i am a work in progress.

we all are. that’s kinda what’s cool about being human. when your work is finally finished, you’ll be dead. so you never have to live one day as anything other than a work in progress. you never have to put yourself out there as a finished piece for the world to criticize.

my game, my way of being and my life’s work is to look at every aspect of my life and ask, “is that working?”

i ask this with the food i eat, the exercise i practice, the people i keep close, the things i do at the studio.

seriously though, i do this with EVERYTHING. i ask “is that working?” for choosing a hand to brush my teeth with, the container i use for water, the speed of my computer, the efficiency of my daily schedule, cutting veggies up for juicing, the fulfillment of my job, the fulfillment of my closest relationships. the list goes on for-ev-verrrrrrr.

there’s only a few real answers to that question “yes”, “no”, “sorta”, and “not really”. based on these answers, i make decisions about how i choose to think, speak, and act.

when the answer is “no” or “not really”, i try new ways of thinking, speaking and acting. i truly keep an open mind and i try new things. sometimes, the new things don’t help or hurt anything but they aren’t necessarily better. sometimes the new things i try are a step in the right direction but sometimes i try things and end up getting burned.

in my opinion, all outcomes are worth the risk. the burn scars are worth the learning experience and the story. all of the attempts that felt like they got you nowhere were exercises in determination, courage and discipline. and, of course, the new things you try that actually work out great make this whole trial and error game stimulating enough to keep playing.

this is my practice. i’m rather proud of my growth, as well as the scars, that have come from it.

STEP 1: ask yourself, “is that working?”

STEP 2: based on your answer, try new things if necessary.

STEP 3: win some, lose some, get nowhere and go the distance.

STEP 4: observe your growth and tell stories along the way.

Live as a work in progress, die a masterpiece.

from somewhere in the middle of Kansas, Veazey