Words by Omission: I'm learning that being impeccable with one's words has many facets. First there is clearly the spoken word; what is audibly said to those around you. Then there is the internal part; that which is thought in one's head, particularly about oneself but also about others. Unspoken words can spread just as much poison as they can fester in one's psyche, creating myths and illusions far worse that those spoken.

One of the ways I've used my words against myself is by my intentional and unintentional focus on 'worry words'; the thoughts that creep in to my psyche and replicate themselves until there is no space for words of truth and empowerment. Just this day I was having an amazing morning: very grounded, at peace, and really kicking butt. Then I had a panic moment when I noticed that something was due tomorrow instead of in a week. Immediately my brain went into a fit of haggling, worry, and etc. I immediately felt my energy drain out of my body and my head is a bit foggy.

It might be helpful, before I start detailing my experience, to briefly go over what it means to Be Impeccable With Your Word. The author's synopsis of this agreement (found on the front jacket of the book and the website) is as follows:

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love

This is the start on what I plan on being a 4th month series on my experience with the 4 agreements by Miguel Ruiz. At this time I'm planning on a post a day in order to share my experience and (hopefully) offer some insights and inspiration along the journey. I believe by committing to this publicly I can better ensure that I stay on the wagon and complete this journey. My goal has many facets: 1) I want to prove I still have the discipline that I remember having as a varsity athlete. 2) I want to strengthen my self-image. 3) I want to have a better relationship with everyone, including and most especially my wife Emily.

Immediate reactions, on-the-scene ireporting, the ability for anyone to become their own outlet of information: the social media revolution (currently led by Twitter and Facebook) has undoubtedly changed the way we find, consume, and even create the information around us. And in an era of where time is our most scarce resource; information is ubiquitously around us; texting is replacing dialing; aggregation is the only way to make sense of it all... the battle of quantity versus quality continues on. And it's leaving me, and others, hungry for more.

The next American Idol, the next NY Times bestselling author, the next Miss America: these positions do not require job postinga on Monster.com. The line of people desperately vying for these limited seats is almost endless. They pursue these dreams, these pinnacles of excellence in a given field, with an unrelenting passion.

Passion is good. It inspires. It Fuels. It is the light at the end of the tunnel that can get us through the tough times and put it all on the line for the hope, the shot, the dream of making it big.

Her only sight, a red tipped stick.
That ticks with order,
click...
click...
click...
She fends my questions with a smile
"I miss colors like fish miss the clouds"

Ideas are like fireflies.
Beautiful—
with their faint, fleeting flashes of light across the sky;
or more likely,
the interior dome we call our psyche.

I love it when my wife inspires me out of the blue! About 1.5 weeks ago I received an email at work challenging both of us to participate in Lent. We had already seriously committed on making 2011 a banner year for us... with with greater health, wealth, and happiness. What a better way to make a big step forward than by giving up something that has been slowing us down? And, perhaps more importantly, proving that whatever we set our mind to we can achieve. I always love to overcome such a challenge.

Life lessons come about in the most surprising ways. It was almost a year ago that my wife and I spent 15 minutes trying to coax our new dog Linus into getting into our car. He was no longer an abandoned puppy at the Longmont Humane Society (which by the way is a phenomenal facility that makes these abandoned-to-rescued transitions as easy as possible on the animals). He was now going to have a loving home and every dog toy known to "man"... or at least every toy in petsmart that my wife thought was "cute" (full disclosure—now I'm the dog toy fiend, getting everything that will make him tail-wagging happy). With his one-year rescue anniversary upon us, I really wanted to reflect on the experience and share all the things I learned.