Have you ever been scrolling through social media and come across something that makes you stop and think? That happened to me yesterday when I came across a video where someone asked the following question: Would you rather lose all of your memories, or never be able to make any new ones? I knew which one I would choose, but I was curious what some of the men I know would say, so I started texting them. Their answers were split evenly down the middle. Some would keep every m

What would your life look like if no one ever saw it? Would you still want it? I saw a video today that made me take a real look at myself. A guy asked a question that made me think about why I do some of the things I do. "Would you still want your dream life if nobody could see it? Nobody knows what car you drive, what house you live in, how much money you make, or where you travel. Nobody is there to see it, talk about it, or tell you how well you are doing. Would you still

Imagine walking into a room filled with every person you have ever met. As your eyes begin scanning around the room, who would you be looking for first? Don't overthink it because your heart will most likely answer before your mind ever does. I came across a video the other day where a guy asked his friend that exact question, and it got me thinking. I found myself wondering not only who I would look for, but why that person would be the first face my eyes searched for. If yo

The most dangerous lies aren't always the ones other people tell us. They're the ones we want to believe because they make us feel comfortable. Many of us don't even realize how easily we can get turned around by a lie that simply feels good. I guess you could say it's just a natural part of being human… we love to feel validated. It feels good. But if we look closely at human nature, it becomes clear that we will often choose a beautiful, fake reality long before we are read

Have you ever stopped to wonder how much of your life is actually yours, and how much of it is just a reaction to all the noise around you? Think about it. We wake up, and before our feet even hit the floor, thoughts are already there. It might be a text message that comes off cold, or a mistake from work replaying in your mind… and even a family situation that has the potential to throw your whole day off. We’ve all been there. For a long time, I lived as a professional reac

Have you ever looked back on a decision you made and thought, “I knew better”? It wasn’t because someone warned you after the fact, or that the outcome surprised you. But somewhere deep down, long before everything started to fall apart, something in you already knew. Maybe it was a relationship you thought would last forever, or a job that sounded too good to be true. Looking back, the signs were there. The problem wasn’t that we missed them. The problem was that we became r

If someone walked up to you today and asked, “Tell me about yourself," how would you answer? For most of us, the answer would come quickly. We mention our name, where we're from, what we do for a living, our hobbies, our family, and maybe a few things we enjoy doing when we have free time. It's almost second nature for most of us. For years, that was exactly how I answered the question. My name is Ron. I'm from Boston. I'm a father. I enjoy writing, working out, helping peopl

The mind is the most powerful place a person will ever live, yet most people don’t realize they’ve been agreeing with thoughts that have been directing their entire life. Those thoughts tend to stay longer than they should, because life doesn’t usually change on the outside first. It shifts in unseen places, where no one hears the conversations you have with yourself. I learned that in a middle school gym. I was about 11 when I walked in with a classmate to watch a basketball

What if the loudest voice in your life isn’t even yours? I was sitting in my living room planning out my week, thinking I had everything under control… but I didn’t. My mind was loud, not with my own thoughts, but with everything else. Expectations, opinions, and doubts… all competing for space . And then I heard a voice say: If you listen to every voice long enough, one day you won’t recognize your own, because not every voice is meant to live inside you. I had to stop and g

Sometimes we spend so much time talking about what we don’t want that we forget to ask for what we really want. I recently came across a short video called The Black Coffee Theory . The video was less than two minutes long, but the idea stayed with me long after it ended. The story was simple. A woman walks into a coffee shop and steps up to the counter. When the barista asks what she’d like, she pauses for a second and says, “I’m not really sure… I just know I don’t want bl

Have you ever felt like if you didn’t talk, no one would notice? I used to live there… thinking that staying quiet meant I was invisible. That if I didn’t constantly announce what I was doing, people would just walk past my life like I wasn’t even there. Turns out, that’s not how God works. Silence isn’t always hiding. Sometimes, it’s trust. I remember a time I was writing for a Christian magazine… interviewing pastors, gospel artists, and leaders you’d recognize in a heartb

What if the only thing standing between you and the life you dream about… is discipline ? A co-worker once asked me how I find the time to write blogs and books while working a full-time job and being an active parent. He looked tired just thinking about it. “I could never do that with my busy schedule,” he said. I smiled, not in a smug way, but in an understanding way. I’ve said those same words before. I know what it feels like to look at your life and think there’s no roo

Have you ever smiled in a room full of people while quietly hoping someone would notice that you weren’t okay? I have. Last weekend, I stood in front of family and friends at my brother’s memorial service wearing my go-to poker face… the one I’ve gotten good at over the years. If you looked at me from across the room, you would’ve thought, “I’m holding up so well.” And I was. On the outside. But the truth? I was mentally drained and emotionally worn down. I’ve always felt I h

Have you ever wondered how different your life might be if certain people had never been in it ? I listened to a video the other day where a man talked about a 2006 study called the “Bad Apple Effect.” Researchers placed one negative person into small groups of five. That one person caused the group to perform 40% worse. The quality of their work dropped by 25%. Conflict increased by 50%. And this all happened in sessions that lasted less than an hour . Less than 60 minutes

Have you ever met someone who tried to place you before they really knew you? For me, it usually happens within minutes of a conversation. People hear my northern accent and pause. “You’re not from Virginia,” they say. “You sound like you’re from New York.” I laugh every time. I’ve heard it so often I almost want to hand out business cards that say, Yes, I’m from the North. But the truth is, I’m from humble beginnings in Boston. And that accent? It’s just a reminder that wh

What if being good at something isn’t the same as being called to it. You’ve worked hard, and succeeded. People notice. And yet, something inside questioned, “Is this really where I’m meant to be?” I heard someone say the other night: Gifted people need to be careful. Intelligent people need to be careful too. Gifted people get opportunities to do things they shouldn’t, and intelligent people are smart enough to make almost anything work. Put the two together, and you can fin

Have you ever done something small without thinking much about it, only to realize later it mattered far more than you knew? The other day, I went to the grocery store like I always do. Nothing special. Just another errand on another day. On the drive home, I noticed a van stuck in the snow on a hill on the opposite side of the road. I remember smiling to myself because my first thought was, That could easily be me. And without giving myself time to talk myself out of it, I

How many times have you said, “If someone would just give me a chance, I’d show them what I can do,” without ever asking if you’ve given yourself that same chance? Most of us aren’t lacking ability. We’re just unsure. We look around for approval, or wait for someone else to notice what’s been inside us all along . We wait for something to make the next step feel less risky. And until that happens, we stay right where we are. At some point, many of us were taught directly or i

What if the issue was never your presence, but their fear of it? Most people don’t wake up one day and decide to make themselves smaller. It happens over time. You walk into a room feeling confident, and then you feel the shift. People respond differently once you speak or show what you can do. They don’t say it out loud, but you know it’s there, because your confidence forces them to face their own insecurity. So you adjust. You pull your confidence back a little. You explai

Have you ever skipped going to a movie, avoided a restaurant, or decided not to talk to someone just because someone else said, “It’s not good,” or “They’re not worth your time”? If we’re being honest, most of us have. We hear other people’s opinions and accept them without much thought. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re doing it. We let someone else’s experience turn into our choice. It may seem harmless, but when it comes to people, those opinions can change how we see