Cory J Riggs

Have you ever had one bad thing happen early and suddenly the whole day felt shot?
The morning gets interrupted.
The plan changes.
Something takes an hour that wasn't supposed to take five minutes.
And now we're tempted to hand the rest of the day over to it.
But the interruption already took what it took.
It doesn't have to take the rest too.
The morning can go wrong without the whole day becoming wrong.
What happened today that you've been letting decide the rest of your day?

How big does something have to be before we're allowed to be afraid of it?
We look at the giant version.
The stage.
The business.
The relationship.
Whatever we're trying to build.
And we assume that's the scary part.
But sometimes the smaller version scares the hell out of us too.
So maybe the outside size of the thing isn't what decides how big it feels inside.
What are you calling small just because it looks small from the outside?

Having control of our time doesn’t mean all of our time stays open.
That’s something I’m learning.
I left a job where somebody else decided when work started and stopped.
Now I get to decide.
That’s freedom.
But the work still needs somewhere to live.
There is time to hike.
Time to watch football.
Time to do whatever I want.
And there also has to be time where I’m at my desk and I’m working.
What does freedom look like when you also give your work a place to live?

Sometimes the next level of commitment is embarrassingly simple.
Sit down.
Do the work.
I looked at my computer this morning and the thought was basically:
That's where you need to be, man.
That's where the work happens.
Not every part of building a career is a breakthrough.
Sometimes it's a desk, a computer, and actually sitting there long enough to build something.
What does "doing the work" physically look like in your life?

Putting something down right now doesn't mean it wasn't important.
And it doesn't mean we're never going to do it.
Sometimes something can be real and still not be for this moment.
We don't have to turn every no into never.
We don't have to turn every yes into right now.
Sometimes the answer really can be:
Yes.
Just not yet.
Is there something you've been treating like it has to be now or never?

Sometimes we act like putting the work down means we're walking away from it.
It doesn't.
The work will still be there.
We can go take the hike.
Spend time with somebody.
Actually be where we decided to be.
And then come back.
We don't have to hold onto the work every second just to prove we're committed to it.
What are you afraid might happen if you put something down for a little while?

We can receive the message and still never live it.
We can understand something. We can hear it over and over. We can even know that it’s true.
But at some point, we have to do something with it.
It’s a message until you do it.
It’s a path until you walk it.
It’s wisdom until you make it true.
What do you already understand that still needs a step?

Sometimes stepping away doesn’t just take time from the work.
Sometimes it gives something back.
I took a break. I went hiking. I spent time with a friend. I stepped away from the podcast for a few days.
And when I came back, something had changed.
Even the way I was preparing questions and answers was different.
I didn’t step away trying to make that happen.
It just came back with me.
What has stepping away brought back to you?

What if the person you keep trying to become is already showing up in the way you live?
We spend a lot of time looking ahead.
More confident.
More courageous.
More capable.
But at some point, we have to look at the evidence that’s already here.
The decisions we’re making.
The things we’re finally doing.
The way we keep coming back.
Maybe the next step isn’t becoming somebody else.
Maybe it’s recognizing who is already showing up.

A breakthrough can be real without being the finish line.
We can see something differently.
Believe something more deeply.
Feel something finally move.
And still wake up tomorrow with work to do.
One powerful moment doesn’t have to solve our entire life to matter.
It can simply give us something new to build from.
Can you let a breakthrough matter without asking it to finish everything?