JUSTIN ROGERS

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Choices

Sparkle Noticer

April 10, 2026

What is a sparkle noticer?

It’s what I call the people out in the world that notice real presence. I’ve been to 5 different states in the US across the past few months and everywhere I go I’m trying to make connections with strangers.

Buying a coffee, passing a stranger, getting in a lift; these are all opportunities to connect with another human.

And the rule is you can’t just say hi and look away.

You have to actually be present. You have to SPARKLE.

Sadly, most people are quite closed off to strangers. I turn on my sparkliest most present eyes and give them a sweet little hello… and there’s often not a response.

And that’s okay! I get it, it’s a bit weird.

But now and then… you get a sparkle noticer.

Someone who catches the sparkle and notices the real life presence you’re bringing to a moment.

They see you seeing them and thus you see each other!

The goal for me isn’t to be the person always saying hi with a warm smile.

The goal is to become the person who notices the sparkles when they fly my way.

We all get caught up and walled off day to day. But if we let ourselves, we can be a sparkle noticer and the world is a deliciously good place when you let that in.

Wrapping paper

April 9, 2026

I’m a big believer in wrapping paper.

I’m mostly fine with people speaking their mind. If I’m in the way, tell me. If I’m being too loud, please let me know.

My problem comes when people put it in the wrong wrapping paper.

For example, someone is speaking a little too loud. You can tell them to ‘shut up’. Or you can gently let them know know.

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.

You can say the difficult thing, but you can do it with kindness, levity and generosity.

I’m a BIG believer in wrapping paper.

Grumpy service people

April 3, 2026

They say grumpy service-people are only that way because they’ve been burned in the past. They’ve had to deal with lots of difficult people, so they front foot it, I guess, and are mean first.

This is backwards.

I’d rather be nice to mean people than be mean to nice people.

You, the best.

March 29, 2026

I love this idea of a ‘resourceful state’

It just means a way that you are, physically and mentally where you are able to access your inner resources.

It’s a sunny Saturday morning and you’re powering through your chores. There’s a smile on your dial and everything feels simple and figure-outable.

I’m obsessed with the ability to get into this mode whenever I want.

Turns out it’s as simple as remembering a time you were in that state, and re-creating your internal and external world to match.

How were you standing? What was your face doing? How were your eyes? Your breath? What kinds of things were you saying to yourself in your head? What were you focussing on?

It’s no surprise that these are the same tools actors use to change their biochemistry.

How do you want to be, do what do you need to do?

Don’t relinquish your control.

March 27, 2026

We don’t have control of everything… but we do have control of a lot.

We get to choose what we bring to an interaction or situation. Of course we can’t control what happens there, but we can choose our lens.

And that counts for a lot.

Who do you want to be at work today? How do you want the people you meet with today to feel? How much fun do you want to bring to your day today?

We can’t choose it all, but we can choose the stuff that matters.

Don’t relinquish your control.

No prizes for stubborness

March 18, 2026

Do you follow rules that no longer matter?

Last year I set a goal for myself to act every day- and the way I did that was by daily making a little video and posting it.

And I did it. Yay!

But the interesting thing was, somewhere along the way I disconnected from the actual outcome.

I set myself the ‘rule’ that I had to post something every day. And so I stuck to that rule religiously.

But in so doing, I lost sight of what I really wanted to be doing: creating something of value that I loved and that other people could love to.

So instead of noticing that and shifting my approach, I stuck to the rule.

So I’m very mindful now of getting rid of that which no longer serves me.

Am I following this rule because I’m too stubborn to change?

Or is it still taking me where I want to go?

Don’t continue to do something just because you said you would…

Each day you learn more and get closer to knowing what it actually is that you want.

And your previous decisions and commitments may not serve the updated picture.

Don’t be stubborn. Be flexible.

Little Tweaks

March 17, 2026

Sometimes we need a giant change…

And sometimes we need a little tweak.

(More often that not it’s the little tweak)

Before the giant change…

Make a few little tweaks.

And then some more little tweaks.

You’ll probably be fine with just those.

And you’ll probably experience giant change

From the little tweaks.

Choosing, not waiting

March 16, 2026

What if freedom wasn’t a thing you had to work toward one day having, but it was a choice?

I suppose the first step is deciding what freedom means to you. For me, I defined freedom as not having all my time taken by checking emails or messages.

So instead of waiting till that magical day when somehow I’d outsourced my emails and messages… I just decided to check them less.

I created a structure around when I would check these things. I check social media on a Wednesday and I check email twice a day.

Instead of hours dripping away minute by minute across the days because I was repeatedly and constantly checking these things, I was spending concentrated time blocks on them.

Now I have that ‘freedom’ I was after, and I didn’t have to wait.

What if you didn’t have to wait, but just had to choose?

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