A Year of Daily Lift Tips

Besides eating, breathing, and sleeping (maybe…), what is something you've done for the past 365 days in a row?

Back on February 9, 2011, I began writing Daily Lift Tips on my Twitter account (@LiftLiving) as a way to translate some of the lessons I was learning as I transitioned onto a path that will lead me towards more fulfillment in my life.

Originally, I set out to "simplify some of my thoughts and insights on ways to Lift your life" (read my original post HERE), but as the year wore on I realized that this quest to find a Daily Lift Tip made me more aware of the lessons that were right in front of me all along. Only instead of passing by some of these gems on my old path towards a concept of success that was defined by my peers, generations before us, and an evolving society, I was in tune to the inspiration I'd always searching for and it was in my own daily life!

There was the time my son was rummaging through a box of old CDs in our den and stumbled on a recording of a gig I played back in 2002. I was let go from Arthur Andersen 9 months into my first job and shortly after, during a night involving a lot of liquid courage, I got up at an open mic and played No Such Thing by John Mayer. The open mic host and bar owner asked me back and I ended up supplementing my unemployment income with tip jar money playing covers all night around bars in Chicago. Naturally, I started writing songs of my own and my son found the only evidence they existed from a gig at McDunna's (formerly Hog Head McDunna's) in a box in my den 9 years later. I popped in the CD and as we listened to my original songs, a lyric I wrote and forgot about jumped out at me leading to Daily Lift Tip #71:

DLT#71: "It's not what you don't have, it's what you can't live without."

Then there was the period of time where my wife and I were potty training our son, and as any parent can attest, there are plenty of accidents along the way towards the end goal of a diaper free child. During our potty training days I slowly realized there were parallels in my son's potty training journey with my transition into a different approach to life as my true self. Only instead of wet underwear, my accidents involved falling back on old habits I was trying to break free of that were leading me towards a life of average fulfillment. On the day I connected this parallel, Daily Lift Tip #103 almost wrote itself:

DLT#103: "Making big changes in life is like potty training. You will have accidents, but ultimately you're sitting on a new throne."

Or when I recently started to travel again for work and was taking off late in the afternoon in a light rainstorm from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of four consecutive nights away from my hot wife and son and the weather wasn't helping my mood. When our plane broke through the cloud layer I was greeted with a beautiful sunset that reminded me of the one that graced our wedding day in Marco Island, FL back in 2006. Suddenly my mood changed to one of peace and gratitude and Daily Lift Tip #350 was created:

DLT#350: "When there are clouds over your mood, know that the sun is shining above them."

With the exception of DLT#195 and DLT #216, all of the Daily Lift Tips were original thoughts of mine based on an experience or concept that struck me during the day. While the process of finding inspiration in my daily life and translating it to my Twitter account was sometimes stressful and at the 11th hour, for the most part it was very therapeutic and challenged me to create something new every day (DLT#312...).

I want to thank everyone that Liked / Favorited / Re-Tweeted / Commented on Daily Lift Tips I created over the past year. Knowing that something I was learning in my life resonated with what others were going through in their lives gives me the energy and confirmation that translating inspirational and motivational concepts is something I want to continue to pursue.

And I have a lot up my sleeve, so stay tuned...

With that said, I am going to heed the advice of one of my earliest Daily Lift Tips from my hotel room service menu in San Francisco, CA:

DLT#3: "Take time to celebrate your accomplishments. Even if it's a random donut break, you've earned it!"

Live Full,

Roger