Why do you buy what you buy?

Why do you shop where you shop?

We all like to believe that we spend our money in logical ways but the truth is that it's always for emotional reasons.

If I want to go somewhere for a coffee, I could go to Tim Hortons or I could walk into 692 Coffee & Bar where the owner says "Hey Casey!" Could I get coffee cheaper at Tim Horton's? Yes, but...

It's not about the coffee, it's about the feeling.

I feel good when I walk into 692 Coffee & Bar. They know me and they're a new business that I want to support. I feel like I'm part of the community.

When people come into Younion, it's not about meditation. It's about the feeling they want. We see them at Younion. Natasha makes sure of this. They are part of something bigger than themselves. We're all in this together.

Most importantly, these local businesses are a place where a face to face connection happens. Sure you can connect with people all over the world thanks to technology but there's nothing more powerful than being with somebody in real life.

​Who are you going to connect with today?

Sometimes short and sweet is what you need.

Sometimes long and detailed is what you need.

Today I'm with my family so this is short and sweet.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving :)

Too much of a good thing (even if you love it) will eventually turn to a bad thing.

A good thing will only stay a good thing if consumed in the proper doses and at the right time.

Eating food feels good when you are hungry but if you eat all the time you will get sick.

Spending time with the person you love can be the greatest thing in the world but if you spend every waking moment with that person eventually you will not want to be with each other anymore.

Exercising is a necessity to stay healthy but over exercising will cause issues in all sorts of ways.

Whatever it is that you love, give it the space it needs. It's the only way to keep the love strong.

That question triggers me for some reason (at least when my wife asks me).

When I hear that question my brain automatically goes to all the "problems" I had to deal with that day. Then it starts stacking all of them and by the end of my verbal diarrhea I feel like crap (no pun intended).

Deep down I know that problems are actually opportunities. Life is unfolding as it needs to and I will never understand the whole plan. I just need to stay focused on what's in front of me in any given moment.

The most important thing right now is what's in front of me.

And when my wife asks me that question what she is really saying is "I would like to talk right now."

The only reason I feel like crap is because I'm allowing my mind to let me feel that way. I need to train my mind to focus on the great. There are hundreds of things to be grateful everyday. There is always a silver lining.

That's where silence comes into play. When I get silent, I find the real answers. When I separate myself from my thoughts, I never get triggered. I only react negatively when I'm stuck in my head.

Visualization is powerful. It can help you manifest things beyond your wildest dreams. But it needs to be done properly...

The trick with visualization is that you need to get beyond the HOW. If you want to manifest $1,000,000 or the person of your dreams, don't focus on how you're going to do it because you only know the "how" based on your current life experiences.

Your mind limits you.

Instead you need to visualize the WHAT. What do you want? What do you want to feel? Who do you want to help? Who do you have to become?

Let the universe take care of the how.

In reality you have no idea how you're going to achieve these things. That's why it's so hard to believe and that is why you need to trick your mind. If you focus on the how, you're going to slow yourself down because you'll be thinking of all these things you "can't" do or don't know how to do (or don't want to do).

1. Figure out your WHY.
2. Visualize the WHAT.
3. Let the Universe present the HOW.
4. Take ACTION when you are called upon.

I want to help 1,000,000 men become the heroes they are meant to be by the end of 2020. I have no idea how I'm going to do this but I'm putting it out there and I'm visualizing it. All I need to do is let the pieces fall into place and take action when I'm called upon.

One of the actions I was pulled towards recently was to start Lean In with Casey Grey. So far so good!

The latest thing I was pulled towards was to offer coaching to a select few. I have no idea where this is going to lead but it's out there and we'll see what happens.

A mens group is also in the works and I had more things happen today that has pulled that forward. All I need to do is show up and act on my intuition.

​The universe works fast and I have every intention to go along for the ride.

I met a wonderful person a couple weeks ago. His name is Dr. Obom Bowen.

Like most entrepreneurs, it's tough to stay focused. I see opportunities all over the place. as I shared this in a conversation, Obom said that had the same issue in the past and that is why he had a pin made in the shape of glasses that he wears on his suits.

He explained something very simple to me: "In order to get focused you need to have clarity and in order to have clarity you need to have a purpose."

Purpose = Clarity = Focus

It's a simple formula but not easy to implement. It takes determination and I've spent many hours meditating on this. One thing is for sure, I'm being pulled towards helping people. Specifically, men.

​Everything in my life has been setting me up for this moment in time and there's something exciting brewing...

When I work, I like to work fast. I like to get shit done. And if I make a mistake or do something that slows me down, I get frustrated.

Today was a good reminder to slow down and enjoy the process. It's never (and I really mean never) about the destination (or the final product).

I spent the majority of today in the kitchen cooking and baking with Sullivan. We had the slow cooker going, the pressure cooking doing it's thing and delicious cookies in the oven. I even seasoned the cast iron pan!

For the most part it was fun. But then I got to the baking part... Where I have less experience.

The goal: to make vegan and gluten free gingerbread men.

So I started searching through recipes and found one. So I thought... I started putting all the ingredients together and then realized the recipe was for soft gingerbread cookies... Not good for rolling out and cutting into christmas trees, stars and little men.

My initial reaction was frustration as "that was a waste of time" was the first thought that came to mind. "Now I have to start over again!"

I quickly snapped out of it, finished the recipe and got the cookies in the oven (which ended up being delicious by the way.)

Back to google and the search for a recipe which included only incredients that we already had. Once I found the one, I started putting it together and things were going well. Sullivan and I got the dough looking good and we rolled it out. We started cutting the shapes transferring them to the baking sheet.

Or at least I tried to transition them to the baking sheet... 2 out of the first 5 made it... My frustration started to come out again...

"Daddy, don't get frustrated." Which only made me more frustrated.

"Let me try. I'll be able to do it. I won't get frustrated and I don't like when you get frustrated."

That last part is what changed my state. Here I am getting frustrated about breaking the leg off a silly gingerbread man and I'm missing the beautiful moment right in front of me. Before I know it, Sullivan will have no interest to be in the kitchen with me and I'm trying to rush through it. I'm just trying to check another thing off my list. Silly daddy...

Slow down and enjoy the moment that's in front of you. It will be gone before you know it.

P.S. Sullivan was able to do much better than me and we rocked those gingerbread men! Even mommy was quite impressed ;)

What do you want to be remembered for?

What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?

THAT is your purpose.

Work towards that and you will be fulfilled.

I find it interesting what happens when people know it's your birthday. They treat you differently. They take better care of you. They smile more. They serve more. They are genuinely more interested. I'm guilty of doing the same thing when it's other people's birthdays.

What if when we interacted with people we treated them as if it was their birthday all the time? How would that change your relationships?

I got another nail in the tire of my truck. Not uncommon for a guy in construction.

When something like this happens, it's easy to get frustrated. "Not again" is something that came to mind. "I'm already busy and now I have yet another thing I need to take care of..."

I did what I usually do and gave Tom at call at Tom's Garage. As usual he told me swing by when I have a chance and he'll take care of it for me right away.

That day, I headed on over after picking up my son from school. When I got there I turned the wheel to the right and backed the truck up slowly so Tom could scan the tire and see if there was anything obvious. In this case it was not an obvious nail. He said it may be easier if he just pops the tire off quickly.

"Do you have the key for the locking nuts on your rims?" he asked. My answer was "I'm not sure."

I never had to take the tires off since I bought the truck so I never actually looked for them. It turned out that I did not have the key. I called the dealership and they actually forgot to put them in the truck so they still had them.

Luckily Tom was able to find the hole and fix the tire without taking it off but what I realized is that this happened FOR me.

I have another friend who sells tires in Brockville which is just over an hour away from where we live. I had been talking to him about getting winter tires and I was going to head down there in the near future to have them installed. If this hole in my tire had not happened, I would not have known about the key for my locking nuts until I got all the way to Brockville. I would have wasted way more time than just having to fix a nail in the tire.

This experience is summed up perfectly in the following quote that I read this morning:

That's a quote is from The Surrender Experiment. I highly recommend getting this book or listening to the audio version.

So the next time something "bad" happens to me, I know it's only going to be "good" in the end.