Seeking Coastal Utopia

Sleep is a good thing. We need more of it. We want more of it. But we ignore it. Why are we fighting it? “person sleeping near window” by Maeghan Smulders on  Unsplash We are damaging our brains and we are destroying our health. Do we do these things in pursuit of fame, fortune, and ego, potentially leading to money? I believe we are driving to an unknown need. Sleep is one of the most important things you can do right next to eating . Sleep is the elixir of life and it allows us to accomplish the things that we need to do every day — physically and mentally. If sleep is so important, why are we choosing to forgo it? In pursuit of — one more web page, one more text, one more post on Facebook, one more video on YouTube, one more something? People, people, please turn off your phone and leave it in the kitchen. Turn off your tablet and leave it in the living room. Turn off your laptop. Turn off the TV. Go. To. Bed. And. Go. To. Sleep. Do not say you have insomnia....

Check your ego at the door!  Or better yet, bring your ego with you, only if you can keep it in check! Why do we think that we have to do everything? Perfectly, every time? Do we honestly believe we have answers for everything that is presented to us? That we have to answer every person that comes to us with a deep, meaningful response, solving their problem for them — because we can (or think we can)? Is it because of ego? Is it because we do not want to be seen in a position of weakness? Or do we want to be seen as superior to others around us? Ego? Check! “woman carrying sack of hay on back while holding stick” by Graham Covington on  Unsplash When you are struggling under a heavy load, what do you do? Do you continue to struggle under the heavy load slogging through it trying to complete it yourself? Killing yourself to get the work finished? Then running out of energy and not getting it complete? Do you think that it would be faster for you to do the w...

We have all heard the adage there is an elephant in the room. Heck, we are probably all sick of hearing about the elephant in the room, even when we try to ignore it. The elephant in the room is the biggest thing in the room that everyone wants to ignore, but someone invariably brings it up. “elephant during daytime” by James Hammond on  Unsplash …ahem, excuse me. I want to bring up the elephant in the room… Dude, shut up! I really do not want to ignore elephants anymore, I think we should eat them! And then the following adage is how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! I think I am going to vomit, not because of too many elephants, but because of too many euphemisms. Stop it already. People freak out when they are presented with a massive undertaking, the large jobs, the elephant size jobs. The ones with a seemingly impossible action (note — there is no such thing as impossible) and the mountain of work looming in front of you is massive. You ca...

O.K., this has to be qualified that this is not an instruction of what note style to use, the way to write notes, or even how you should format them. It is merely going to give you guidance to use ANY method possible to capture notes so you can be more successful in your work or home life. (not the same sort of notes I am talking about) rawpixel on  Unsplash Aging sucks. I remember (or imagine) the days when I did not have to take notes for anything. The mind was a steel trap. Everything that went in was burned in; nothing forgotten — or so I thought. I was able to stumble through the early days of my career by not taking prodigious notes, but I do not suggest it becoming a habit for those coming into their working lives. Let me make it easy for you: Get a pen or a pencil and a notebook — any. Steno pad . Legal pad . Engineering graph paper . Composition book (they are $0.50US). Mini Memo Pad . Black n’ Red . Rocketbook . Post-it Notes . Napkins. The palm of your ha...

A recent conversation between myself and the kids, yet happens usually once a month. I need to understand the trigger that sets them on this path. Kids — we wish we were rich Me — what do you mean? what would it be like to be rich? Kids — a lot of money so we can buy whatever we want Me — so what is it that you want we don’t have already? Kids — are we rich? Me — it’s all about perspective. What would you buy if you had more money? Kids — I don’t know, a Me — is that really important? Kids — **** “black sports car on asphalt road” by Marc Kleen on  Unsplash Wealthy is a state of mind and even sometimes your being. It is practically a mental health issue in many cases. So obsessed with the pursuit of wealth, nothing stands in the way. Wealth is defined as having an abundance of “valuable” possessions or money — the common perception. Yet there can be different forms of wealth. Wealthy can be someone that has an abundance of time. Or it could mean that you h...

This is tough. This is big. Standing up for anything is hard. Difficult decisions need to be made. Discomfort creeps into your chest, your guts. Your soul. “man on body of water during daytime” by Mubariz Mehdizadeh on  Unsplash Do you fold like a cheap lawn chair, or do you stand proud and strong and weather the storm?  Face into the wind, one step at a time, fighting and clawing for every inch forward? You damn well should. Crush your fears and be strong against the tide. That is why you are here, you are strong and want to be stronger. This is why you are in the role you are in. This is why you level up; to be better than sheep and lemmings . Fight mediocrity. Fight passiveness. Fight entropy. Fight apathy. Now, could you sell your soul? Find a job with the least amount of responsibility with the most pay? It probably doesn’t exist in the way you imagine it. Could you jump from one role to another for $XXX more today? Tomorrow? If y...

Are you a giver or are you a taker? Do you try to share everything that you have or do you try to keep things close so that no one can steal it? How do you get those around you to level up? You should share your ideas and share your concepts. Always. Often. Why? “Do Something Great neon sign” by Clark Tibbs on  Unsplash It allows you to leverage the ideas and thoughts of a different worldview . Someone else’s perspective will help you build on those dreams. Ego check. The reason why you do this is that you are not an expert in everything. Seriously. You may be an expert in photography . Or one that can articulate and present engineering development in a rich and impactful manner. Or in helping others see their full, true potential , and teach others to be more empathetic in their actions, but you too can use the help. The help you need to level up . You can certainly be the one that comes up with all the ideas, the creator. You can be the one that’s driven to pus...