It’s always so heart-warming to me when I see an older sibling giving love to their younger brother or sister. Encouraging them as they ride a bike without training wheels for the first time.

I believe these moments can change a young child’s perspective and the confidence they have in themselves for the rest of their lives. It did for me.

I had an older sibling who treated me with Love, kindness and respect from a very early age. She believed in me long before I believed in myself and was a positive influence for me in my younger years. It has been baked into my being ever since.

We all have opportunities throughout the day to believe in someone we care about by encouraging them to rise up and becoming the best version of themselves as they can.

This can be incredibly powerful for both individuals as each is receives their own gifts of enrichment.

Don’t underestimate the positive influence we can have on those we care about around us.

You may change their perspective for the better forever.

One of my favorite things in life is tiny and huge discoveries.

Doesn’t have to be much. Maybe a fact about history in the city I live in or it could be a truth in the world of science. It might even be something I didn’t know about my family’s ancestors. The point being, I love learning more about the world I live in.

I see this as imperative as I continue my journey to becoming a wise and wizened man of the times. Another words, old.

The more I discover, the more humble I become. Which makes me want to learn even more.

The feeling – no matter how large or small – of discovering something we didn’t know before reminds me of how it feels to be alive.

And I can never get enough of that.

The definition of cost is: the amount paid or charged for something.

The definition of value is: a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged. and/or relative worth, utility, or importance

These are two very different things. One is what you pay up front for a particular good or service and the other is the worth to you in the long run.

Let’s not confuse one with the other. Just because you can find the same product (same is relative until we look at the details) that costs less, doesn’t necessarily mean you have struck gold and will be happy.

If the value of that product doesn’t fulfill your expectations of how it performs for you, you will be greatly disappointed.

Sometimes, the cost will be more than other companies are selling similar goods for (again we can look at the details that may be a bit different), but the value to us is much greater because it fulfills our expectation of what that particular product can do for us.

Let’s remember that just because it’s the cheapest, doesn’t mean it’s the best for you. Especially when value is important.

If there’s one thing that has proven itself to be right-on every time I choose this path, it’s, there is always time for more patience.

Lord knows, I can get a bit anxious at times. Whether I’m at work or at home, often my discipline to remain calm has already gone out the window. Something that happens quite often, but am certainly not proud of.

Whenever I choose patience in those situations, I’m never disappointed. I’ve always admired people who don’t get worked up when the moment has turned into chaos or things are not progressing nearly as fast as we’d hope.

It’s just a matter of allowing a bit more space – a moment to breathe – between stimulus and response.

Besides, we look a whole lot less like a yahoo and much more graceful. One might even say, patient when we do.

It always resonated with me when I hear people talk about attracting what we want into our lives by becoming the person we intend to be.

Another words, in going after something that’s important to us – a goal, a certain level of accomplishment, etc. – it is more about the person we become in that process that ultimately brings the intention into fruition.

I know that’s a subtle difference in the way we view how we move forward, but I thought it was enough to mention, as for me, it makes a difference.

One example would be: If I want complete a marathon under a certain time, I’m going to have to become a person who trains consistently, eats well and passes on the junk food in order to have the energy to tackle the daily requirements, as well as someone who gets enough sleep at night and take the time stretch, roll-out and hydrate my body to keep it in top condition. I’m also going to have to learn discipline over time. That person looks very different from the one who decided to run a marathon for the first time.

I believe this is why we do these things. It’s not because we want to share with our family and friends our time on a digital display when we crossed the finish line, or a trophy, but the person we became in the process. Who, is indeed different than the one before.

We become someone who we may not have experienced before at a time when we didn’t think we could do it.

That’s exhilarating. That’s powerful.