🎯 BIG ASK: What Produces the Greatest Value Today? This morning, over coffee and prayer, my prayer was simple. "Give me the wisdom to use this day well. Help me be useful today. Help me serve my family and my community." As I sat quietly, one question came to mind. ❓What produces the greatest value today? Not what produces the most activity. Not what produces the most likes. Not what produces the most comfort. Not even what produces the most attention. What produces the greatest value today? 💙 I've learned over the years that activity and value are not the same thing. Busyness can create the illusion of progress. We answer emails. We attend meetings. We scroll social media. We make lists. We start projects. We stay occupied. Yet deep inside, we often know that something important remains undone. 🥋 One of the greatest disciplines in life is learning the difference between being busy and being useful. ✨ Better questions lead to better awareness. ✨ Better awareness leads to better decisions. ✨ Better decisions lead to better actions. ✨ Better actions, repeated over time, shape our character and determine the direction of our lives. This question helps us move from reaction to intention. From drifting to directing. From merely existing to purposefully Living Strong. ❤️ Value begins with responsibility. Serving my family. Serving my community. Serving the people I have the privilege to teach, encourage, and connect with. Some days, what produces the greatest value is having an important conversation. Some days, it is resting. Some days, it is making the phone call I've been avoiding. Some days, it is creating something that serves others. And some days, it is generating the revenue necessary to fulfill my responsibilities and continue serving the people I love. The answer changes. The question remains. 🙏 I've come to believe that one of the greatest prayers we can pray is: "Help me be useful today." Not impressive. Not famous. Not admired.

This Memorial Day morning, before diving into the day, I made a cup of coffee, sat quietly, and watched the National Memorial Day Concert that aired last night from our nation's capital. As I listened to the stories of sacrifice, courage, service, and loss spanning 250 years of American history, I found myself reflecting on something we often hear but perhaps don't stop long enough to fully appreciate: Freedom is not free. Throughout the program, stories were shared from the Revolutionary War, Pearl Harbor, Korea, Vietnam, September 11th, and the generations of Americans who answered the call to serve their country. Different times. Different battles. Different generations. Yet the same willingness to step forward when their nation needed them. Many never came home. And because of that, we have the freedoms we enjoy today. One statement from Marine veteran and musician Jamey Johnson stayed with me: "If you're an American, somebody died for your right to even say you're an American." That simple statement carries tremendous weight. Every freedom we enjoy today—the freedom to speak our minds, worship according to our beliefs, pursue our dreams, raise our families, and live our lives according to our values—exists because someone before us was willing to stand watch, serve, sacrifice, and in many cases, give everything. Another story that deeply moved me was that of Pearl Harbor survivor Chuck Kohler. As a 17-year-old sailor, he experienced firsthand the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Decades later, while visiting the USS Arizona Memorial, he reflected on the men who lost their lives that day and made a promise that their sacrifice would never be forgotten. His words captured the spirit of Memorial Day better than anything I could write: "I stand on their shoulders. We stand on their shoulders. All of us. Every American." Today, I find myself thinking about those shoulders. The shoulders of the young soldier who never came home. The shoulders of the sailor lost at sea.

https://youtu.be/uHHib_v3CA0?feature=shared

Good morning and happy Living Strong Thursday everyone. ⏰ It’s 5:15 a.m. here in my black box studio. My coffee is beside me ☕️ My journal is open. And this morning I feel something I wasn’t feeling when I first sat down. Clarity. 🔍 When I began journaling today, my mind was busy. May is moving fast. The goals I have for the karate school are big. The vision I have for Living Strong Projects is even bigger. And if I’m honest, part of me was looking at everything I want to accomplish and wondering if I was doing enough. Then I spent time reflecting on Dr. Benjamin Hardy’s lesson about the difference between 2X thinking and 10X thinking. One idea kept capturing my attention. The 20%. Then the 20% of the 20%. The idea that within everything we do, there are a few activities that matter more than all the rest. And then within those few activities, there are an even smaller number that create extraordinary results. 💡 At first, I found myself thinking about what I should stop doing. What I should remove. What I should eliminate. But the more I reflected, the more I realized that wasn’t the question that excited me. The question that excited me was: What deserves my attention? That is a very different question. Instead of looking for what doesn’t belong, I began looking for what matters most. And suddenly everything became clearer. 🎯 For the karate school, I’m not really looking for 100 enrollments. I’m looking for one person. One camp director. One educator. One community leader. One coach. One connector. One person who already serves and influences dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of families. 🌎 For Living Strong Projects, I’m not simply looking for another story to write. I’m looking for people whose lives connect to other people. Business owners. Community builders. Volunteers. Teachers. Organizers. People who create positive ripples through the lives of others. 🤝 This morning I realized something important. My filter is changing.

What a journey and blessing it was to be back on the stage... after a 12 year hiatus. These past few months have been electric!! Learing a full show , the blocking, music, harmonies, choreography and the rich musical history of Jelly Roll Morton with quadruple threat talent with giving hearts was AMAZING. So thankful to have been a part of this incredible production! This Glam-mom is still unpacking ..... my heart is full.