𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐕𝐋𝐓

Being a Father requires an investment into the future, building the kind of world around your homes and communities that you want to raise your children in.  More times than not though, the present rules the day.  The larger the family, the more involved in the moment we must be.  All of the teaching and coaching moments, the "hey Dad watch me!", and especially the "Dad can you fix this?".  There are different stages of life a man goes through.  In his youth he looks to the future, as a young Father he lives in the present, and in his age he remembers all the fond memories of the little voices and the stampede of feet rushing to greet him.  Treasure the present now so you don't miss out on memories to smile at in the future. Happy Father's Day to my American followers tomorrow!

A man almost always has the God created and God given desire to be great and flourish.  But he faces a great deal of anguish when he discovers that the road to flourishing seems closed off to him by his vices. We find ourselves through work and struggle, creativity to build things, fixing things, coaching others, failing, and accomplishing.  Work requires discipline and when its applied to suppressing our vices, that energy is redirected into greatness. Be honest with yourself and look at the path you've set upon.  The biggest obstacles we face are the ones we've created. Don't stand in your way.

Having a happy life has little to do with possessions, but instead by being fulfilled.  We are most fulfilled when we live according to the laws of the natural world that God perfectly created for us. With having a large family, people expect the parents to be overly stressed and miserable with the perceived chaos of it all.  Looking at what we can and can't control, letting children make and learn from mistakes, and having a good routine overcomes it all.  There are so many little moments that make you smile. The biggest fulfillment of my life is watching my wife smiling at babies, seeing my sons grow and learn to challenge themselves, and living a simple life according to the laws of the natural world. “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” -  Marcus Aurelius.

As with anything you do in life, today could be the last day you interact with one or more of your friends and family.  That day will come. What a shame it would be to ruin that last interaction by not giving that person your full attention and yet even when we’re with our most loved ones we insist on doing other things. Make your time with others count. Seek always to - be here, now.-  Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Be present. Too often our work life, our worries, and other problems can put us into a fog.  All the distractions of the world, or self inflicted distractions, drinking, smoking, drugs, etc take away the real you.  You don't want the last image people have of you to be physically there, but mentally and emotionally dead.

Our Culture is layered with tales of Good vs Evil.  The brave knight stands in front of the dark cave, calls the monster out by name and kills it.  There is great power in knowing the enemy, if you can expose the evil you can cut through the darkness with the light of the truth.  The recent backlash from the general public against the evils that major corporations are trying to normalize proves the power of exposing the evil in this world.  If you can get enough people to identify evil for what it is, it can be driven back,... It can be destroyed. We've seen the evils of this world, and have been speaking out for a long time.  Finally we have everyone's attention.  Let's make Weimerica pride months and appeasing 10% of the population a distant memory.

Life is short and uncertain.  Because of that, many people live in fear to the point they never accomplish anything great.  This fear breeds mediocrity and halts all growth.  All of the great people that I've met that do amazing things reject the cult of fear.  Live every day in activity.  Don't fear the world or death or hardships.  Smile at the problems you come across and treasure the people in your life.  Odds are you inspire many around you.  Your time is so valuable, treat it accordingly. "Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow, and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune's control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately." -Seneca-

Thank you all who pitched in to help my friend and his family. His surgery went well and they should be trying to get him awake today. These injuries are going to be a great challenge, and recovery is going to be very long but this guy will fight to get back in the gym. I'm amazed at the generosity amongst the people in our circles. Please continue to pray for a good recovery so we can get this beast back on the bench press where he belongs.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/lionel-west Today a very good friend and one of the strongest guys I know is in icu after a head on collision coming home from a power lifting meet.  I ask for your Prayers and support for his family.  Please share and lift up our guy.

We've talked before about how the world is set up to distract you, but why is that so important to their success? On a farm, a well fed heard will passively go about their lives grazing.  To dumb down the general population takes more than the distraction of food and the illusion of safety.  People are best distracted by entertainment (good or bad) .  In the age of constant screen time access, fighting age males spend most of their time looking down, instead of being aware of their surroundings.  If you find yourself looking at your phone constantly at work, missing out on family and friends, or stepping outside at Church to take an "important" call... It's gone too far. Take regular tech breaks and reconnect with real life.  You'll find that turning off the 24 hour news cycle and getting back to basics will reduce stress and give you more time to accomplish the things that are most important in your daily life.