Good morning.
And welcome to morning cereal
Okay, good morning and welcome to Friday.
We made it and it feels good, doesn't it?
Well, it's gonna feel better,
especially if you're a cat person.
Well, you probably already had today
circled on your calendar
because today is
international hug your cat day.
So if you're so inclined
and you have a feline friend,
give them a good old squeeze.
By the way, did you guys see that guy
that sailed to Hawaii with just his cat?
He became an overnight celebrity.
Well, I digress.
Back to the here and now.
Today is also fakesgiving,
a day to gather with friends
and to enjoy Thanksgiving style feast
without all the holiday stress, right?
Fakesgiving.
Although I think for us in our household,
most of that stress is
around the huge meal prep.
Well, lastly, let's not forget
National Hole in My Bucket Day.
Because who needs
reminding that sometimes
even the simplest of tasks
can have their complications.
Seems like the story of my life at times.
Well, lucky for me and for you,
our quote today speaks
to just those moments.
Idina Menzel said, quote,
"You can't get it right all the time,
"but you can try your best," end quote.
And that's a perfect reminder
that striving for perfection
all the time can be exhausting
because sometimes just doing your best
is all that's necessary.
Well, today's news facts and
birthdays are for May 30th.
And we're gonna start back
in 1911 when on this date,
the first Indianapolis 500 was run
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Now Ray Horan took the
checkered flag in a race
that would become an American tradition.
Then moving up to
1971, when on this date,
NASA's Mariner 9, it
was launched towards Mars.
And eventually it
became the first spacecraft
to orbit another planet.
Then in 1996 on this date,
the game-changing search engine, Ask
Jeeves, was launched.
Because apparently even in the 90s,
we were outsourcing our
questions to someone else.
Now, if you remember
using Jeeves like I do,
we spent more time waiting
for those results to load
than we did learning anything.
Well, finally on this date back in 1997,
the fifth element was
the number one movie
at the box office.
And that gave Gen X a visually wild,
oddly philosophical
ride starring Bruce Willis
and Chris Tucker.
And if you remember, Chris
Tucker was in leopard print.
Very nice.
Well, happy birthday to you
if today is your birthday.
You share a birthday with CeeLo Green,
the American singer-songwriter.
He's 50 today.
Also Idina Menzel,
she's the Broadway star
and voice of Elsa, everybody knows.
She's 54 today.
And Tom Morello, he's 60 today.
He's the guitarist from
Rage Against the Machine.
And lastly,
powerhouse country music icon,
Wynonna Judd, she turned 60 today.
Well, the number one song
on this date back in 1988
was "Anything For You" by Gloria Stefan
and the Miami Sound Machine.
Now this ballad showcased
Gloria's powerful vocals
and it marked a significant
crossover success for her.
The song remains one of
her most memorable hits
and it resonated with fans worldwide.
Transitioning from the rhythms of the 80s
to the rhythms of personal growth.
I don't know, that might be a reach,
but we're diving into Stephen R. Covey's
"The Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People."
And today we're focusing
on part two, habit two,
a personal mission statement.
Now in this sub-chapter
Covey emphasizes the importance
of creating a personal mission statement.
We've talked about it quite a bit before,
but that personal
mission statement is a means
to define your core values
and your long-term goals.
So Covey argues that
without a clear understanding
of our personal
principles, we risk being swept away
by external influences and
reactive behaviors, okay?
Stuff we've been talking about.
Covey says, "If you don't
decide what your life is about,
it defaults to what you
spend your days doing."
End quote.
Now I'm gonna read that one one more time
because that hit me kind of hard.
If you don't decide
what your life is about,
it defaults to what you
spend your days doing.
End quote.
Now, I don't know about
you, but there's oftentimes
I'll get lost in a
day just doing busy work
and I'm not being proactive, right?
So this highlights the necessity of
proactive living, okay?
Taking the time to reflect
on what truly matters to us
and aligning our
daily actions accordingly.
So developing a
personal mission statement
involves introspection and honesty.
It's about identifying what we wanna be
and what we wanna do and
the values we hold dear
and the principles we
want to guide our lives.
Covey suggests that this statement
becomes a personal constitution, right?
It's a standard by which
we evaluate all decisions
and actions in our lives.
Covey also discusses again,
that concept of re-scripting
that we talked about yesterday,
which involves recognizing
and changing ineffective scripts
or habits that have been ingrained in us
through our past experiences
or through societal expectations.
And by doing so, by re-scripting,
we can shift from a
reactive to a proactive mindset,
leading to a greater personal
fulfillment and effectiveness.
All right, Covey provides practical steps
for crafting a
personal mission statement,
such as identifying
the roles and the goals
and considering the
legacy we want to leave.
He encourages readers to revisit
and refine these
statements regularly, okay?
Ensuring that they
remain relevant and aligned
with their evolving values
in your life circumstances.
So here, I'm actually
gonna read from the book.
Yes, I actually do read the book.
Covey provides some
really good examples in here
of different ways to write
out your mission statement.
People might write it in different ways,
bullet points, sentences.
So here's just a few examples
that Covey provides in the book.
Succeed at home first.
Never compromise with honesty.
Hear both sides before judging.
Obtain counsel of others.
Be sincere yet decisive.
Develop one new proficiency a year.
Plan tomorrow's work today.
Maintain a positive attitude.
Keep a sense of humor.
Do not fear mistakes.
Listen twice as much as you speak.
These are all good ones.
These are more bullet point.
Here's another person's examples
where they kind of write out
what their mission's gonna be.
I will seek to balance career and family
as best I can since
both are important to me.
My home will be a place
where I and my family,
friends and guests can find joy,
comfort, peace and happiness.
And next they write, I value the rights,
freedoms and
responsibilities of our democratic society.
I will be a concerned
and informed citizen
involved in the political process
to ensure my voice is
heard and my vote is counted.
I will be a self-starting individual.
I will be free from
addictive and destructive habits.
My money will be my
servant, not my master.
So these are just a few
examples that you can use
as you're crafting your
own mission statement,
but here's the takeaway, okay?
Crafting a personal mission statement
is a powerful exercise in self-awareness
and intentional living, okay?
It serves as a compass,
guiding us through life's
challenges and decisions
and ensuring that we remain true
to our deepest values
and our aspirations.
All right, well, as we
wrap up this Friday's edition
of Morning Serial,
remember to take a moment
to reflect on your own mission.
And whether that's as
simple as hugging your cat
or sharing a meal with
friends this weekend,
or maybe even patching up
that metaphorical bucket
in your life, okay?
Make today meaningful.
Thanks for joining us and
be sure to tune in next week
and have a fantastic day.
Don't forget to follow and subscribe to
the Morning Serial
podcast on the One Life
Live It channel.
You can find more episodes and videos by
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and at seaningless.com, where you can
also follow our other
podcast, the Mr. and Mrs.
Inglis podcast and the
Life Happens podcast.
In these other podcasts, we'll dive
deeper into everyday issues,
self-improvement and
well-being, business and finance, and we
welcome special guests too.
So join us.
It'll be a good time, I promise.
Thanks again for listening.
Have a fantastic day and
we'll see you tomorrow.