The best time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. Period!

Too often, however, we’re told the exact opposite.

Hustling is a celebrated state of being in our modern culture.

Hustle, hustle, and get things done – get to the top of the ladder as fast as possible!

And while hustling can help you fail forward at a faster pace, too many of us spend the vast majority of our lives climbing the ladder of success only reach the top and discover that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. This happens primarily because we’re always hustling around and rushing so fast that we’re utterly exhausted when it comes time to make some of life’s most important decisions. So we end up selecting the ladder that’s closest and easiest to climb, which also happens the one we don’t really need or want to climb.

Ultimately, many of us eventually realize that it’s better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of the one you don’t. Do you best to take this to heart right now. There’s absolutely no reason to be in such a mad rush that you end up at the top of the wrong ladder – pursuing someone else’s agenda instead of your own.

Dedicate time every day to focus inward – mindfulness rituals, mantras, journaling, prayer, gratitude reflection, etc. – and bring clarity to your daily circumstances and decisions. By doing so you will undoubtedly open your mind to important ideas and opportunities you simply can’t comprehend in the midst of mindless hustle.

Just this morning, for example, I took a break from hustling and spent 30 minutes journaling about the recent events in my life that I’m grateful for, and some recent events that are still troubling me. As I was wrapping up, the idea for the email you’re reading now came to me, which was a pleasant surprise since I hadn’t yet decided what I was going to write about and share with you today.

I also unearthed some incredibly healthy insights regarding an important relationship that I had been neglecting, which motivated me to immediately send out a text message to someone I care about who I’ve been meaning to reconnect with for nearly six months. We now have a brunch date scheduled for next Sunday.

So, as you can tell, your time spent focusing inward and finding clarity doesn’t just help you – your mind is powerful and your thoughts create ripples in the world around you. When you bring clarity into your life, you bring the best of yourself into everything you do – you tend to treat yourself and others better, communicate more constructively, do things for the right reasons, and ultimately improve the world you’re living in. This is why praying, or just meditating on some positive mantras, on a daily basis can actually make a real-world difference in your life.

The bottom line is that a slower pace and a heightened level of your conscious awareness – THINKING BETTER – instantly elevates you in countless ways. And then interesting things begin happening – good things that are outside of your immediate purview – good things you haven’t even thought of yet.

And that’s why we made THINKING BETTER the foundation of our only in-person event of 2017 (you should get an HD recording of the event).