Recently, I had a very long conversation with a great friend, and we were talking about the idea of overwhelm. We talked about things like language learning and how complicated and frustrating that can be. I made a suggestion which I think ended up helping us both. The idea actually comes from "Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary, who I believe borrowed it from still someone else. He has a daily ritual of writing down three things on a sticky note before going to bed, and those three things are his "must-do" items -- his most important items to complete for the next morning BEFORE he can do anything else. No phone, no TV, no emails, etc., until these three things are accomplished. This sets the tone for the day on a high note of success before the day is really started. After I learned about this idea, I took it and applied it to more things – I wanted to use it on tasks, projects, plans, and more. At the time, I had countless other projects and commitments, and needless to say, I was feeling completely overwhelmed. To test out the theory, I picked, at random, a project involving a fair amount of planning for an event. I decided that, rather than three things per day related to this project, I would do just one thing. So, for this project, I created a duplicate of the planning spreadsheet I had used the year before for the same project, and I updated it with this year’s information, such as location, time, date, etc. AND, that was it! I was finished (or as we like to say in Baltimore, I was done!) I did nothing else on this project for the rest of the day, and instead, I moved on to the next project, and I applied this idea again. By the time I was finished with all of these mini accomplishments on over a dozen items that required my attention, I felt great. I had no fatigue, no mental drain, no need for a nap, and I actually felt really great. I felt as though I had conquered the world for the day. And, maybe most importantly, I felt relaxed and with no signs of stress anywhere.

The Space Between Moments -- An invitation to slow down, take a beat, catch your breath, and remember you are a human being, not a human doing. Friction is the "invisible weight" of choice overload and task switching that drains our energy. By applying frictionless business design to our personal lives, we can move from being "human doings" to "human beings". _____________ There is a kind of friction most of us live with so constantly that we stop noticing it. It is not the dramatic, obvious kind. It is the quiet friction: the mental tabs left open, the constant switching, the tiny decisions stacked on top of each other until the day feels heavier than it should. It is the feeling of being pulled forward by the next notification, the next task, the next “should.” And then, somewhere in the middle of a normal day, we sense it: We are moving fast, but we are not fully here. This is where The Space Between Moments begins. Not with a grand reinvention of your life, but with a pause small enough to fit inside the life you already have. _____________ What “friction” really looks like in daily life... Friction is anything that makes a simple action feel harder than it needs to. It shows up as: - Too many choices, too many options, too many tabs. - Constant task switching and interruptions. - Extra steps that drain energy before you even begin. - The pressure to optimize everything, even rest. - A nervous system that never fully gets the signal: “You’re safe. You can slow down.” Over time, this friction does not just cost productivity. It costs presence. It steals the tiny moments where life is actually happening. _____________ The business idea that applies to being human... In the business world, the best products and offers reduce friction. They make the path clear. They lower cognitive load. They remove unnecessary steps. Customers stay when things feel simple. Your nervous system works the same way. When your life has fewer obstacles, fewer micro-decisions, and fewer “open loops,” you do not just get more done. You feel more like yourself. You reclaim energy that can go toward what matters most: relationships, creativity, meaning, rest, prayer, laughter, the ability to notice.

How many notifications do you get per day? On Skool I get literally 100-200 per day. Elsewhere even more. Hundreds of emails per day, Facebook notifications, text messages, etc. While the technologies that we use are helpful and have their place, we should remember that they are tools to serve us and that we do not need to be beholden to them. When I go to lunch with a friend, often that person is checking their phone every time there is a buzz or a ding. They have more or less completely tuned out of our get together and are hyper-aware of the slightest indication that there might be an alert, even when it's coming from someone else's device. Studies exist that show the extreme use of devices and the extraordinary number of notifications, all of which compete for our attention, so I'm not asking how often the "noise" captures anyone's attention. Rather, I wonder if we might all benefit from redirecting our attention a bit, turning it back to ourselves or our own sanity and peace of mind. Many of the most successful entrepreneurs will explain that they have times throughout the day that they focus entirely on themselves -- maybe personal wants/needs, maybe goal setting, maybe meditation. Whatever it is, they turn off the noise and the notifications so they can focus, which, in turn, allows them to be attentive to their business rather than to the distractions. Do you find the sheer volume of notifications (whether on Skool or elsewhere) a bit overwhelming? Can you find a way to distinguish between the things that truly interest you and the noise? Would slowing down a bit and finding some focus help to clear your mind and lessen the stresses of everyday life? I invite you to take a beat, catch your breath, and find the space between moments to remember who you are so you can focus on just being you; so you can put your attention on the most important thing in the world -- you! When you are able to focus on being a strong you -- the best version of you -- then you can be that version of you for everyone who is important in your life.

Not that kind .... I'm thirsty for knowledge, skills, personal development, simplicity, kindness, thoughtfulness, and to find a space between moments to simply remember who I am and to focus on who I am becoming. I want to learn, and I want to share. I want to grow. I want to become the best version of me that is possible, while understanding that we all change, every day, as we continue to be in a state of becoming. I want to do all of this with hunger and thirst, with desire, and with no pressure for perfection. Just one step in front of the other, and so on. What are you thirsty for? As you ponder that question, I hope you are truly enjoying your day and also enjoying every moment and every space between moments being you!

I've been so overwhelmingly happy with the many conversations that I've had with community members here and in other fantastic communities. I always try to find the best in everything, even the most difficult or challenging situations, where we might want to be angry but hopefully can recognize that there may be a hidden benefit to the stuation. Learning is a lifetime journey, something to be experienced gradually, in chunks, over time. It's something that we invest our time in, and it's something that happens at all times, around us and within us, whether or not we recognize it as it's happening. I think part of the key is to let it unfold on its own, as it's meant to be. Former professor Father Suppe of the University of Scranton use to say that we are all constantly in a state of becoming. Forcing it doesn't work. We have to live through it, experience it, and grow as a result of it. Today is a fantastic day, which I'm calling Terrific Tuesday, since many of our community friends has posts on Monday that are so inspirational and I don't want to take away from those things. Let's all take a beat, catch our breath, recognize that the learning and growing are part of a greater process that we need to approach with patience and understanding, including self-care. Now, let's take a few deep breaths, and let's find the space between the moments to remember who we are and who we are becoming (which we can do with intention -- another post for another day). Maybe you'd like to share a story about how you are growing or who you are becoming. In the meantime, thanks for being here, and I hope that you are having a tremendous day being you!!!