Sometimes, when you change everything, life gives you everything you asked for.

Often, in the midst of that change, you really have to lean into the faith that everything will all work out in your favour. Control what you can, let go of the desire to control what you can’t. Life is a wild ride. I don’t think any of us can dispute that. If you crave to feel more wildly passionate and alive, you need to create opportunities for yourself to live harder, explore your truths and find out what you're made of.

What was the process like?

Exciting. Deeply fulfilling. Incredible. Incredibly challenging. A dream come true. At times, truly overwhelming.

The Art of Being Human has tested me on so many of the levels I write about inside it. As I’ve talked about both online and in the book, it’s my story but also my legacy. It is everything I have learned in a lifetime of personal development learning and implementation.

You may have heard a similar script in your mind, running on repeat.

I’m not good enough… I’m the exception to the rule… I’ll always come up short… I have the worst luck… Life has it in for me… I’m such an idiot…

If not, that’s great. But if any of these statements resonated, I want you to know that you are normal, not broken.

“It’s hard, just suck it up and accept it.”

An easy statement to make when you’re sitting on the sidelines watching the game.

It’s not so easy to do when you’re the one rolling in the mud. Hurting. Tired. Angry. Forgotten and alone.

The conversation then becomes this… how do you push aside all that pain and carry on when you really want to quit, without sucking it up and pretending you’re not hurting?

To keep society hopeless is to destroy its purpose and therefore its discipline. A person without discipline will not harbour any plans for the future, in turn spending resources on comfort and enjoyment rather than on the building and creation of their dreams.

Motivation will not always be your copilot. It takes the dark days off and lingers in the shadows of the early mornings.

I began journaling years ago.

The purpose was twofold; to heal and process what was difficult and to chronicle the journey I was on. Today, I am sharing with you a few pages out of one of these journals.

A photographic salute to the written journey.

Life demands resilience from us all. Whether your call has come or it has yet to occur, life will inevitably give you an opportunity to pull strength out of yourself that you never thought possible, from places inside you have yet to visit.

With resilience, comes darkness and the challenge to handle it. Darkness offers the question of whether you’re ready, willing and capable of handling it.

Shame is a co-pilot for many people.

If it’s a constant companion to you, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s thrust upon us during childhood and used as a weapon in adulthood by those selling solutions to people who are made to believe they are broken.

Shame is as lucrative as fear.

We talk about riding the wave of emotions, but what does that actually feel like?

Sports always relate back to life, and their tendency to act as endless metaphors for living mean they never stop handing out opportunities to learn more about ourselves through them. Experiencing the rawness of the present moment with surfing, snowboarding, or any adventure sport whether you’re succeeding at it or not — quite often, more intensely when you don’t — is an experience that stops time.

Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, but it’s illusive and the hardest to lean into when your world is falling apart.

You, as a human, are built out of love. The only reason you may not feel like it right now is because you came here as a soul to experience the complications of hardship. Hardship that's the hardest to learn to be grateful for, but here's exactly how you can make that shift.

I used to feel crushing shame.

I was ashamed of who I was, how I acted, how I needed validation from everyone around me to know that I was worthy of existing. Every single day, shame and embarrassment governed my life. The fear of attention made the need to people-please the focal point of my daily living.

Even as young as I was, I already

Change is hard to make.

As powerfully reassuring as an eye into the future would be, none of us are endowed with one. It’s hard, but it’s part of the game. Just like a life lived without difficulty is without satisfaction, the ability to step into the future knowing exactly how your decisions will play out would take the necessary spice out of life. Challenge is integral to our purpose and fulfillment.

The nervous system.

It can feel like your best friend friend or most aggressive adversary. A volatile animal you have no control over but one that dictates your every move. The truth is, all humans would like to be in control.

The functionality of modern technology is infinitely beneficial, yes, and it offers a new level of comfort, ease, accessibility and connection. It has saved lives, created jobs, and supported mental health.

That said, I’ve been having some interesting conversations with people, and noticing some changes in myself, that point to something less than healthy about this new shift in the human tech interface.

Something transpires.

Maybe you hit your head (like me), maybe you crash your car, maybe you have a conflict with another human. Life happens, and sometimes it’s extremely difficult to navigate the fallout. It can leave you cleaning up the aftermath, be that physical symptoms or emotional impact, for years stretching into forever.

Every experience is an opportunity to grow yourself as a person. You can mine for gold in the worst set of circumstances and you will always find it because there is always something to grow from. Since life is based in dichotomy — that intoxicatingly stark contrast between polar opposites — and we can't avoid the bad that inherently balances out the good, then at least we can learn how to embrace it all and make the best of it. Own it and use it.

Regardless of who you’re choosing to hire and why, consider the impact to your personal power. Hire for your personal life like you would if you were managing a company. Be the CEO in your experience. Lead yourself like you would a team. Own that position. Understand the impact you have on others.

I started posting these two slashes before quotes and concepts on social media. At first, I was drawn to the aesthetic, but over time the practice grew into a concept of its own. The lines aren’t the substance, but the frame for it. The empty space between that gets often overlooked.

Resilience has an easier time revealing itself when you are feeling strong. In other words, you are more likely to exhibit resilience and embody personal power when you’re not giving your power away to things that don’t serve you. Take your power back with good, consistent habits.

You could say to change your life, you need to first change your thinking. The truth is, to change your thinking, sometimes you have to change your life.

Switching up your physical location and environment is one of the most powerful catalysts for creativity. This is what makes travel such an important learning experience; it broadens the mind’s perspective like nothing else can.