Dear Readers of Acceler8Success Café,

If you’re doing some last-minute shopping, traveling to celebrate Christmas, or putting the finishing touches on your home before family and friends arrive, I want to encourage you to take it slow. Breathe. Move through today with a little more patience and a little less pressure. You’ve been anticipating this season for weeks, and now it’s here—so let it be enjoyed, not endured.

I hope you’ll focus your thoughts on laughter and joy as loved ones gather. Let the moments be simple. Let the conversations be real. And if you can, sprinkle in an act of kindness or two because it has a way of bringing peace not only to the person receiving it, but to you as well. Smile, and do it often. Make today, tonight, and tomorrow a memory you’ll look back on as another special chapter… one you’ll want to replicate for years to come.

It’s also important to acknowledge what many of us already know in our hearts: it’s been a tough, stressful few years for a lot of people. That’s one of the reasons I’ve continued sharing uplifting images, encouraging messages, and “feel-good” posts to help fill our minds with good thoughts, calm, and hope. If something I share brings you even a moment of peace, please pass it along. We never really know when a simple post or a kind message lands in front of someone who needs it, someone who’s struggling quietly, someone who feels alone, someone who might be one encouraging word away from choosing a better path forward. And as we celebrate, let’s also keep in our thoughts those family and friends who are no longer with us. Their absence can feel especially close this time of year, and remembering them is its own form of love.

This holiday season, I also hope you’ll remember those serving our country who cannot be home with their friends and families. Their service and the sacrifice of those who served before them helps make it possible for so many of us to enjoy the blessings of this season in the way we choose, surrounded by the people we love. God bless them all, and please keep them safe.

As we enjoy family, food, and gifts, let’s also look beyond the festive nature of Christmas and remember the reason for the season. A Savior is born. Christ is King. Merry Christmas.

And for those who celebrate this season for different reasons, I hope you’ll still embrace the heart of what makes this time meaningful. It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters most, it’s who is around it with you.

From my family to yours, best wishes for a truly joyous Christmas filled with love, happiness, peace, and prosperity. Be safe, be present, and may this season bring you renewed strength and hope for the year ahead.

“May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.” ― Unknown

Merry Christmas,

Paul Segreto