If you enjoy these posts – you might enjoy a copy of my book, “Happiness is Over There” – which is a personal memoir detailing the stories, learnings, and exercises I used to shift my life from dark and chaotic to a life of light and productivity.  Through Paperclip Thinking LLC, I also support group and individual coaching sessions as well as book talks for groups of 15-20.  You can connect with me through www.paperclipthinking.com or you can email me at travis@paperclipthinking.com to arrange book delivery.

I work with high school students, college students, and adults who have in interest in a different way of thinking and living.  The anxiety that plagues so many is painful to hear about: the incessant use of technology (as a means of pulling away from dialogue and connection); how we define bullying; fear of failure, the illusion that is perfection; must have a 4.0, have to score 1300+ on the SAT, should play a sport in college, have to have the best body, need to make my parents proud, must be an entrepreneur, have to have a huge income, need to send my kids to an Ivy League school…any of this sound familiar?

Yes- all of this MUST, SHOULD, HAVE, and NEED pressure drove me bat shit crazy too, yet so many of us still seem to wonder why ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Mass Shootings, Loneliness, and Pain appear on the Top List of all of our news channels?

I’ve had enough.  Have you?  If so…I have an invitation for you.  I have a program that I created after working my way out of “the box”.  I use the metaphor of “the box” because that’s what life used to feel like.  That box of pressure, fear, anxiety, and depression that I seemed to live in.  The beautiful news…all of that stuff that you read about, that I just listed, and we all quiver about from time to time, is partly a self-inflicted illusion (at least it was, for me).  There is another way of thinking, behaving, and responding to the world around us.  I won’t claim that stress, pain, and some of the discomfort that seems to be the norm today will simply vanish or disappear, but what I can say is that I have been practicing a new set of behaviors and they support me in seeing the creativity, the beauty, the innovation, the prosperity, and the love that is in our world.

If you feel overwhelmed by the life you’re currently living…feel free to reach out and I’m happy to share what I learned and how I apply it.  Maybe it could benefit you, too?

That Gorge we perceive looks deep and dark.

How do we cross? How do we part?

Part from the path where pain exists.

Across to a place where harmony persists.

One board at a time.

One board more.

Through patience and persistence- this is not a chore.

Invest in you, learn and grow, so you can experience the world’s beauty and flow.

Is this a bridge that will pave the way?

Can we build this bridge each and every day?

Building is powerful, it’s time with Dad, the time we’ve loved

and the time we’ve had.

Welcome all who build together.

For in the end we’ll fly light as a feather.