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Category: Mindset

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Week One Down: Lights Out at 10 is Working (Mostly)!

One week in, and guess what? I haven’t missed a single 10:00 p.m. bedtime! Okay, maybe there were a couple of nights where it stretched to 10:02, but hey, progress is progress, right?

Seriously though, this first week has been surprisingly positive. I definitely feel a difference:

  • Sharper Focus: My brain fog seems to be lifting! I can concentrate better on tasks, and that afternoon crash I used to experience is a thing of the past.
  • More Awake: No more dragging through the day feeling like a half-deflated balloon. I have more energy to tackle my daily activities.
  • Improved (But Still Improving) Sleep: While some nights were still a bit restless, overall, my sleep quality is on an upward trend. This might be due to the fact that…
  • CPAP Time! I finally decided to dust off my CPAP machine (thanks for the gentle reminder, brain!). Hopefully, this will significantly improve my sleep quality in the coming weeks.

Now, here’s the surprising bonus for someone with cerebral palsy like myself:

  • Less Stomach Trouble: I’ve noticed a decrease in those pesky stomach issues that used to plague me.
  • Bathroom Breaks Reduced: Who knew getting enough sleep could also mean fewer trips to the bathroom?

It’s amazing how much better I feel just by prioritizing sleep. This journey is definitely proving its worth!

Stay tuned for next week’s update, where I’ll share how the CPAP machine is affecting my sleep and if the other benefits continue to hold strong. Who knows, maybe I’ll even crack the code on those restless nights!

Remember, even small changes can make a big difference. If you’re struggling with sleep, why not give the “Lights Out at 10” challenge a try? You might be surprised at the results!

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Lights Out at 10: A 41-Year-Old’s Quest for Sleep (and Sanity!)

Tick-tock, tick-tock… goes the clock, reminding me yet again that it’s well past midnight and my eyelids are doing the dance of exhaustion. As a 41-year-old living with cerebral palsy, let’s just say my sleep schedule has become a distant memory. But enough is enough! I’m embarking on a mission to reclaim my nights, and you’re invited to join me on the journey!

Starting tonight, February 25th, 2024, I’m declaring war on late nights. My new battle cry? Lights out by 10:00 p.m., no exceptions. This might seem drastic, but let’s be honest, my current sleep habits are about as healthy as a three-day-old pizza. It’s time to trade the late-night scrolling for some much-needed shut-eye.

But this isn’t just about catching some Zzz’s (although those are definitely important!). I’m on a quest to uncover the true benefits of a consistent sleep schedule. Will I finally have the energy to tackle my daily activities with renewed focus? Will my brain function at peak capacity, allowing me to manage my life with newfound clarity? Will I, dare I dream, wake up feeling refreshed and ready to seize the day?

I plan to document this experiment in weekly blog posts. I’ll be sharing my struggles and triumphs, the good, the bad, and the (hopefully) well-rested. I want to be transparent about the challenges, the occasional slip-ups, and of course, the amazing benefits (if any!) that come with finally prioritizing sleep.

So, are you ready to witness the transformation of a sleep-deprived 41-year-old into a (hopefully) rejuvenated and energized version? Tune in next week for the first update, and let’s see where this journey takes us! Remember, even small changes can make a big difference, and I’m hoping this experiment inspires others to prioritize their own sleep health.

Sweet dreams (and stay tuned)!

Steve 41 with cerebral palsy
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Middle-aged and crazy

I will write blog posts on rolling motivation.com anymore because it’s something that I haven’t been passionate about for a long time. That’s not a bad thing, the passion I had before was a false sense of who I was, who I was hoping to be, and how I wanted to show up in the world.
I’m not saying by any means that I was being fake, or trying to mislead I can guarantee I had nothing but genuine intentions when I started this blog and every time, I write an article.
I always reflect on past events around my birthday which is in June, also in September (which I think has a lot to do with growing up in school and starting the new year in September), and of course in December around year-end.
It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning, I would say I don’t know who I am I would in fact say I know more about myself now than I ever have and what comes with that is a deep and shocking realization that totals have ever really liked myself. Now that’s a bit shocking to hear, right? Or think about how shocking it is to say and to realize.
Now I can say I like myself more than I ever have in recent months. That’s due to a few things:

  1. Daily meditation (10 minutes or more every day)
  2. understanding that I’m not an entrepreneur and that the best place for me is a job that accentuates my skill set.
  3. Getting said job, which allows me to thrive through good customer service and making connections with people. I love to chat and I’m in a position that allows me to do just that.
  4. I stopped offering unsolicited advice. (I understand the slight irony based on this blog and my YouTube channel etc. Haha)
  5. Surrounding myself with people who not only love and respect me unconditionally but also encourage me to be more of my true self.

I think society has had it wrong for a lot of years.


You always hear things like “no one’s ever going to love you if you don’t love yourself first”
That’s a pretty bold statement and it puts a lot of pressure on people to just figure out how to like themselves especially when most situations, people, and circumstances that you interact with in your life are going to make you question who you are.
The fact of the matter is there have been times in my life when I needed somebody else to love me because I could love myself and that was the only way I started to see value in who I was and start the process of loving myself. You see. I’ve spent so many years trying to fix all the things that people told me are weird or unattractive, or simply will hurt my chances of closing a sale or getting a job.
That’s why I leaned so hard toward self-help I was trying to “fix” all the things that all these people told me were wrong with me. And it has only been recently that I’ve been able to understand that there is a toxic side to self-help and positivity.
Now please listen to me when I say this, I think there are a lot of positives to self-help seminars and personal growth in books and videos. We have access to so much information that anything we want to learn or do to grow is at our fingertips.
On the flip side were inundated with so much information that it can become just as addicting as anything else. I know firsthand that if you keep looking for things that are wrong with you. You’re always going to find something wrong with you. You can always prove your theory there is always going to be a friend, a family member, a coworker, or some person you are trying to date that’s going to point out things you need to work on. However, if you’re not careful you will end up spending all your time “trying to fix yourself” and no time actually discovering who your genuine authentic self is.
I didn’t realize how much I avoided this for so many years. Now that I have had a glimpse of who I genuinely am. I have many wonderful traits and many flaws; the next step is the hardest part of my journey.

Your next question probably is “how do you fully accept yourself?”
My answer: I have no idea but am working on finding out.

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World Cerebral Palsy Day! (Oct 6th)

Steve-38yearold-Cerebral-Palsy

I am 38 years old with Cerebral Palsy since birth and was born three months premature. there were two contributing factors that resulted in me having CP. 1. A lack of oxygen due to underdeveloped lungs, I spent nine weeks in an incubator because I stopped breathing multiple times. The second factor was trauma to the head caused by being pulled out with forceps.

Happy World Cerebral Palsy Day! (Oct 6th)

Taken from BC Cerebral Palsy Website.
World Cerebral Palsy Day is a global movement of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families, and the organizations that support them, in more than 60 countries. The day is an opportunity to celebrate, raise awareness, and take action to ensure that people with CP have the same rights, access, and opportunity as anyone else in their communities.

According to the CDC website.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. CP is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles.

So what does this mean?

The short answer is: Having Cerebral Palsy sucks!
Understandably that’s not the point of world Cerebral Palsy day. The day exists to raise awareness and raise money for things that help research and whatnot. As well as a fight for equal rights and access for those with CP.

I feel like it has to be said as an individual that lives with and “deals with “ Cerebral Palsy on a regular basis, IT PLAIN SUCKS!

  • I deal with pain daily basis.
  • Accessibility issues.
  • Employment/job application struggles and accommodations within that job.
  • People asking me dumb questions.
  • I deal with prejudice

….and so on!

However, for every struggle many things that make me grateful for all the struggles that I have been through.

  • I have developed a critical thinking/solution-based mind that allows me to navigate life and its problems with a completely different lens.
  • Growing up in a wheelchair forced me.to develop my verbal communication skills at a young age. I had to be able to ask for what I needed and be able to express myself in a way that gave me the support I needed throughout my day.
  • It forced me to develop multiple skills in order to compete in the job market.
  • Having CP taught to deal with regret at an early age which allowed me to get used to it.
  • Not to mention all that rejection, Wowza did it make me stronger.

Here a link to learn more Steve.

Here’s the final truth even though I can find the positives with Cerebral Palsy all the struggles are continuous. As I get older they seem to be more and more.

This doesn’t mean that I give up, it means I keep pushing forward ( pun intended).  One thing that I  can guarantee you one thing I am not as happy in my life I appear to be to the outside world both in person and on social media. 

I have to ask myself does that really have anything to do with Cerebral Palsy at all or is that the plight of being a human being?

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5 things I would have done differently in the last 5 years

  1.  I wouldn’t have worried about my “Purpose.”  Seriously, everyone seems to be talking about “finding your purpose” and “If you do what you love you will never work a day in your life”. This is great if you find that but for me, it drove me BAT S*** CRAZY!  In Tools of Titans  Tim Ferriss talks to James Altucher and James dropped these two gems “Haven’t Found Your Overarching, Single Purpose? Maybe You Don’t Have To.”
    “Forget purpose. It’s okay to be happy without one. The quest for a single purpose has ruined many lives.”
  2. I would have blogged more without worrying about the length, SEO, or Google Algorithm. I mean Seth Godin writes daily posts of 50-80 words total with the longest I found was 290 for Sunday Circular. He was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 2017. ( I didn’t even know there was one, until today!)
  3. I would have spent more time Accepting my Cerebral Palsy instead of fighting against and then beating myself up for not being about “power through”.
  4. I wouldn’t have hounded my dad about drinking and smoking and just enjoyed his company and wisdom. My Dad is 65 and works 7 days a week doing drywall. He has smoked cigarettes since he was 15. He also enjoys a few rum and cokes after work, every day.  I used to pester him to stop drinking and smoking and give up his bad habits. Now the story is different. I now realize WE ALL have bad habits, and these are his. Recently, I have been having deeper conversations with him about life, work, and cars (Our shared passion, is cars). I feel closer to him than ever before.
  5. I would have enjoyed more moments. In the past, I was far more concerned with the end result then I was the journey.  Both personally and professionally.
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Disabilities Lead to Business Success

We Hate Stairs is a very focused website it was created and is focused on helping our society become more accessible for those with disabilities and mobility issues.

I will admit right off the bat, that I speak from my own experience of being born with Cerebral Palsy and using and manual wheelchair to get around. I have full sensation and I am blessed to be able to walk with an assertive device for short periods of time. I also drive a car and live independently.

I created this website and my business of Accessibility Consultation out of necessity. I have been involved in the business world through many previous jobs as well as many previous attempts at being an entrepreneur. I am constantly meeting new people and discovering new businesses. A surprising amount of these businesses are not accessible, meaning I cannot even enter the building!

This both frustrated and intrigued me. It was at this point I looked at some of the reasons a business may not be accessible.

Awareness, meaning a lot of have no clue what it is like to be disabled in society and more importantly accessibility for all means more than what “building codes” address!
I don’t know what needs to be done to be more accessible, meaning what changes will I need to make as a business?
The last and I believe the BIGGEST reason for a lack of accessibility, is MONEY! There I said it! I know there will be people out there that will disagree and they will go as far as to argue with me on this point. ( I have been in many debates about the subject of accessibility ). However, when I explain to business owners that people with disabilities have money to spend AND WANT TO SPEND IT IN YOUR BUSINESS, it changes the conversations greatly. I actually use math and tangible numbers to illustrate my point How we help.
It is not just money from business owners that will cure this issue the governments and municipalities need to make accessibility a priority, not only in terms of the customers of businesses but for potential employees as well.

About 25 per cent of British Columbians have a university degree.
In comparison, 17 percent of people with a disability have a university
degree while 33 percent have a non-university post-secondary certificate.

Source: Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, 2011, Statistics Canada

The employment rate for people with disabilities is 18 percentage points
lower than for people without a disability.

Source: Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 2006, Statistics Canada

What these above stats don’t mention, is that most people with a disability enjoy routine in their working environment so businesses that hire someone with a disability will have less turnover.

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Do whatever you want!

RollingMotivationMonday this video explains a little more about why do videos. And it’s not my intention to tell you what to do it’s my intention to document the things that I go through and some tips that I have. If these tips are relevant to you use them if not great. But do whatever you want to do with your life and be whoever you want to be.