Where did Halloween come from? History.com states the following"

"The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats."

Personally, I've never been a fan of what Halloween is today. We all dress up as something we are not (or perhaps something we want to be) and fill our bodies full of stuff that turns us into the walking dead. And the garbage this one day creates in our world...

But it's not all bad in my mind.

Dressing up as a superhero or a princess when you are a kid... Alright, I can see how that can be fun.

Carving pumpkins with the family... I do have fun doing that.

But going door to door to get a bunch of poison to put into our bodies... Not sure that's helping anybody...

This is one of those days that is "for the kids". With that in mind, make sure it BENEFITS the kids.

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday I walked through a property that I was interested in purchasing as an investment property.

As I walked through the property, I became less and less interested. The current owner had purchased it in May as a private sale, got rid of the "bad" tenants and had been working on renovating it. It's actually still in the process of being renovated and it's obvious that the homeowner is doing it himself and he has no construction experience.

When I go through houses like this, I run. The craftsmanship was absolutely horrendous (and I'm being nice). What scares me the most about houses like this is what I can't see. If what I can see is that bad, imagine what is hidden in the walls...

The world is full of Do-It-Yourselfers now (and not only in construction). I'm not against doing it yourself but just because you "can" do something does not mean you "should" do it.

Doing it for yourself is one thing. Doing it for somebody else is another...

Stick to what you are good at and hire experts for the rest. The results will be much better.

I love to help people and I believe that most people are like this. When somebody asks me for help, I'm happy to do so because it feels good.

"Somebody needs me."

What I have come to realize is that HOW I deliver that "help" is extremely important.

If my son asks me to write something for him, is it more helpful to write it myself or show him how to write it?

If my team is struggling, is it more helpful if I hop in and do the work or ask them questions to get them thinking differently so they can do it themselves?

Is it better to let people make mistakes or protect them from the pain? Which one will help them learn faster?

​Think long term. Invest in the other person's success for the long run.

The other night, Sullivan was excited to see his Nana. She was planning to come at the end of the following day.

While I was doing the usual bedtime routine with Sullivan, he said "Nana might be here when I wake up."

I responded in the usual parent way and "corrected" his thinking by saying, "No buddy. She'll be here when you get home from school."

He then quickly said, "Don't say that daddy! If you say that then it won't happen. She might be thinking it right now."

Then it dawned on me... How often do I limit my son's beliefs like this?

This is a simple and seemingly insignificant example but it's a habit I have. He was right. Nana may have been thinking to come early and surprise us. Who was I to tell him that she would not be coming?

Just because I didn't believe it does not mean it was not going to happen. Nor does that give me the right to change his belief.

What's the first thing you do when you start a puzzle?

You flip over all the pieces and start with the border.

Then you start organizing the pieces by colour and start fitting them in. The more pieces you fit, the easier it gets.

Like most things in life, puzzles are easy to start and easy to finish but the bulk of it takes commitment and dedication.

I recently made a decision to remove somebody from my life and people who are closest to me have been celebrating the decision. They are basically saying "I told you so" without actually saying it.

What was it that they saw that I did not?

If I'm honest with myself, I saw it as well.

Unfortunately I let my head lead the way and tried to rationalize my decision. It's almost like I needed yet another example of how the gut is wiser than the brain. It's more connected to the energy around us than the brain will ever be.

The brain is like the leader. It decides how to act, when to act and what to act on.

Like any good leader though, it should get as much input as possible from the entire team before making any decisions.

The gut and heart are important team members that should not be ignored.

My brain did not lead this one well but now it's a stronger leader for learning yet another lesson.

There's a big difference between arguing and debating.

I do not enjoy arguing but I do enjoy a good debate. I believe there can be a lot of valuable information that comes from them.

The difference is simply in the set up and preparation.

Arguments typically come without planning and are based on opinions.

Debates are planned for and based on facts.

Leaders set up healthy debates and use them to propel the vision forward. They are master debaters.

For the last few weeks I have had this feeling in my stomach and I'm not really sure what it is.

Perhaps it was there before but I have only recently become conscious of it.

To some it may be anxiety.

To others it may be excitement.

To another group it may be fear.

To me it's the unknown.

I can label it anything I want and if I were to choose one of the above options, I would choose excitement for obvious reasons.

​I've been asking myself "What is my body trying to tell me?" But the issue is I've been letting my mind try and find the answer and the mind is here to protect me, to play it safe.

The real answers go beyond what the mind can explain.

The universe works in mysterious ways if you are open to receiving.

The meditation session with Israa at Younion last night reminded me of this. The higher power brought exactly what I needed to hear and Israa delivered it.

I believe that this is a sign that I'm on the right path. Something big and exciting is coming. I'm being pulled towards something powerful.

Is it scary? Hell yes! But that will not stop me.

Courage is being afraid and acting anyways.

The pictures below are the cards that Israa pulled before the meditation and the details of each:

"What do I GET to do today?"

That's much more powerful than "what do I HAVE to do today?"

Why do we lie to ourselves?

We tell ourselves we're healthy when we put garbage into our bodies.

We tell ourselves we exercise regularly when we know we only do it once a week.

We tell ourselves we're giving it 120% at work when we know we could be doing more.

We tell ourselves we "don't have time" when the truth is we have not prioritized that thing we seamingly don't have time for.

​I challenge you to stop lying to yourself. Be radically honest.

Go easy on yourself though... It's a hard habit to break...