shopping cart corrals, but it’s your responsibility to get them there.

This may sound like a trivial thing but it’s a litmus test for the type of person you are. There is nothing in life that doesn’t matter. Everything matters to some degree. Remember, how you do anything is how you do everything.

I’m glad I got this one off my chest. Making the world better one person, and shopping cart, at a time.

– Dad

This principle is one of, if not the, most important principle for your life and future success. Everything you experience in your life today is the result of all the choices and actions you have made in the past.

There will be things that you can’t control in your life, but the things you always have control over are the thoughts you hold in your mind, the images you hold in your mind, and the actions you take in your life.

The world owes you nothing and you are not entitled to success Success is something that is earned and created by you The only person responsible for the success and quality of your life is you, no one else.

If you don’t like something that has happened in your life that you don’t like, don’t start complaining about it.

Instead, ask yourself: How did I create that? What could I have done to change that outcome? What did I do that I shouldn’t have done? Should I have said something different or reacted a different way? What do I need to do in the future to get the result I want?

This principle is powerful because it gives you power. If your life today is what you created, and you are not happy with it, then you know you have the power to change it.

It’s really easy these days to get distracted. We always have phones on us which gives us constant access to social media, sports, videos, apps, texting, calls, etc..

Don’t lose sight of what’s important, quality time with friends and family. Here is a story of how I met my wife and essentially “sealed the deal” in terms of us becoming a couple and eventually getting married.

Jim Rohn said it best, “wherever you are, be there.”