But from time to time, I’ll be somewhere where commercials are shown. It amazes me at how rude and commanding these things can be. When watching them, I often think about all the poor souls that watch them regularly, seeing the same ones tens of times each day.

Eventually these commercials become full associations in the brain. People begin to truly believe them, reiterating these messages subconsciously. This is bad news for the watcher, but great news for the marketer (this effect is their goal: brainwashing).

Of course, there are some great, clever commercials from time to time. But in general, commercials are contributing to people growing less and less aware of what’s really important, what’s reality. It’s pretty sad.

Don’t watch commercials.

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But during most of my time Florida, I couldn’t swim. Just couldn’t do it.

I did very much enjoy being in the water, with water wings. I would often put on a mask or goggles and put my head under the water, looking around and wishing I could just swim.

Then one day in a pool, all alone, with goggles on and my head submerged, I simply picked up my feet and started swimming around. From that day on, I could swim. Just like that.

Maybe it was fear of drowning or just fear of the unknown. As soon as I really tried it, on my own, with no one else around, I got it. And it was a breeze.

Many of the things we’re most afraid of are often the easiest things to conquer.

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My garage, which also acts as my brewery, is really more of a storage room, holding loads of boxes and other stuff that I doubt we’ll ever really use. Stuff I never bought, stuff my wife never bought, but stuff that we’ve just accumulated.

Our music room is loaded with musical instruments, most of which we don’t want to get rid of, but also most of which we rarely play. There’s the odd day when we drag out the djembe for a quick jam or pull out the mandolin to handle the melody for one song, but it’s not very often.

It’s time to lose some weight, some stuff. Having too much stuff is expensive, as you’ll need to make sure you’ve got places to put all your stuff. And the more stuff you have, the more room you’ll need. Square footage is a huge factor in real estate prices.

Lose some weight. Make some space, then get rid of that space. Otherwise you’ll just end up acquiring more stuff to fill it back up.

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It’s time you stopped waiting for the right moment. There is no moment but the present, and that’s already gone.

Action is key, when combined with intention. Intend, act, refine.

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Rather than spending all your time trying to think of the next great thing, you should go ahead and start on one of your ideas. Just begin.

Ready, fire, aim.

If you’re going to wait for the next million dollar, golden ticket idea, prepare to keep waiting. You’d better get really good at waiting.

Go for several bronze ticket items now. What are you waiting for? Just begin.

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Some people have an extremely difficult time saying no to any request.

Saying no can actually be very empowering. To your surprise you may find that saying no actually results in more respect. It’s quite an odd phenomenon.

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And we spent some time in hammocks on the beach on our honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico:

The hammocks are constructed in essentially the same way, but there’s quite a difference in overall mood. An atmosphere can change everything.

Which one would you prefer?

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We used to walk or ride our bikes up to Sunset Beach in Tarpon Springs, FL. We lived just a few blocks away. I was never very good at snorkeling, though I did it all the time. That was about 21 years ago.

Recently on my honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico, Michelle and I went snorkeling several times at our hotel, and we went on a snorkeling excursion with Fury Catamarans. They served us beer and margaritas and brought us to two reefs (Palancar and somewhere else, can’t remember) and then brought us to a private beach, where they served us more beer and cheeseburgers. The whole cheeseburger in paradise thing became a reality.

The private beach was absolutely beautiful. Crystal clear, mostly shallow water for a few hundred yards, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, inflatable slides and trampolines. I could’ve spent days on that beach!

The snorkeling was great. Some other people on the excursion said that the reefs weren’t the same as they used to be; Hurricane Wilma apparently did some real damage to Cozumel. But to me, a guy who’s never seen the Caribbean, the reefs were awesome! So beautiful and so much life! As a kid I was always a bit afraid of barracudas. I saw a few, and they didn’t seem to care that I even existed. No worries!

It took me a bit of practice to get the hang of snorkeling again, and after a few dives and several lovely gulps of ocean water, I felt quite comfortable. I managed to dive and resurface without removing my snorkel and draining it. I could happily snorkel every day!

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If you’re having a bad day or if you’re just finding yourself feeling—in the words of my father in law—less than premium, try smiling just a bit. Even a little bit. Your amygdala will recognize the smile as a positive reaction to whatever stimulus (the amygdala doesn’t know what’s really going on) and send happy goodness through your body.

This is an extremely easy trick to cheer yourself up just a bit. Try it.

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