Whether it’s your 13th birthday or your 53rd, let’s celebrate where we are and what we have in our lives today.

Maybe it’s as simple as celebrating the fact you have full-time employment or that you have the legs to take you for a run. It could be enough to acknowledge your mind is clear to think about your day and how you can contribute to the world.

It doesn’t take much to celebrate. Again, it’s just a choice.

Choosing to celebrate a sunrise isn’t a futile event. It’s a moment to express your gratitude for the many details in our lives that keep us bewildered.

Why not find something or someone to celebrate in your life today. After all, who doesn’t like a good party.

We must recognize that no one’s destiny is set in stone. We create our own. No matter how long you may have been stuck in a rut, you can change everything in the next moment. Through small, but purposeful actions that create habits and eventually become a way of life, you can send yourself in an entirely new direction.

These habits begin to compound over time until we see minor and major changes in our lives that can make all the difference.

However, we must believe we can change. We must have hope first.

With hope and small action steps, all things are possible.

As you get older, you begin to measure your life in 5-10 year increments. I’m not sure why that is, but it seems to ring true in my life. Probably when I was younger too. It’s a proper amount of time to accomplish some substantial goals for yourself.

For example, I have been learning how to play the drums. It’s been about a year and a half – once a week – and (depending on how much I practice between lessons) I can probably become pretty proficient in 5 years. I’m not looking to be in a band, but . . .

It’s enough time to change and form new habits and establish them to the point where you can begin to bear the fruit of them and point your life in a whole new direction. One you may not have thought possible 5 years prior.

The compounding effect of all of your work can really begin to gain traction and major progress will be a given.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Lay a solid foundation of clear and intentional habits and lay one brick to the best of your ability everyday. After 5 years, you may have yourself a wall.

As we all know, what we focus on becomes our reality. So, where’s your head? Are you awake? Or are you on auto-pilot getting through the workday looking forward to the few hours between work and sleep and just trying to survive the five days between the two days off called a weekend? How do I know? Because I have been there. I could go back if I wanted, but refuse to go there.

So, wake up! Take control of the wheel and drive that big ole’ bus called your life where you want to go and stop being a passenger. Maybe you’re saying, “but I don’t know where to go.”

Well, grab a map and figure it out. Do some research and ask the difficult questions. One thing is for sure: if you remain a passenger, odds are, you’re not going to like where you end up my friend.

Wake up!

What does it take to be great?

A plan. Action/effort. Time. Reflection and/or adjustments. Patience. Consistency.

It’s not complicated, but it not easy committing to something very specific over a long period of time. We can lose our focus.

We’re all capable.

When you commit to it, you’ll find a way.

We always do.