Make Today Your Masterpiece

"Mt. Shuksan"

Small watercolor study

The great basketball coach John Wooden shared a piece of advise his father told him when John was 12 years old:  "Make each day your masterpiece."  Looking at the legacy John Wooden left demonstrates that he took that to heart.  That motto is available to each of us to incorporate into our lives.  What are some ways that you can do that?

1.  "Be where your feet are."  ---Cassandra Barney

We live in the age of attraction distraction.  The digital world slips into every available nook and cranny of our conscious lives.  Drive down a busy city street and you find people with their heads down and their cell phones up.  Constant checking of emails or social media messages can become a dictator and minimizer of our focus, productivity, and a life well-lived.

Counter that impulse with a desire to cultivate a rich and fulfilling life.   Be aware of what's happening in your world and with the people you care about.  Purpose to be outdoors beholding nature regularly.  Read a REAL book with paper and pages to turn.  Read often! Listen to great music and look at great art.  Engage in lively conversation with the people around you.  Notice everything...colors, sounds, smells, temperature, moods, activity, weather.

2.  "Life is the total sum of what you do with the moments given you.  ---Erwin McManus

Staying in the present demands focus.  What happened yesterday is past.  What entices you to worry about for tomorrow hasn't happened, is not guaranteed to happen, and probably won't happen, so why waste your precious time there?!  Today is what counts!  That is where your opportunity to create value and benefit people's lives exists.  Evaluate your time usage of each moment by asking critical questions like:  "Is what I'm doing right now in this moment making a difference for eternity, moving me closer to my goals, or helpful to other people?"  Never underestimate the power of the small!  If what you are doing right now is a wise choice though a seemingly small action, it will accrue interest for you down the road.  C.S. Lewis wrote:  "Good and evil both increase at compound interest.  That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of."  

All you have is today, these moments.  Make them count!  Make today YOUR masterpiece!

Live bravely and beautifully!