Good morning and
welcome to Morning Cereal.
Okay, good morning and welcome to Monday.
It's a necessary evil, I know, but it's
the gateway drug to the rest of the week.
And today we're diving head first into a
fresh bowl of ambition
with a side of randomness.
Or maybe veggies,
because it's fresh veggies day.
Maybe a salad for lunch, or how about
those carrots with real ranch dressing?
That's the best.
Well, today is also International
Waterfall Day, so cue the
slow motion hiking reels here.
Well, I've been to quite a few
waterfalls, and I have to
say, Nayaka Waterfalls in Costa
Rica, it may just take the cake.
I don't know who I had
some incredible falls as well.
Well, here's another national day just
for the cat people out there.
And there seems to be a
lot of these for some reason.
Either way, today is
Take Your Cat to Work Day.
And I'm sure your coworkers are going to
just love having
fluffy around the office.
All right, well, let's get this Monday
going and get ourselves
into the right mindset with
the quote of the day.
Today's quote is from Tupac Shakur, who
said, "During your
life, never stop dreaming.
No one can take away your dreams."
And Tupac, who's one of my favorite
rappers, well, he had a
lot of lyrics that spoke of
hope and holding onto aspirations, no
matter what the setbacks might be.
Rest in peace, Pac.
All right, well, today's news, facts, and
birthdays are for June 16th.
And we're going to start back in 1903.
That's when Ford Motor
Company was incorporated.
Then in 1963, Valentina Terezkova, she
became the first woman in space.
I was going to say girl power here, but I
think she's pretty serious.
Anyways, moving up to 1978, on this date,
that's when the movie Grease premiered in
U.S. theaters.
Well, speaking of great movies, in 1989,
on this date,
Ghostbusters II hit theaters
and slime was in again.
Then moving up to 1994, and you guys
might remember this,
watching it on the news, this
is the day O.J.
Simpson's white Bronco
chase unfolded on live TV.
And we all skipped dinner to see what was
going on, because
innocent people run from
the police, right?
All right, well, happy
birthday if today is your birthday.
You share a birthday
with actress Missy Peregrin.
He's 42 today.
Pro golfer Phil Mickelson, he's 54 today.
Actor John Cho, he's 52 today.
And Tupac Shakur, he
would have been 53 today.
All right, well, the number one song on
this date back in 1990
was "It Must Have Been
Love" by Roxette.
Now, this song was originally released in
1987, but it soared on
the charts after being
featured on the Pretty Woman soundtrack.
And it became the Swedish duo's third
U.S. number one hit,
proving that heartbreak paired
with Julia Roberts is
definitely a winning combo.
And you ask yourself,
what's another winning combo?
A book review in Stephen R. Covey's "The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
And we are just starting habit three, put
first things first,
which shifts us from planning
to action.
And within this habit, this is a crucial
sub-chapter, the
power of independent will.
And Covey describes independent will as,
quote, "the ability to make decisions and
choices and act in
accordance with them," end quote.
Now, this is the executive function of
our lives, the bridge
between vision and discipline.
Covey's point is not just about willpower
in the typical sense.
It's about aligning our actions with our
personal mission
statement, developed in habit
too.
Now, we have the freedom to choose, but
the power of independent
will ensures that these
choices we're making are consistent with
our deepest values
rather than just fleeting
emotions or external pressures.
Covey says, quote, "Independent will
makes effective self-management possible.
It is the ability to act based on
self-awareness, free will, conscience,
and creative imagination,"
end quote.
So the sub-chapter outlines how many
people fall into reactive patterns.
They may have clear goals, but they lack
the strength to
follow through when urgency
and distractions arise.
So Covey shares the concept of, quote,
"integrity in the
moment of choice," end quote.
And that's a phrase that encapsulates the
challenge of acting on
what matters most when
it's least convenient.
Whether it's resisting the lure of
meaningless urgency or
saying no to good opportunities
so you can stay focused on great ones,
independent will is the
muscle that we need for these
situations.
So Covey also highlights the emotional
dimension of this, how we
often allow our moods or the
circumstances that we're
in to dictate our actions.
And by strengthening our independent
will, we become less
enslaved by the environment
that we're in and more guided by the
purpose that we want to live by.
There's a shift again here from reactive
living to proactive leadership of our own
time and energy.
A practical point from this section is
the use of a personal
mission statement as a compass.
This is what we
didn't have it too, right?
It reminds us not just
what to do, but why we do it.
As Covey writes, quote, "The degree to
which we have developed
independent will in our
lives is measured by our personal
integrity," end quote.
Again, in a world buzzing with
distractions and to-do lists, this
chapter reaffirms the
empowering truth that discipline, guided
with purpose, leads
to true effectiveness.
Ultimately, the power of independent will
calls us to become
the executive producers
of our own lives, firm in direction,
flexible in execution,
and always aligned with what
matters most.
Okay, here's your takeaway.
Method three teaches us that living
intentionally means putting principles
into practice daily.
As Covey says, quote, "The key is not to
prioritize what's on your
schedule, but to schedule our
priorities," end quote.
All right, well, that's your bowl of
morning cereal for this Monday.
Whether you're hurting everybody's cats
at the office or you're
building your dream salad,
one veggie at a time, just keep your
vision in front of you
and your priorities in line.
Hey, thanks for
starting your Monday with us.
Thank you.