" Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress." - Bruce Barton Embrace Change.      I have heard that over the course of my life more times than I can remember or even care to. It’s a noble sentiment and when made with sincerity and backed with an efficient plan can even be inspirational.      I guess it is a lot easier to embrace change and understand evolution when you have been fortunate enough to experience it in a positive way. When viewed from a positive perspective, it should be viewed as an honor and a privilege to experience evolution if we are the better for it having occurred. However, everyone or everything is not fortunate enough to truly understand and appreciate change. Some see change as an inconvenience or a setback when in all actuality it is meant to be a setup for growth. I know th...

 "Focusing on Karma than on the lessons needed to be learned is setting a trap for "what goes around comes around." Never wish for others what you will not wish for yourself. Do to others as you want done to you. That's what love is about!" - Kemi Sogunle Reciprocity is defined as a situation or relationship in which two people or groups agree to do something similar for each other, to allow each other to have the same rights, etc.: a reciprocal arrangement or relationship. Treat people the way you want to be treated.  Is that really such a hard concept for people to understand?  It may be if you don’t know how to treat people or don’t really know how you want people to treat you. I think people occasionally allow their emotions to cloud their judgment. But let’s be honest. Everyone has been guilty of it.  You are human after all……and that’s ok in your personal life but not ok when it comes to making evaluations and concocting preconceived notions about another ...

"Value your time enough that you don't allow anyone to waste it. Protect your peace to the point that no one ever disturbs it." - JT Morris Money can't buy manners or morals.  One of the best lines from one of my favorite movies kind of sums up this moment in history: " There's f*ckery afoot". Sadly, the list of depraved predatory individuals that walk this Earth among us is pretty freaking lengthy . However, 2024 turned out to be the year of FAFO for a lot of those individuals. Chickens most definitely came home to roost. The good brother  el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (formerly known as Malcolm X) reminded us about this long ago and me -  being a country boy myself - agree with the good brother's sentiments.  A Karmic Debt rarely goes unpaid. We as a society have normalized celebrating other people's pain and unfortunate circumstances. That's why there is very little room for empathy now. Empathy is sometimes is mistaken for acquiescence, when i...

"Gamble, cheat, lie, and steal. Let me explain: Gamble for your best shot in life - dare to take risks. Cheat those who would have you be less than you are. Lie in the arms of those you love. And finally, steal every moment of happiness." -  Caitlyn Jenner If life has taught me anything, it has taught me this: Work smart, not hard. Who wouldn't want a copy of "Life's Cliff Notes". It has been said that we experience the things we do in life to teach us lessons to improve our quality of life and/or share with others to help them avoid making certain mistakes. I mean after all, sharing is most definitely caring. Oversharing is not though..... Keep some stuff to yourself, yo.  More on that later. So! In the spirit sharing, I figured I'd show you good folks a little love and share a few Life Cheat Codes I've picked up over my many summers to help you win at the game of life. Now … this isn't nearly all of them, and trust me I have compiled many of th...

"The worst thing you can do to yourself and your peace is to continue resuscitating dead situations." - JT Morris Life has consistently shown me that you rarely ever find anything when you're looking for it or actually need it. So seems to me that the key to always getting what you want and having what you need is to never want or need for anything. To not waste a lot of time and energy looking for missing or misplaced things. What you've lost you'll eventually find, what you need you'll even receive and what you want you'll usually obtain. What's for you is for you. The majority of the time, the thing that prevents us from obtaining the things that we seek or wish to have is us..... our impatience, our anxiety, our entitlement, our unbelief, our stubbornness and egotistical ways. Your mindset, your habits, your work ethic, your insecurities, your perspective, your upbringing, your procrastination, your pride, your envy, and last but certainly not leas...

EXPERT OPINION BY  JEFF HADEN   @JEFF_HADEN DEC 31, 2024 For years, I didn’t wear a seat belt. No reason why not, just didn’t. Then one day our daughters came home and told me their teachers said they if they wanted to keep their parents safe, they should always remind them to wear their seat belts. So I started wearing a seat belt. It’s kinda hard to tell your kids what’s good for them if you aren’t willing to take their advice. Decades later, it feels weird–actually uncomfortable, and I’m hardly “Mr. Safety” –to not be buckled up. That’s the thing about habits: Do something often enough, and you stop thinking about it. You just do it. Another thing about habits? You have a lot more of them than you might think. A study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science found that more than 40 percent of the “decisions” we make every day aren’t really choices: They’re habits. Much of the time, we just do what we always do, even if those actions, those habits, aren’t as ...