Welcome to the School of Life.
For me, September has always felt like the start of something new.
New backpacks. New notebooks. New pencils. New teachers. My favorite new back-to-school item? The almighty Trapper Keeper.
Even if you’re long past your school days, there’s something about this season that makes us feel like it’s time to learn again.
I’ve been thinking…
What if the most important education continues long after we leave school?
Over the past month, I realized something. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be another lesson waiting for me. I found them in ordinary moments that are so easy to walk past.
The more I reflected on the month, the more I realized life had been teaching me all along.
Growth Can Happen Overnight
I have a tiny sago palm sitting with the other plants in my office. Sonic the Sago is a fun reminder of my time living in Florida. I think sagos are so cool. They were around when dinos roamed the earth over 200 million years ago!
One day, Sonic looked exactly as she always had.
The next morning, a brand-new palm frond had appeared.
Overnight!
How often do we think growth has to be slow enough to witness every step?
Sometimes it is. Sometimes the roots have been doing their work quietly, and one day the growth simply becomes visible.
It made me wonder how many times we’ve been growing without giving ourselves credit for it.
Some Lessons Come With Tuition
Recently, I accidentally spent an additional $79 on the wrong toilet.
Definitely not how I planned to spend that money.
Once I got over the frustration, I realized I had a choice. I could keep replaying the mistake… Or I could decide that I had just paid $79 for an education.
These days I think about mistakes differently. Instead of asking, “Why did this happen?” I’ve started asking, “What did this experience teach me?”
Every lesson becomes more valuable when we carry the wisdom forward. It’s how we heal from the pain. It’s how we learn not to make the same mistake again. There’s never loss, only lessons.
Regret Can Be a Good Teacher
I was watching Pitmasters when one of the contestants said something that made me pause.
“I’ve discovered in life that the regret of trying and failing at a thing is much easier to live with than the regret of never having tried. So maybe we struck out, but at least we stepped up to the plate.”
I immediately recorded it. Then I learned something else about him. He had grown up Amish.
That meant there was a version of his life where he never would have been standing on that stage. He never would have entered a barbecue competition. He never would have shared those words with millions of people.
He had to make a courageous change before he ever had the chance to take that swing.
I love that he didn’t talk about winning.
He talked about trying.
How many opportunities have we talked ourselves out of because we were trying to protect ourselves from failure? What if the greater risk is never giving ourselves the chance?
There are plenty of things in life that don’t work out the way we hope. Even so, I think curiosity is a much lighter thing to carry than “what if.”
Pace Has a Purpose
City Island in Harrisburg is home to some amazing wildlife. So, you could guess my reaction to watching a massive tortoise making its way across the pavement.
There was no urgency. No rushing (though she was moving!), she was just steadily progressing down the path.
It made me smile.
We spend so much time measuring ourselves against everyone else’s timeline that we can forget our own pace is perfectly capable of getting us where we need to go. Have you ever met the Joneses we’re striving to be?
Progress doesn’t mean you need to move faster; progress’s only requirement is to keep moving.
The Ordinary Is Worth Paying Attention To
I was at my nephew’s birthday party, making my way through the food line.
Fruit. Veggies. Pizza. Potato chips… I grabbed a handful and kept moving. I had no idea one of the chips looked the way it did.
Then I looked down… and it was a perfect heart.
How does that even happen?!
Was the potato shaped like a heart? Did it somehow break into a heart? Did the marketing department come up with another way to promote fried potatoes? I have no idea, but there it was, sitting on my plate.
Of course I took a picture.
People probably think it’s funny that I stop and photograph things like this, but it’s a perfect example of how I move through the world.
I see hearts.
I see smiley faces.
I see little reminders everywhere.
Some people see Jesus in their toast; I see hearts in potato chips.
The moment I see one, I know exactly what it means to me.
The universe has my back. I’m loved. I’m cared for. I’m supported.
That little potato chip was yet another reminder of something I already believe… That life, and love from the universe, is delicious.
If you stumble across something beautiful today, give yourself permission to enjoy it.
Life Is Always Teaching
As everyone heads back to school this September, here’s my invitation to you.
Keep your eyes open. Pay attention to what makes you stop. Pay attention to what makes you think. Pay attention to what makes you smile.
Then ask yourself one simple question:
“What is this trying to teach me?”
You don’t have to ace every lesson, or understand it immediately. My hope is you don’t miss the opportunity to learn from it.
Life is an incredible teacher! The more willing we are to learn, the more prepared we become for whatever comes next.
I’ll see you in class.
Bringing the School of Life to Work
Every organization is learning something right now.
The question is whether your team has the time, space, and support to recognize the lesson before it turns into frustration, burnout, or missed opportunity.
That’s the work I love most.
Through my Stress Less, Serve More keynote and workshop, I help leaders and teams turn everyday challenges into practical tools they can use to lead with greater confidence, resilience, and presence.
If you’re planning an all-staff meeting, conference, or team development day for 2027, I’d love to help your people discover the lessons that move them forward.
After all…
Class is already in session.
The best teams never stop learning.