Good morning and
welcome to Morning Serial.
Okay, good morning and welcome to
Wednesday. It's hot, it's
midweek, and it's backyard
safety check day, which is your annual
excuse to poke around
your backyard or front yard
pretending you're on a home improvement
show, right? But just
ignore those spots where those
creepy crawlies usually hide out. Save
that for the professionals.
Today is also National Camp Counts Day,
which is a good reminder
that summer camps are more
than just s'mores and bug spray. They
actually help kids grow
socially, emotionally, and
independently. And if you went to camps
back in the 80s like I
did, you'd probably remember
the kid who jumped in the lake and they
came out covered with
leeches. That was a fun day.
Well, maybe not for that person. And
finally, it's National
Day of Joy because sometimes
a nicely scheduled moment of joy can mean
a lot. You know, it
reminds me of how it felt
back in 1995 when you just found your VHS
was in stock at
Blockbuster. In fact, they
were three deep. If you know, you know.
Well, now here's a quote
that'll give your midweek
mindset a healthy boost. And it's from
comedian Ricky Gervais,
who once said, "If you can
laugh in the face of adversity, you're
bulletproof." And Gervais is a master of
saying uncomfortable
things with brutal humor. But there's a
great lesson in that,
right? Life doesn't always
play fair, but if you can laugh at it,
you don't lose your power.
So smile today, especially
when it's least convenient. Well, today's
news facts and
birthdays are for June 25th.
And we're going to start back in 1876.
That's when on this
date, the infamous Battle of
Little Bighorn took place. And that's
when General Custer, he
met his last stand. Well,
in 1947 on this date, the Diary of Anne
Frank was published,
giving the world a timeless,
powerful window into courage and
humanity. Then in 1967,
the Beatles, they performed
All You Need Is Love live on the first
worldwide satellite broadcast. Then
skipping up to 1993,
here's a classic that we all remember,
the movie Sleepless in
Seattle. Well, it premiered
and it revived that romantic comedy,
making everybody cry
into their popcorn. Then on
this date in 1997, you might remember
this as well. That's when
an unmanned Russian cargo
ship, well, it crashed into the Mir space
station. And lastly,
this was a sad day for
music because on this day, back in 2009,
Michael Jackson passed away
at the age of 50, stunning
the world. And this is one of those
events that I remember where
I was when I heard the news. I
was in downtown Chicago at work. Where
were you? All right. Well,
happy birthday to you if today is
your birthday. You share a birthday with
Dikembe Mutombo, right? You
remember him? NBA Hall of Famer
and shot blocking legend with a finger
wag that deserves its own
statue. He's 58 today. Carly
Simon, she's 79 today. She's the singer
songwriter and owner of one
of those most confidently vague
songs in history, You're So Vain. And
lastly, one of my
favorites, the late George Michael,
he was also born on this date in 1963.
The pop icon and voice
behind great songs like Faith and
Careless Whisper, he would have been 61.
Well, the number one song on this date
back in 2001 was You
Remind Me by Usher. Now this track marked
Usher's return to chart
domination in the early 2000 and it
earned him a Grammy for best male R&B
vocal performance. Well,
the song's hook about not
dating someone who reminds him of an ex.
Well, it was relatable and
it was catchy. And if you
remember the video even featured Chili
from TLC, which only added fuel to the
dating rumor mill at
the time. Well, for many of us, You
Remind Me wasn't just a number one song.
It was the soundtrack
to Summer Fling's, Nokia ringtones and
long drives with the windows down and
that volume up. Well,
speaking of catchy hooks and timeless
verses, let's pivot here from Usher's
chart topping wisdom to
something equally enduring, life
management strategies that
won't go out of style with your
playlist. Now we're continuing our deep
dive into Stephen R.
Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People and today's focus is on
the sub chapter, Advances
of the Fourth Generation from
habit three, which is put first things
first. Now in this section, Covey
outlines the evolution of
time management thinking across those
four generations, but
it's that fourth generation
that holds the key to sustainable
effectiveness. Okay. So according to
Covey, traditional time
management tools, they often focused on
tasks and schedules, but the fourth
generation, it shifts
that focus towards people, priorities and
principles. So Covey
breaks this new approach
down into five key advances. First
balance. Covey says, quote,
the first generation of time
management is based on notes and
checklists. The fourth generation is
based on preserving and
enhancing relationships and on
accomplishing results. End quote. So the
fourth generation is
about maintaining balance across those
roles, right? Parent role,
employee, friend, so that one
part of your life doesn't devour the
rest. Okay. Here's number two, focus on
important, not urgent.
So Covey emphasizes planning based on
importance rather than
urgency, moving us out of crisis mode
and into intentional living. And as Covey
puts it, quote, effective
people stay out of quadrants
three and four because urgent things are
not always important. End
quote. Here's number three,
planning weekly. Instead of daily task
lists, Covey suggests weekly planning,
okay, which provides
flexibility while keeping long-term
priorities in focus. So, week
in planning lets you step back,
zoom out a little bit and live more
strategically. Okay. Here's number four,
a people dimension Covey
reminds us that effectiveness isn't just
about managing things. It's
about working with people.
Covey says, quote, you simply can't think
efficiency with people.
You think effectiveness,
end quote. Relationships can't be
scheduled like meetings. They require
presence, patience and
principle. All right. Here's the last
one. Number five, flexibility and
portability. The fourth
generation system is adaptable. It's less
about rigid structure
and more about maintaining
alignment with your mission, no matter
where or how life shows up.
So whether you're at your desk
or in the carpool lane, your values stay
with you. Okay. So here's
your takeaway. The fourth
generation of time management isn't about
squeezing more into your
day. It's about living your
priorities with purpose by focusing on
roles, people and long-term results
instead of short-term
fires. You don't just manage your time.
You start leading your life. Okay. So
whether you're checking
your backyard for hazards today or
chasing little moments of joy like a kid
at summer camp, hey,
remember this, adversity might knock. It
usually does, but laughter
and purpose answer louder.
Thanks for tuning into Morning Serial
this morning. We'll be
back here tomorrow with more
nostalgia, inspiration and maybe a few
tasty metaphorical
marshmallows for your midweek
s'mores. I don't know. Until then, stay
safe, find some joy
and have a fantastic day.
Also follow our other podcasts, the Mr.
and Mrs. English podcast
and the Life Happens podcast.
In these other podcasts, we'll dive
deeper into everyday issues,
self-improvement and wellbeing,
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.