Josh Allred's Blog

During the Bronze and Iron Age, human life expectancy at birth was just 26 years.

Fast forward to today and the LEB is 67 years.

That is a miracle.

How did we accomplish this?

Slowly. Overtime with technology, modern medicine, improved access to education, raising the standards of living, better sanitation (and so much more) we were then able to solve problems of high infant mortality, epidemics, plagues, wars, and childbirth.

By simply being born in the modern era, you have been gifted more time than anyone that has come before us.

67 years times 365 days comes out to 24,455 days. Let’s round-up.

You have 25,000 days to do something with your life. No matter how many days left, every day is a chance to turn it all around and make something great.

We tend to think that feedback is when one person on their own has the bravery to speak to us about what they honestly think of our work.

I have found this to be incredibly rare. Most conversation prodded by the producer and is seeking reassurance.

Yet, feedback can be achieved when we publish a blog or launch a business. The best feedback comes when you interact with the market. Silence might mean two things:

You’re telling the story the wrong way to the wrong audience

or

It’s not good enough yet.

Either way, it’s always back to the drawing board.

As they say, the secret of good writing is rewriting.

The problem with politics and social media is that many now believe that their views are under attack.

This siege mentality is one filled with scarcity.

If you believe that you are being attacked then you are going to look at your current resources and hold tightly. You become worried about yourself first.

Worst, you might even turn to someone who doesn’t actually align with your values that promises order.

It’s worth examing how we contribute to this:

Are my words filled with combative language

or

Am I working towards building a better future together?

[Someone with plenty and in power is unlikely to move. Someone without enough struggles to have their voice heard. Where it gets interesting are those that lie in between.]

We’ve finished remodeling upstairs of our house. It was more than I ever want to do ever again. Plumbing, electrical, flooring, everything was replaced from the studs.

Since moving in, I have struggled to start the next project.

Fortunately, I am in a position that I haven’t needed to start something new.

Which reminds me:

Don’t just do something. Be more intentional about what you are doing next. If that means resting for a while then rest.

….

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If everything were as simple as following a cake recipe, would we have the complex challenges of today?

As society evolves so do the problems that come with it.

It’s easy to envy about a simpliar time and a simpiliar way.

Yet, there still has never been a better time to live today.

Our brain will always tells us that the grass is greener anywhere than we are.

Instead of wishing for a better tomorrow, live it.

There is no simple set of instructions, don’t wait around for someone to tell you where to go next.

Every story has a titile.

What’s yours going to be?

The reason rats continue to run in circles is that they don’t stop and think why they are in the situation they are in.

If you haven’t asked why you are running around feeling the stress of never catching up, it may be time to try things differently.

Same approach generally lead you to the same results.

Much like swimming, your odds of drowning go significantly up when there is no one else around to rescue you.

Too often, because of shame, we think we need to go it alone.

But if you are to swim the waters of recovery, don’t do it alone.

First, the kind of tired that needs sleep.

The second, the kind of tired that needs peace.

Unfortunately, so many are feeling the latter in 2020.

The question is, Where are you going to put the tired?

Blockbuster still failed with every resource anyone could ever dream of.

All that money, real estate, brand recognition, status…eventually, it was all gone.

Because they couldn’t see a world outside what they had created.

Those with power will always try to maintain the status quo, to keep things as it is.

Those without imagine a new world of possibility.