Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me June 2024. Four months into crisis. I paused and did something I'd never done before: I audited the last 90 days systematically. What worked? What didn't? What changed? What stayed the same? Where was I investing energy that produced nothing? Where was I investing energy that compounded? I looked at the data: Morning routine consistency: 87 out of 90 days (97%) Days where I felt grounded by it: 87 out of 87 Days I skipped it and...
13 days ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me August 2026. I'm publishing my 50th newsletter in this "Grit, Gratitude & Grace" series. Fifty weeks of insights. Fifty weeks of frameworks. Fifty weeks of stories from 2024. Looking back at these 50 newsletters, I see a clear progression of what actually saved me—not what I thought would save me, but what actually did. What didn't work: Motivation. I waited for it. It never came. Systems saved me, not motivation. Willpower. I tried...
20 days ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me May 2024. I had plenty of time. Unemployed, so no job taking hours. Mornings at home. Afternoons available. Evenings free. But I had zero energy. Running on fumes. Caring for Florena through treatment. Processing financial stress. Grieving loss. Managing fear. I could have had 16 hours a day free and still couldn't do anything productive with it because my energy was depleted. That's when I learned: Time management is worthless...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me March 2024. I applied to my first job after losing my job in February. Nothing happened. Of course not. One application doesn't get you hired. March 5, March 6, March 7, March 8, March 9, March 10. Ten applications in the first week. Still nothing. By March 15, I'd applied to 100 jobs. Still no interviews. By April 1, I'd applied to 150 jobs. Now I was getting responses. Interviews scheduled. Conversations started. By May 1, I'd...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me March 2024. Three months into crisis. I was doing everything. Researching Florena's treatment options. Attending every appointment. Making smoothies. Job searching. Networking. Handling finances. Planning meals. Updating family. Being present. Being strong. I was drowning. Then someone from church asked: "Can we set up a meal train? We want to help." My first reaction was defensive. No. We don't need help. I can handle this. I can...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me February 2024. First day after losing my job and learning Florena had cancer. I could have relied on motivation to carry me through. But motivation is unreliable. It comes and goes. In crisis, motivation disappears. So I didn't build on motivation. I built systems. System 1: The Morning Anchor Every single morning—no matter what happened the night before—I did the same 35-minute routine. Water, meditation, gratitude, smoothie,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me May 2024. Four months into crisis. I had a strong mind—I'd done the mindset work, the journaling, the reflection. I had a deep faith—morning Scripture, daily prayer, spiritual grounding. But my body was falling apart. I wasn't sleeping. My shoulders were in constant tension. I'd lost weight. My immune system was tanking from stress. I had headaches that lasted for days. And here's what I learned: A strong mind and a strong spirit...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me January 2024. Wife diagnosed with cancer. I had a choice—two ways to respond. The first way: Let it destroy me. Let the diagnosis become my identity. Let fear paralyze every decision. This would have been the easier path, honestly. No one would blame me. The second way: Let it refine me. Use the crisis as a laboratory for learning what I'm actually capable of. Let adversity teach me something. I chose the second way. Not because I'm...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me April 2024. Florena was in her third month of cancer treatment. I'd been unemployed for two months. We were $30,000 in debt. I had a job interview scheduled for 3 PM. The night before, I spiraled. Thoughts raced: "You won't get this job. You're not qualified. You're still unemployed because you're not good enough. Your wife is suffering and you're failing her." The next morning, I did something simple: I showed up. That's it. I woke...
2 months ago • 2 min read