Morning Cereal

 Start your day with inspirational quotes, followed by a fun journey through nostalgic facts from this day in history. Then, we dive into Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 
In Part 3, Habit 4, we’ll explore Covey’s timeless advice on building authentic connections, the art of influence, and creating positive interactions in every area of life.
In This Episode:
  • Daily inspirational quotes to spark your motivation
  • Fun historical facts from this day in history
  • A dive into Part 3, Habit 4 of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
Whether you're a leader, communicator, or just someone looking to improve your relationships, this episode is packed with actionable insights.
Tune in now and let’s grow together!
Resources:
Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. Free Press. 
 
All photo’s utilized in this video are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by Wikimedia Commons license and are free to copy, distribute and transmit.  No photos have been altered.

What is Morning Cereal?

Good morning, and welcome to Morning Cereal!
Pull up a stool, grab your favorite cereal, and let’s kick-start your day with a spoonful of inspiration, nostalgia and personal growth. Join your host, Shaen Inglis, as he highlights the music, movies, and moments that made the 80s, 90s, and 2000s unforgettable—kind of like digging for toy at the bottom of the cereal box. Each episode, Shaen also reviews a chapter or so from top wellness books, offering practical insights to help you set a positive tone for your day. Start your mornings right—no cartoons required!

Follow and subscribe to the Morning Cereal podcast and visit our Life Happens, Live Balanced channel and our website at shaeninglis.com to check out and follow our other podcasts. You can also follow Shaen @ShaenInglis on Instagram, YouTube, etc. Feel free to share the Morning Cereal with someone who could use a little fun and motivation to start their day right.

Good morning and

welcome to Morning Cereal.

Okay, good morning and welcome to Friday.

And believe it or

not, welcome to August as

well. Now, aside from the fact that

Father Time just keeps on

ticking by, I do love August,

right? We're sending the kids back to

school, which is a bit

sad. But that means back to

the fall, a little bit more of a regular

routine, regular

schedule, and we get football

back this month. And it also feels like

we're starting to stare

down fall a little bit,

right? Obviously those retailers, they're

starting to stalk for

Halloween. Scary. True.

Well, speaking of fall, did you know that

today is Colorado Day? Fall is incredible

on Colorado, first off. Now, this day

commemorates the admittance

of Colorado as a state of the

union. Now, I grew up in Colorado and I

lived in Colorado for 30

years. And I'm happy to

take a moment to appreciate my beautiful

Rocky Mountains and that

clean, crisp mountain air.

I'm even wearing an Estes Park shirt. I

grew up in Colorado

Springs, though. Well, let's

quote someone who looks like a mountain

man, Jason Momoa, who

once said, quote, "I think

being unique in all aspects of your life

is most rewarding." End

quote. Now, this quote

is a great reminder to embrace your

individuality and

celebrate what makes you different.

All right. Well, today's news facts and

birthdays are for August

1st. And we're going to start

back in 1981. That's when the cable

television network, maybe you heard of

it, MTV, it debuted.

Now, I know you've only heard of that if

you're a certain age, but

it debuted way back in the

80s and the very first video that they

played was Video Killed the

Radio Star. Talk about irony.

All right. Well, then in 1987, American

boxer Mike Tyson, he was

recognized as the undisputed

heavyweight champion after defeating Tony

Tucker. Well, happy

birthday to you if today's your

birthday. You share a birthday with Cal

Drago and Aquaman, actor

Jason Momoa. He's 46 today.

Chuck D, rapper and public enemy

frontman. He's 64 today. The

lead singer of Def Leppard,

pour some sugar on me, Joe Elliott. He's

65 today. And the late Coolio, who's a

rapper and producer.

He would have been 61 today. He was born

in 1963. And also the late Jerry Garcia,

American singer, songwriter and

guitarist. He would have been 83 years

old today. All right.

Well, the number one song on this date

back in 1986 was

Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.

Now, this iconic track is known for its

innovative music

video. Do you remember it?

It featured at the time groundbreaking

stop motion animation, and it won nine

MTV Music Awards because of it.

Well, if you do remember it, it had a

blend of claymation, stop motion and a

whole bunch of surreal visuals.

And because of all that, it became the

most played video in MTV history.

All right. Well, let's hammer out some

self reflection then, right?

We're in part three of Stephen R. Covey's

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective

People and specifically habit four.

Think win-win. And today's focus is on

the sub chapter, the

five dimensions of win-win.

So Covey lays out five key dimensions

that bring the win-win mindset to life.

There are character, relationships,

agreements, systems and processes. That's

five, just like he said.

Now he starts with character. Okay.

That's the foundational layer.

Without integrity and maturity, win-win

collapses. Covey says, quote, integrity

is the cornerstone in

the foundation of trust.

It means you are true to your word and to

your own values, end quote.

And without it, collaboration

becomes, well, manipulation.

Next, number two is relationships. Now,

trust is the currency of win-win.

You can't build effective agreements if

the relationship is shaky. Okay.

Covey says, quote, the relationship is

the key to the cooperative

side of win-win, end quote.

Now, when people feel respected and

understood, they're much more likely to

seek out mutual benefit.

Then comes agreements. That's number

three. These clarify expectations and

responsibilities and shift the dynamic

from controlling to empowering.

And Covey advocates for clear objectives,

right? Clear guidelines, resources,

accountability, and

also clear consequences.

All of these things should be

collaboratively created. Now, the fourth

dimension is systems.

If an organization claims to value

cooperation but rewards competition,

win-win, it becomes impossible.

Incentives, training, culture, it needs

to align with the win-win behavior.

And finally, processes, right? When

differences arise, Covey advises seeking

to understand first because good

processes lead to creative solutions.

Covey reminds us, quote, win-win is not a

technique. It's a total philosophy of

human interaction, end quote.

Okay, here's your takeaway. To truly live

the win-win mindset, you need to build it

from the inside out.

It's not just about how you negotiate.

It's about who you are, how you relate,

what systems you build, and how you

navigate differences, right?

This chapter is a blueprint, not just for

business, but for families, for

friendships, and teams that

actually function correctly.

All right, Serial Squad, whether you're

channeling mountain vibes in Colorado or

just rolling into your Friday with Peter

Gabriel in your earbuds,

keep showing up as your

real, quirky, awesome self.

Hey, thanks for kicking off your morning

with us. Join us next week for more pop

culture productivity and hopefully some

perfectly brewed wisdom.

Have a great weekend and as

always, have a fantastic day.

We welcome special guests, too. So join

us. It'll be a good time, I promise.

Thanks again for listening. Have a

fantastic day. We'll see you tomorrow.