Monthly Archives: March 2025

Any day can be your January 1st

It doesn’t have to be Jan 1, which is just a celebrated reminder.

Today is March 18, and I will write here every day. Yesterday was the period at the end of the sentence, and today is the capital letter — a new sentence.

Let’s celebrate the reminder that every day is a chance to reinvent, which goes for any day. I choose today.

I’m always in motion. And, if I’m awake, I decide: forward or backward?

Today is a chance to start from scratch, and there is something beautiful about starting from scratch because all labels I ever claimed are now just vanity.

I am a zero. I don’t say I’m anything, everything starts, and I do or do not do.

I’m not looking for the end of the road; I’m at the first step and can see the next step. That’s what the New Year means to me and what today means to me as a writer who clicks publish.

Any day can be the “Jan 1” you choose, and today is mine.

Just for today

I am exactly where I want to be, for better or worse. I belong right here, right now.

Just for today.

I don’t know where I’ll end up. I am exploring. I have no goals. I am a wanderer. When our paths cross, I will be kind. I have no expectations.

I work hard, but nothing is for keeps. I will work harder yet. I promise not to hold on. Not today.

Today life has delivered me to each tree instead of the entire forest. Everything is less overwhelming, and there are no hassles.

Today I am off the Internet, and a connection occurs when I disconnect. My best reflections about experiences are those I have when “disconnected.”

Today phone calls, text messages, and emails are a suggestion, not obligations. Today an actual book is in my hand, and it’s beautiful. Today I will go to the library, not Google.

Today I didn’t read random articles on the Internet. There is no “information” I am missing.

Today I will do one thing and not talk about all of the other stuff.

Today “doing” is information. Today “doing” is experience.

Today, no desire, no possession, and no control. I have no longings or belongings, and fear is gone.

No miscommunication.

Today I’m not asking, ‘Why?’

Today I won’t make room for them if I don’t choose to do so, and I don’t have space for their opinion. I’m sorry if it’s been a bad day or life, and it’s not that I don’t care. Today I choose not to try to understand—even my stuff.

I am not seeking to accomplish anything today.

Yesterday that wasn’t the case, and tomorrow that won’t. But today? “Accomplishment” is something holding me down.

Today no one is judged or to be judged. Especially not me. No inner voices say I have or have not, and I can afford to give it all away today.

Today the things I know to be accurate are:

— I’m in the library writing this with pen & paper.

— I feel joy, and that’s a choice from the inside, not an emotion that’s given.

— I’m attractive and wealthy when charitable with my love, wonder, kindness, curiosity, friendship, and connection.

Today I have no goals. Yesterday I had plans. Today I’m not thinking, “Once I achieve (X), I will be (Y).”

Today nothing outside of me will make me happy.

Today I hold my hand while walking down the street, and in doing so, I will achieve all the goals I never made for myself.

Don’t take my advice today. If you read this, thank you. May our next step be lighter than our last.

Tomorrow the deck is liable to flip, and I’ll change my mind, but today this is what I know to be true.

The power of streaks

Streaks work for improvement because streaks build pressure to keep going.

What begins as commitment develops into a habit.

I assert that habits are easier to maintain than commitment.

In my case, I’ve started this blog and decided to journal for a professional cause publicly. In the process, I went from…

‘Should I write today?’ (commitment)
to
‘What will I write today?’ (habit)

That shift changed my entire posture.

It has also offered me a buoy from assigned client writing work, which can begin to feel like all work and no play. The right habit can feel like play.

Now I will continue writing. I will leverage this happy habit toward the continued growth of my writing craft. I will consider guest writing at other publications to help my writing business and look forward to reporting about that here.

One way to level up is to adopt a commitment and turn it into a habit. Document the process along the way. People like us call that meaningful work. 

Small promises (to yourself)

Make a small promise (to yourself). Make a small promise to yourself and be on time. Continue to show up for yourself to keep that small promise on time. Fulfill this small promise again and again. Keeping a short-term promise will build your confidence and capabilities for more significant commitments in the long run. The long run is made up of several short runs.

For example, my small promise is to show up here every day for a year to write these small ditties. To show up daily with my personal writing for a professional cause. I believe if I persist in keeping this small promise, it’ll inform me about who I am supposed to serve and what my message will be, and it will earn the trust of contractors who are curious about hiring me.

What small promise are you keeping to yourself, and why does it matter?

Personal voice in professional writing

I write daily on this blog: simple writing, and more like public journaling – a personal voice in professional writing. Even if no one reads this, I would still write.

Why?

Because when I know I have to write something tomorrow, it forces me to think, form opinions, and invent ideas. It’s a daily exercise in a thoughtful examination of my world. I might say something that helps someone else. One of my opinions might stand the test of time. If I share it publicly, I will show up with the intent to form those perspectives and invent ideas.

And if someone printed one of my posts to put on the refrigerator or someone shared what I wrote with their team, that would be best.

I seek to leave behind this trail of exploration, day after day, week after week, year after year, and I can’t help but get better at what I do. I’m the type of person that wants to get better at what I do.

It starts as a commitment that evolves into a habit. I also love it.

Simultaneously, if you are reading this, and as a result, I earn your trust because of it, that’s the sweet spot.

Ultimately, my goal is to be trusted in a way that I can create awareness and make positive change. Writing this “blog” is the minimum viable way I can begin to do that, and it’s a start.

Let’s not call this a blog. Instead, it’s a personal voice in professional writing. It’s about taking the time to talk to the people who want to be talked to and earning their permission.

I won’t achieve that by manipulating SEO or the latest social media strategy. No, I gain trust and approval by showing up in a way that you’d want someone to show up for you. Right now, you and I’re sitting down for coffee to chat.

In short, I write these small things every day. It’s a habit. Therefore, I have to say something tomorrow. As a result, I’ll form opinions and invent ideas. In time, leaving a trail of exploration makes me better. My goal is to create awareness and positive change by earning trust. It’s personal writing within the practice of being a professional.