Advertise on podcast: Meaningful Mondays - Arrows Out

“What if the greatest value of where you’re going isn’t the reason you went?” — Lee Brower “Never mistake activity for achievement.” — John Wooden “Get in motion toward what matters. You never know what you’ll pollinate along the way.” — Lee Brower

“The tree that never had to fight / For sun and sky and air and light / But stood out in the open plain / And always got its share of rain / Never became a forest king / But lived and died a scrubby thing.”  – Douglas Malloch, “Good Timber” “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” A proverb – If we calm all the seas, where do they learn to sail? Friction is where discernment resides. It is where critical thinking begins.

“Gratitude unexpressed is ingratitude perceived.” “Gladness is what happens when gratitude becomes visible.” Today I challenge you: Before today is over, make the gratitude that is within you visible to one person.

“There are no losers in this tournament. Only winners and learners.” — Nick “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” — Jackie Robinson — (he took more bad calls than anyone). “It was never about them. They were playing for something much bigger.” “All you get to decide is the next pitch. And you never decide it alone.” “Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.” — Charles Swindell

Vision creates motion; worry gives us Motion Sickness “Is the future you’re imagining inspiring your NOW, or stealing it? “Vision and worry are both acts of imagination” → “Vision borrows inspiration; worry borrows trouble” → “we pay for both NOW.” TEARs = Time, Energy, Attention, Resources. “Worry imports an imagined FUTURE into the NOW and charges us for it today.” “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” — Corrie ten Boom

What you feed follows you. What you starve loses its power. You have the power to redirect your TEAR’s. From worry → gratitude and action. From regret → wisdom. From resentment → forgiveness. From comparison → contribution. From scrolling → connection. From “if only” → “knowing what I know now.”

“Can’t find gratitude today? Look anyway. The looking may be where gratitude begins.” “When you can’t find something to be grateful for, look anyway.” “It’s not finding gratitude that matters most; it’s remembering to look in the first place.” Grateful FOR asks, ” What happened that deserves my gratitude?” Grateful IN asks, “Who will I choose to be in this moment?” “Gratitude isn’t the reward we receive when circumstances improve. It is a way of being while our circumstances are unfolding.” Guilt looks backward. Worry looks forward. Gratitude brings us into the NOW. All choices happen in the moment where gratitude resides.

What if you’ve spent years looking for something that was never lost — only idle? “Don’t wait for purpose to give you direction. Make a contribution—and let contribution reveal the direction.” — Lee Brower Maybe purpose isn’t something we find. Maybe purpose is something we activate. — Lee Brower “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.” — Viktor Frankl

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” — Phil Collins “Wisdom held is inventory. Wisdom moved is a legacy.” — Lee Brower “A river doesn’t make its own water. Not one drop.” — Lee Brower “Nobody is the river. Everybody is a tributary.” — Lee Brower

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” – Cicero “Don’t wait for answered prayers to become grateful. Let gratitude become your prayer.” “What can I be grateful for today… before I know how today turns out?” “Gratitude nurtures humility. It strengthens faith. It fuels generosity. It opens our hearts to compassion. It shapes our character.” “Gratitude doesn’t change our circumstances. It changes us. How we see. How we choose. How we show up.”

“Character is what you do when no one is watching—and especially when no one is expecting.” — Charles Swindoll (adapted) “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” — John Wooden “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

Life doesn’t ask us to become someone new in moments of crisis. It asks us to remember who we’ve been becoming. The greatest leaders don’t trust themselves to rise to the occasion. They prepare themselves to retrieve from a lifetime of intentional learning. “This week, don’t ask yourself, ‘How will I handle the next crisis?’ Ask yourself, ‘What deposit am I making today that my future self will someday need to withdraw?’ “Extraordinary performance comes from ordinary moments that are intentionally harvested over many years.” – Lee Brower “Harvest the lesson before you leave the moment.” – Lee Brower

I asked Warren Buffett what he considered the keys to his success. He shared three keys that reflect humility, gratitude, and stewardship. “We don’t simply inherit freedom. We become stewards of it.” – Lee Brower

The Unfinished Promise… America wasn’t finished in 1776, it was launched. The Founding Fathers gave us the possibility of America. Whether that possibility continues to grow… depends on what you and I choose to do today. This Independence Day, don’t just celebrate freedom—participate in it. The possibilities envisioned by those who came before us won’t be realized by spectators. They will be realized by people like you and me, choosing every day to live with faith, character, courage, gratitude, and personal responsibility. That’s how possibility becomes legacy. “The enemy of Freedom is arriving.” – Lee Brower “Possibility is God’s gift to us. Stewardship is our gift back.” – Lee Brower The Declaration of Independence declared possibility. The Constitution organized possibility. Every generation is invited to enlarge possibility.

Reposted on June 23, 2026: – The Miracle of Butterflies Repost: In the coming weeks, you are going to hear more about the miracle of butterflies, including something else your kids don’t know.  To kick it off, listen to this Meaningful Monday almost 10 years ago and let me know what you think.  – Lee Brower What can we learn about the change of a caterpillar into a butterfly? Quote to remember: “If you don’t pet it, it won’t follow you home.” Reposted on June 23, 2026: – The Miracle of Butterflies