Last summer when we were in New York City, we stopped in a wonderful little book store in Brooklyn. When we were there my wife, Tammy, picked up a children’s book entitled: Something Extraordinary. It really is an extraordinary little book. It’s about a little boy who keeps wishing for extraordinary things to happen like being able to breathe underwater, having his drawings come to life, and the rain coming down in seven different colors.

In the end, the boy discovers that if he only opens his eyes, there are extraordinary things all around him. He notices the birds singing all kinds of different songs in the trees. The story is written by Ben Clanton and is based on an experience he had early in life. When he was six-years-old he found a parrot, “which landed on his shoulder and then moved in with him and his family.” There really are extraordinary things that happen in everyday life.

Being the fan I am of all things creative we had to buy the book. When I need to be reminded that my life is fully of extraordinary things I pick up the book and read it. It leaves me inspired every time.

In fact, one thing that really inspires me is the very bookstore in which we found this book. It was down a little side street in Brooklyn. We happened upon it and walked in. It’s such a rarity these days to find a good, independent, bookstore where you can spend a lazy afternoon browsing around. It’s a creative and learning experience. You find the most extraordinary things if you spend just a little time in a bookstore.

When I really keep my eyes open I can see extraordinary things right in front of me:

• The egrits and herons the populate the lakes and ponds in our area
• The twins my niece just had
• Palm trees that simply make any setting better
• Eating al fresco
• A porch gathering with our friends
• People at my church who go above and beyond to help and serve for no reason other than they want to
• A bike that takes me places and allows me to see things I wouldn’t otherwise see
• The tulips that sit in a vase on our table
• The combination of colors my wife puts together in our living room pillows and accessories
• Our children who are doing fascinating things with their lives
• The ability to find any information I could ever want with a device I hold in the palm of my hand

It’s not too hard. Open your eyes and see the extraordinary things that surround you.

It just may change your perspective, fuel your creativity, and give you new inspiration for the day.

Where do you see the extraordinary in the ordinary?

*Recently I had the opportunity to do some writing in the North Carolina mountains. One day I was taking a walk and ran into a man I’ll call John, a guy who loves people in his own unique way. During the summer John runs a landscaping business. But in the winter John gets to pursue his real passion. He’s a lifelong skier who loves the snowy mountains and who spent significant time as a member of the ski patrol. But he’s had to give that up to run his own “snow tubing” business during the winter.

John’s eyes light up as he speaks about his business. He loves piling up the snow, getting the tubes ready and providing a great time for all the people who enjoy the fruits of his labors. But the thing John really loves about his business is the opportunity he gets to love people through it. He regaled me with story after story about various people who come to hop on a tube and fly down a snow-covered hill. His favorite stories are those about people with special needs who come for a day of fun. There’s a nearby group home for adults with autism and various other cognitive disabilities. Each year the caregivers at the home bring the residents to John’s tubing hill.

One of the residents is a young man who waits all year to get out on the hill. He puts on his leather bombardier hat, ear flaps down, fastened under his chin, comes running up the hill and says to John, “I’m gonna be Superman!” So John gives him a tube, he lies down on it face first, spreads out his arms, and goes flying down the hill yelling, “I’m Suuuuuuuperman!” John absolutely loves giving the people of the home who spend most of their days sitting inside, an opportunity to have a day filled with exuberance and joy.

You can really tell that John loves the people he gets to serve through his business. He recounts the time a paralyzed sixteen-year-old girl came to the hill along with her family. The previous summer she had broken her neck as she dove into shallow water. Up to that point she had been a world-class surfer. Now, it seemed, that was all but a distant memory.

As the girl’s siblings were having fun taking their turns sliding down the hill, John could see the longing in the girl’s eyes. So he asked her parents if it might be OK for her to have a few jaunts down the hill. John assured them that he would be right beside her and would bring her right back up the hill. They agreed to allow her to do it. So John put her on a tube, got onto a tube right beside her, and held onto her tube as they began the glorious descent down the hill. John couldn’t believe the joy he saw on her face as she flew down the hill, forgetting her troubles for a few fleeting moments.

Art that loves people can be as simple as building a mound of snow and letting people slide down. John’s art is shown in the way he loves people by doing something he loves. He gets to meet people from all over the United States and provides for them something they may not be able to do at home. But more than that, he delivers special, personal service that goes above and beyond to make his guests feel special, welcome and loved.

Loving and caring for people brings purpose to your passions and dreams. We are created to be in community. We are made to serve. When you work with and for people you care about, there is a certain kind of fulfillment that can’t be paralleled. Making other people feel loved and empowered goes a long way toward creating a dream that will perpetuate itself as people communicate your personal passion for them.

How can you show better love to people as you pursue your passion or chase your dream? It’s impossible to be fully and creatively alive in a bubble, all by yourself. Your love for your clients or those you serve can’t be fake. It has to be genuine. People can detect insincerity as quickly as sugar-coated words come out of your mouth.

Don’t “love” people just to get ahead in business or life. It doesn’t work that way. Your love of people, when sincere, will have the fringe benefit of better business and a better life. But isn’t it worth loving people simply for the sake of loving them, and for making the world a better place? Genuine love of people comes from the empathy that’s built into your soul. Don’t be afraid to let it out, show it, and give people the thing everyone needs: love. Your art will stand apart from the cutthroats of the world when you follow your heart to the place where people feel loved.

What’s the unique way that you love people in your daily life?

*This is an excerpt of my upcoming book, Fully and Creatively Alive: How to Live a More Joyfully Fulfilling Life

Michael Phelps reportedly cried when he saw the new Under Armour commercial revolving around the intense training for his last Olympic Games (you can watch it below, at the end of this post). How can you blame him? He’s been through ups and downs. He’s had his days of darkness and made his mistakes. But he’s also triumphed in the world’s biggest spotlight. When you think about all the work you do behind the scenes to get you to the place you are today it can be a bit overwhelming.

After seeing all that Michael Phelps does in the darkness to find his way to the light of the Olympics we get this punch line:

It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.

And we all understand it. You don’t just show up at the summer Olympics venue and jump in the pool for the first time. If you do you’ll be blown out of the water. All the other athletes have been training, eating well, lifting weights, and swimming mile after mile for the last four years. Somehow, some way, you have to train just hard — if not more; put in just as much work — if not more; lift just as much weight — if not more. Then maybe, just maybe, your hand will touch the wall before anyone else and you’ll receive the gold medal.

It’s the hard work, extra training, and a mountain of effort in the darkness that is making the world a better place. Think of the scientists working in dark labs. Think of the computer software developers working in dark cubicles. Think of the teachers working in their dark classrooms after school. Think of the doctors working in dark examination rooms.

I’m trying myself to take this to heart. It’s been one of my goals this year to work on my writing and put out a blog post at least three times a week. That means I have mostly turned off the TV in the evenings and have been working in the darkness of my living room at a craft that gives me a great deal of joy.

And it is my hope that the writing I do in darkness will help in some small way make the world a better place. It takes hard work, time, effort, extra hours, staying up late, getting up early to do the things in life that are most worthwhile and bring the most benefit. Much of it is done in the darkness and at times when other people are lounging, watching TV, or doing things that may not bring light to the world.

Darkness doesn’t always seem like a bright thing. Do you ever have those sleepless, dark nights when you toss and turn, worrying about something you ought not worry about? Do you ever feel the darkness cover over you when you think about how quickly your kids have grown? Do you ever think of times past and wish they would magically reappear in the midst of a dark moment?

Yet even that kind of darkness makes the world a better place. It makes you sit back and realize the blessings of the light. It causes the bright days to feel that much brighter. It brings a glow to life that shines after coming through a desperately dark time.

Darkness makes the world a better place in two ways:

1. When people find themselves working hard in the midst of it; and
2. When people find their way through it to the light.

Here’s some encouragement to take something you’re passionate about and use the dark hours of the day to bring it to light. A word of caution: don’t do it to the detriment of the important relationships in your life. Pay attention to them and nurture them. But when the kids are sleeping or your spouse is working or your friends are otherwise occupied, take advantage of those times and create something that will make the world a better place. We will all thank you.

How does darkness make your world a better place?

There is a craft beer brewery in only one National Park. It happens to be at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. Rose Schweikhart saw an opportunity. The bathhouses in Hot Springs began to shut down in the 1960’s when people discovered that those hot springs didn’t really do the physical good to their bodies they thought it would. In fact, only one of them has remained in operation from the very beginning. These days people come to the one remaining bathhouse more for stress relief than they do for physical healing.

So Rose Schweikhart petitioned the National Parks Administration for permission to open a craft brewery and restaurant in one of the abandoned buildings. It was the perfect opportunity to take something old and make it new again. Now the building has been repurposed so that she can brew craft beers and have people literally enjoy the local flavor. Hot Springs is known for its water, so why not use it to make some really good craft beer?

Anyone could have done it. But Rose was the one who saw the potential, thought through the obstacles, and took the leap. She saw something old that could be refurbished and made new. In addition, she recognized that the biggest strength of Hot Springs, Arkansas, is the water. She combined the two and now she’s having the time of her life living a dream come true.

Who would have ever thought that there would be a place to make craft beer in a National Park? Well…Rose did. She saw an opportunity and took action. She didn’t just think about it. She didn’t just talk about it with her friends. She did it. She sent in a petition to the National Parks, was given the go ahead, and built a business. Rose Schweikhart turned specialty craft beer into an amazing opportunity.

There are opportunities around you every day. You need only open your eyes. To do it like Rose, try this:

1. What’s something old that could be made new? It could be an old abandoned bathhouse or it could simply be an old way of doing things. Lately my wife, Tammy, has been taking old pillows in our house and covering them with new material. The result has been amazing. With some new material, pillows that were old and tired have brought new life to our living room.
2. What strength could be leveraged to bring benefit to the venture? For Rose, she recognized that Hot Springs was known for its water. It was the most famous thing about the town. Your strength might be a strength that you think everyone else has. But you would be wrong. You are an expert in something that other people would pay dearly to have. Tammy has an eye for coordinating fabric and knows how to sew. She’s leveraging her strengths. She may soon even turn it into a little business.

Maybe you don’t know how to make craft beer or run a restaurant. But you most certainly have old things around you that can be repurposed and “made new.” And you have strengths that can be leveraged to help move the process along. I encourage you to give that some thought today.

When have you seen something old made new?

For me, one of the best feelings in life is to be generous. I use the principle of generosity whenever I leave a tip at a restaurant. I know it may sound crazy, but I frequently leave tips that are more than 20%. I know what it’s like to be a server. Not only did I wait on tables a long time ago in a galaxy far away, but both of our children have done the same. I know that generosity when dealing with those who serve us is one of the best and quickest ways to get money to people who really need it.

Generosity certainly works outside of a restaurant as well. Our future daughter-in-law, Emily, owns and runs a jewelry business called Consider the Wldflwrs. It all started with a web site, an Instagram feed, and jewelry she made out of things she found at the local flea market. Now the business has employees, clients all over the country, and a brick and mortar store.

Recently I saw someone post the following in response to a Consider the Wldflwrs Instagram post:

I lost all three of my mid finger rings when I took my gloves off in the parking lot the other day. Was a sad sad sad day! :’-(

I had an idea. I texted Emily and said, “Why don’t you send her three new rings?” Emily loved the idea. A little while later she texted me a picture of what she had done: She packaged up three new rings in a perfect little box and included a note that said:

We saw that you lost your rings and wanted you to try MIDI rings again. These are a gift from us to you!

I promise you that Consider the Wldflwrs has now won a lifetime fan. I’m certain that this customer will recommend Consider the Wldflwrs to her friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if she purchases items in the future far surpassing the worth of those three free rings.

In a world that seems to only take away, people are surprised by generosity. They remember it. They value it. They are taken aback by it.

The Joie de Vivre hotel brand lives by this philosophy. It’s a chain of hotels that operates under the principle of its name: “the joy of life.” These hotels are notorious for being generous. They have been known to do research on their customers so that they can tailor the experience to the particular preferences of their guest. As a result the chain has gained raving fans. This reputation has given me the itch to stay in one of their hotels. They recently opened one in Miami Beach, so maybe I’ll have the opportunity soon.

Generosity is great business practice. But it’s also great personal practice. In fact, true generosity means giving something without expecting anything in return.

The feeling one gets in the very act of giving generously is a gift in and of itself. I love treating my servers well. I enjoy walking away from a restaurant wondering what the server is thinking when she looks at the signed check.

The simplest way to make the best out of generosity is to just do it.

What act of generosity can you carry out today?

It only happens once every four years. Leap year comes around and you get an extra day to do with as you wish. One of my cousins has a wedding anniversary on leap day. It fits the couple’s sense of humor, trust me. They milk the day for all its worth. Every four years they get to celebrate their anniversary and remind people that they’ve only been married a quarter of the time that it seems.

On the other hand, leap year gives each of us a gift every four years. We get an extra day, an extra twenty-four hours, to even things out and get ahead. We get extra time to do some of the things that we need to accomplish and extra time to do some of the things that we want to accomplish. Leap day is a great day to do a little bit of both. Here are ten suggestions:

1.  Revisit your goals. Remember those resolutions and goals you made in January? Pull them out again. Take a look at them. If you’ve let them slip it’s not too late to pick them up, dust them off, and lean into them once again.
2. Start learning a new skill. One of my goals this year is to launch a podcast. I’m going to use part of my extra day to learn Adobe Audition so that I can begin my podcast in the near future. I’d also love to learn Adobe Photoshop so that I can create some of my own graphics.
3. Begin or finish reading a new book. I’m two-thirds of the way through Launch. It’s a book that teaches how to use the tool of the internet to bring exposure to the things that you create. I hope to use this formula to launch my upcoming book.
4. Get outside. No matter where you live, whether it’s warm or cold, winter is nearing an end and days are getting longer. Take a walk. Step out the door and run. Ride a bike. If it’s not a habit already, use today to take the first step toward making it one.
5. Take some sabbath rest. You work hard. You need rest. Leap year gives you an extra day. An extra day can be used both for extra work and extra rest. As the day starts decide how much you will take free from work: an hour, two hours, or the whole day. Go ahead. You deserve it.
6. Do something nice for someone. It’s great to do something nice for someone every day. But use the excuse of an extra day this year to send flowers, bring a treat to work, write a note, or give a compliment.
7. Watch a documentary. Netflix has a wonderful six-part series called Chef’s Table. Each episode is a fascinating overview of the life, philosophy, and art of a world renowned chef. Watching these shows fueled my own creativity. It just goes to show that real life is just as fascinating, if not more so, than fiction.
8. Cook something different. Go to foodandwine.com, find a recipe you’ve never used before, and surprise your family or friends with something completely different. I’ve found the recipes at foodandwine.com to be relatively easy, absolutely delicious, and well worth the time to treat your taste buds.
9. Get rid of something. Have you heard? There’s a minimalist movement going on. In fact, two men named Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus teach others how to lead a meaningful life with less. They’re called “The Minimalists.” I’ve got some clothes in my closet that I definitely have to get rid of. What can you get rid of today and lead a more minimal life?
10. Donate to a worthy cause. Your local church or nonprofit can always use the extra funds. Or if you’re going out to dinner tip the waiter or waitress more than 20%. The fastest way to get money to people who really need it is by leaving a good tip.

Leap year gives us an extra day. Let’s use it wisely.

What suggestion would you give for using our extra day this leap year?

I’ve been thinking a great deal recently about time. That’s because within this one week alone our daughter turns 27, our son turns 24, and my wife turns…um…well…she’ll always be three years older than I am. Time is something that can never be replaced. Like the old hymn says, it’s “an ever-rolling stream.” That’s why it’s so incredibly important to make the most of it.

Time is such a precious commodity. In fact, it’s more precious than any money, any possession, any home, or any thing other than people. When it’s gone it can’t be earned back. When it’s gone it cannot be regained. When the second hand goes around the clock it will never ever be that very moment again. It’s so precious because once it slips away, it slips away, and it can never be retrieved again.

It seems like just yesterday I held our kids in my arms and now one is married and the other is engaged. They are able to live their lives without relying on me (well…mostly). They are adults who have jobs, lives, loves, and interests that sometimes mirror mine and other times make me wonder from where they came. Just this morning I held a newborn baby in my arms and reminded the parents to enjoy every moment because before they know it that little bundle of joy will be married and having kids of her own.

It’s certainly not my intent to depress you. In fact, there’s a great deal of hope when it comes to this special gift. Time is precious for a reason.

Here are four hopeful things to do with time:

1. Value it. Show yourself and others that time is greater than gold. Don’t waste it. At least once in a while, turn off the TV; shut down Facebook; forget binge watching the latest Netflix series. Instead do something productive and valuable: read a book; make some art; have a conversation; call an old friend; send a handwritten note in the mail; learn something new.
2. Celebrate it. At the end of each day throw a little party in your head and say a prayer thanking the Author of time that He has given you another day. It’s a precious gift. Do the same in the morning when you wake up. The night of rest that just passed was also given as a gift. As one child said, “I love sleeping; it’s like a time machine that takes me straight to breakfast.”
3. Utilize it. In order to really utilize it you need to do something that will stretch you. Use the time you’re given to do something you’ve always wanted to do. I learned this lesson last year as I wrote the first draft of my book. It had been a lifelong goal of mine to do so. I have accomplished it. I admit that I didn’t always utilize time in the best possible way because I probably could have finished the first draft in a far shorter period of time than I did. But I proved to myself that when minutes, hours, and days are utilized well extraordinary things can happen.
4. Make the most of it. The best way to make the most of it is to spend it (…do you notice that we use the word “spend” when we talk about using time? It really is a precious commodity…) with those you love the most. That’s why I have always appreciated my friend, Brian’s, advice when he says it’s better to spend money on experiences than on things. Stuff breaks, fades away, and becomes less valuable as we move into the future. On the other hand, we will always remember most the precious experiences we have with those we love: eating dinner at a candlelit restaurant; riding bikes on an unknown trail; traveling overseas; watching the sun set on Annamaria Island; exploring a city.

Birthdays are a great time to appreciate the value of the most precious gift of time. Give them the celebration they deserve. They are a reminder of the fullness of time for one specific person up to that very moment. As the birthday person blows out the candles, make a little promise to yourself that you will value, celebrate, utilize, and make the most of time.

What ideas do you have for making the most of time?