Every Day is a Choice
Let's get one thing perfectly clear:
You're reading this because you want to improve.
But before that...
Who is the person you speak to most?
Knows you better than anyone?
Your greatest enemy?
Knows everything about you?
All your fears, anxieties, and vulnerabilities.
It's you.
You talk to yourself more than any one person on the planet.
Our thoughts and emotions evolve daily.
They are the greatest predictors of our lives.
The average person has 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day.
70% are negative and 95% are repetitive.
The best part?
You have a choice.
You can turn those thoughts into positive outcomes.
Where you are right now is a result of the habit you've built and the choices you've made.
It's a combination of how you think and how you choose to spend your time.
Henry Ford:
Mindset is your superpower.Whether you think you can, or think you can't - you're right.
The Effect You Expect is the Effect You Get
We know that we have thousands of thoughts a day.
It turns out that the way you think becomes a habit.
It shapes the way your body reacts to living.
Psychologist Alia Crum ran experiments on a group of maids.
At the time ⅔ of the maids believed that their work was not exercise.
Crum then educated half the maids that the work they did was good for them.
Crum changed half the mindsets of the maids.
They went on to continue their day to day.
At the end of the study the maids who believed their work was good for them changed.
They had lower blood pressure and improved mood.
The other half who believed their work was bad for their health remained the same.
The Dynamic Duo: Persistence & Positive Thinking
You can't think your way to success.
Thoughts must be paired with action.Conrad Hilton:
Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don't quit.
A thoughtful person who takes no action is a car with no gas
A lamp with no bulb.
I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.
Kobe Bryant
It Was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times
Hard times are good for you.
As counter-intuitive as it may seem,
the hardest times breed the best of times.
Ones search for meaning,
Ones struggle.
These are the inflection points.
When something challenges you,
you have two choices:
Option 1:
- Wallow in self pity
- Blame others
- Blame consequences.
Option 2:
- Take extreme ownership
- Commit to improve every day
- Put in the work
There are far too many stories of people who have overcome the hardest of times and come out stronger.
An extreme example of this is from the renowned Wall Street hedge fund investor named Bill Ackman.
At the time Bill had just lost a billion dollars, yes, one billion dollars.
He was also going through divorce.
He was getting sued by another hedge fund investor named Carl Icahn.
He also had Brad Pitt trying to court his new girl.
He could have wallowed in the misery that was his reality..
But instead took small steps every single day to improve.
Hard work and tough times breeds grit.
Grit is a trait that is required to win.
My Obsession with Time
I've always loved thinking about time.
It is our most precious resource.
Warren Buffett would give up his billions to have time back.
At one point I wrote down every minute of the day, using a product called the Best Self-Journal.
I did this from 2017 to 2020.
This practice allows you to understand where your time goes.
I recommend tracking your time by hand for at least a couple of months.
There's software tools that also track this, some paid, some free on the paid list.
there's Rize.com, as well as Toggl Track.
For the developers, there are Open Source versions:
These tools automatically track what apps you're using in the background.
If you prefer - you can sign up for Map which supports automated time tracking.
How Time Applies to Goal Setting
Example goal: 10,000 subscribers on YouTube in the next quarter
You can't control that outcome.
You can control the inputs.You can make a commitment to publish 2 videos per week.
Alex Hormozi talk's about this at length.
You have to do far more thank you think.
You control the inputs.
You can check out Alex's Goal Setting guide here.
Practical Next Steps
Self care is not selfish. It's a necessity.
Get your sleep right.
Get your exercise right.
Get your food right.
Create a simple morning routine that moves you in the direction of your goals.
Trying to lose weight?
Walk 15 minutes a day after lunch and dinner.
Trying to become a better writer?
Write 1 hour a day.
At first it will be hard.
That's normal.
Regardless of the goal, you need to tie it a daily or weekly action.
Plan your day the night before.
Grab an index card and scribble down the big 3 things you need to do tomorrow.
Ask yourself "what will move me towards my goals?"
This will help you sleep better.
If you're going the extra mile,
Write down the 3 wins from that day.
Did you talk to your mom? Good.
Did you make progress on a big goal? Good.
Did you exercise? AWESOME.
This simple practice creates a feedback loop.
People need positive feedback.
Long terms goals can be tough.
You can lose momentum if you aren't keeping yourself aware of the progress you're making.
Now go on.. start to put it in place. It'll work.
If you're interested in learning more, here are a few resources: