Have you heard this one?

There are four stages of life:
1️⃣ You 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 in Santa Claus
2️⃣ You 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 in Santa Claus
3️⃣ You 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 Santa Claus
4️⃣ You 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 Santa Claus
🎅

I heard this on Chicago’s WGN AM 720 this week and laughed out loud. Something about its playful truth landed at just the right moment.

This little joke nudged me to laugh, stay light, and enjoy the stages we move through. It also points to the way identity evolves over time: who we believe in, who we become, and how we show up for others.

I invite you to embrace the evolution and remember to show up with a little more intention and a little more joy.

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲
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𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 348 (𝘠7 𝘞36)

Life moves fast and pulls us in many directions.
I ask myself from time to time: does this add energy or drain it?

For months, I started each morning with a quick check of the news. Over time, that “quick check” grew into a habit that left me tense before the day even began. I noticed I sometimes carried that heaviness with me. So I stepped back, limited my intake, and felt my mornings open up again.

Releasing what no longer supports us creates room for what lifts us.

What might you let go of to feel more energized and alive?

Choose life giving.

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲
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𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 347 (𝘠7 𝘞35)

Gratitude grows when we slow down - just for a moment.

I feel grateful for family and friends, health, smiles, laughter, sunshine, and time together.

Take a moment today and reflect on the people and small things that bring warmth to your life.

Maybe even take a short gratitude walk - 5–10 minutes of slowing down and noticing what lifts you up.

We have so much to be thankful for.

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲
🦃
𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 346 (𝘠7 𝘞34)

Avoidance sneaks in quietly. You notice it when something sits unfinished a little too long.
What are you avoiding?

This week, I drifted away from a few things I meant to do - this post, an eye exam, a workout plan for a friend, even folding the laundry.

At the core, I felt fear: not being enough, not being perfect, or getting more of what I want. Avoidance protected me from not knowing where to start.

Each time I paused, I felt that familiar “ah, there it is” moment. My inner critic kept saying, “wait.” My wiser self kept saying, “begin.”

Avoidance isn’t just resistance - it’s information. Sometimes it reveals where we protect ourselves, where perfection shows up, or where starting feels uncertain. It shows us where we feel pressure, uncertainty, or the pull of comfort.

What if you greet that avoidance with curiosity?
What if you listen to what it wants you to notice?
What if awareness—not judgment—guides your next small step?

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲
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𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 345 (𝘠7 𝘞33)

Today is the day!!!

World Kindness Day happens every year on November 13. Add it to your calendar! ✅

This world feels messy at times. And yet, goodness still exists - everywhere.

Each of us can help make our world a little better. A little kinder.

Two of my favorite ways to infuse kindness into someone’s day:

🙂 Smile
🚪 Hold the door open

A few more ways to inspire kindness:

📝 Write a note and leave it for someone to find
🙏 Practice gratitude
❤️ Tell someone you love them
🤗 Give a hug
☕ Buy coffee for a stranger
📚 Help a classmate with homework

There are so many ways! How do you spread kindness?

What’s your favorite?

Create your world. Make it one built on kindness.
Create Your Life 🍨

Be kind. ❤️

Waypoint 344 (Y7 W32)

What if clarity isn’t about seeing more, but seeing what’s already there?

My mom is having cataract surgery.

Lately, she’s struggled to see clearly, especially when driving at night. The headlights, once just light, had become blinding. The glare made the road ahead hard to trust.

She started avoiding nighttime drives altogether. What once felt simple now felt uncertain.

It made me think about how easily life overwhelms our vision. Too many inputs. Too much noise. The light itself stops guiding and starts glaring.

When that happens, we start to pull back, to shield ourselves, to stay safe, to narrow our view, to stop driving.

But the problem isn’t the light. It’s the lens.

Over time, our lens can distort what’s in front of us and scatter clarity into confusion.

Sometimes we don’t need more light; we just need to restore focus. And when we do, what’s been there all along comes back into view.

Here’s to seeing clearly again and enjoying the light, on the road and in life.

Create your life.
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Waypoint 343 (Y7 W31)

Half green. Half gold.
I never really noticed before - trees showing both colors at once.
It happens every year, right in front of us, yet I somehow missed it for 57 years.

Now I notice it everywhere. One branch holds on to summer while another steps into fall.
Change doesn’t rush. It unfolds.
It feels like nature’s way of saying, you can shift slowly, too.

The trees don’t rush. They prepare, let go, and rest. Their beauty peaks right before release.

I take that lesson to heart. Appreciate the brilliance, slow my pace, and trust that renewal follows letting go.

Enjoy the autumn beauty.

Create your life.
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Waypoint 342 (Y7 W30)

Write it on your forehead.

We all remain under construction - unfinished, evolving, learning as we go.

Last week, I walked past an office building with a sign that read, “Pardon our dust.”

It made me smile - and think.

We often expect life to look polished, yet real growth feels more like renovation than perfection. In coaching conversations (and my own life), I notice how we keep redesigning, adding new rooms to who we are, and leaving space for what’s still to come.

It’s a reminder that progress rarely happens all at once - we keep redesigning and improving our space through renovation, not replacement.

Who we are today rests on the framework of who we were yesterday. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s progress. Keep reinforcing your foundation. Add new beams of knowledge. Strengthen what already stands.

When life knocks down a wall or two, rebuild - wiser this time.

Keep the construction going.

Create your life.
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Waypoint 341 (Y7 W29)

Pressure builds. Fizz rises. Boom.
Maybe someone left the lights on, cut you off, or forgot to text back.

Think of a can of soda-pop - shake it, and pressure builds fast.
The more it rattles, the greater the explosion when opened.
The mess never helps, yet we keep shaking.
Holding tension, replaying frustrations, reacting fast.

In a coaching session this week, a simple reminder hit home: Don’t shake the can.
Every time we stew or assume, we add pressure inside.
Then one small thing - a comment, a delay, a tone - pops the tab and sends the fizz flying.

Self-leadership means noticing that buildup before it bursts.
Take a breath. Step back. Let the bubbles settle.

Open it calmly, and the familiar pssst greets you.
You get to enjoy what’s inside.

How might you stay steady when life starts to shake you?

Create your life.
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Waypoint 340 (Y7 W28)

Sometimes peace doesn’t arrive until after the splash.

We received much-needed rain this week. As I drove through it, I watched how cars rolled through puddles - chaos for a moment, then stillness again. The water scattered, swirled, and soon settled back to calm.

Life works the same way. A sudden force disrupts our rhythm - a change, a loss, a surprise. Chaos rushes in, and then, slowly, equilibrium returns.

I wrote previously about the joy of splashing in puddles. That reminder still stands. Disruption can bring delight too. This week, the puddles remind me that calm often follows upheaval. Both have their place.

I feel grateful for a quiet season right now. Still, I wouldn’t mind a puddle or two to stomp around in.

Create your life.
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Waypoint 339 (Y7 W27)

Mini-donuts before lunch? Absolutely.

What if your birthday served not just as a date on the calendar, but as a reminder to celebrate yourself?

That’s how mine began. I kicked off the day with a workout - one of my favorite ways to honor my health. I grabbed a free birthday perk (a tradition my daughter, the queen of free deals, passed on). And then the sweet surprise: my wife had left mini-donuts waiting on the counter. Normally I’d pass, but today I chose joy first and ate them before lunch. Why not? Life is short. Eat dessert first.

This year also marks my first birthday in 35 years outside an office. Not better, not worse - just different. A reminder that how we celebrate shifts as we move through life.

Birthdays invite us to pause. To celebrate ourselves. To celebrate with those who love us. And to celebrate with those we love.

But we don’t need to wait for the calendar. We can celebrate in small ways every day:

✨ Choosing workouts that energize us
✨ Sharing time with people who lift us up
✨ Saying yes to unexpected sweetness - in moderation 😁

For me today, it also looked like raspberries shaped into a heart on the counter. Simple, thoughtful, and the perfect reminder that celebration doesn’t need to be elaborate to be meaningful.

Fun fact: I even share this day with Mahatma Gandhi - a reminder that how we live matters as much as how we celebrate.

So today, I celebrate me. And I invite you to celebrate you.

Every day holds something worth honoring.

Create your life.
🍨
Waypoint 338 (Y7 W26)

P.S. Today also happens to be National Leg Day. Knock out 10 squats or 20. Take care of your legs - they take you everywhere.

It would have been easy to say no.

Instead, I chose to take on OrangeTheory’s version of a triathlon - the DriTri.

The “full” version includes:

🚣‍♂️ A 2000m row
💪 300 reps on the weight floor (two rounds of six exercises, 10–40 reps each)
🏃‍♂️ A 5K run on the treadmill

I hadn’t run a 5K event in years and always shied away from triathlons because I have little faith in my swimming ability. But rather than shy away this time, I chose to lean into the challenge. No swimming involved! My goal was to finish at the average time for my age group over the last two years. Not only did I hit that goal, but I also ran the 5K faster than I ever expected to again.

For me, I seek physical and mental fitness. I want to look and feel good. And challenges like the DriTri remind me that I can still compete - even as I get older - and even if I’m only competing against myself.

Challenges stretch us. They remind us that growth happens when we push past comfort and keep moving toward our north star.

The next time a challenge stands in front of you, ask yourself: "What might be possible if I said yes?"

Create your life.
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Waypoint 337 (Y7 W25)

Nature doesn’t ask permission to change—it simply does. So should we.
🍂

Autumn arrives next week in the Northern Hemisphere and with it the unmistakable signs: cooler air, shorter days, brighter leaves, migrating birds.

Change happens all around us. The question is: how will you step into it?
What do you want to create before this year ends?
What bold move will carry you into your next season?

Choose something.
Take the step.
It doesn’t need to be perfect—just forward.

Each season holds a new beginning—this one is yours.

Create your life.
🍨
Waypoint 336 (Y7 W24)

The strongest parts of you may never show.

We often measure strength in what shows: achievements, titles, roles.
But real strength often stays hidden—like roots anchoring a tree, steady and unseen.
You reveal it when you rise after setbacks, when you support others, and when you hold steady through storms.
Strength lives beneath the surface.

Create your life.
🍨
Waypoint 335 (Y7 W23)

👉 The role you choose today shapes the life you live tomorrow.

Every day you choose: react to circumstances or create your future.

Victims feel acted upon by others or circumstances. They see little control, feel powerless, focus on what they don’t want, and slip into “poor me” thinking.

Creators shift their attention toward meaning, purpose, and desired outcomes. They take action to bring visions to life and choose to focus on what matters most.

You hold the pen. You write your story.
What will you choose—victim or creator?

Create your life.

🍨

Waypoint 334 (Y7 W22)