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 2, Habit 3, 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 2, Habit 3 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 Serial.

Okay, good morning and

welcome to another Manic Monday.

And we are back in the studio today, as

you can see, and it's

time to rise and shine and

maybe give a little smooch to that

someone special or maybe your dog.

No judgment there.

Today is National Kissing

Day, as you may have figured out.

So pucker up, Buttercup, and

consensually, of course.

Well, it's also National Onion Ring Day.

So if I were planning out your day for

you, I'd plan the smooch first, okay?

Then eat the onion ring, okay?

It's the universe reminding us that love

and bad breath can peacefully coexist.

All right, well, before you text your ex

or you deep fry your

feelings, let's give you

some inspiration from TV host Carson

Daly, who said, "Be yourself.

Nobody can tell you you're

doing it wrong," end quote.

And it's a powerful reminder, especially

on a Monday, that

being authentic to yourself

is your superpower.

So go ahead and

unapologetically be you today.

All right, well, today's news, facts, and

birthdays are for June 22nd.

And we're going to start back in 1847.

That glorious fried ring that we all know

as the donut is said

to have been invented

by a New England ship

captain on this date.

Then moving up to 1969, that's when the

Cuyahoga, I hope I said

that right, river, the Cuyahoga

River in Cleveland, well, it caught fire.

Yeah, you heard me right.

The actual river caught fire.

Now, it was due to a combination of

industrial waste, oily debris, and a

spark from a passing

train.

So good to know that's a bad combination,

but that event sparked

major US environmental

reform.

Then in 1981, on this date, Raiders of

the Lost Ark, well, it

dominated the box office

and Indiana Jones

started making archeology cool.

Then in 1986, Diego Maradona's Hand of

God goal, well, it

stunned England in the World

Cup quarterfinals.

And then finally in 2001, the TV show

Fear Factor premiered.

You remember this one, right?

And it gave us a reason

not to eat bugs or money.

And I definitely don't want to lay in a

glass box full of spiders.

Well, happy birthday to you.

Today is your birthday.

You share a birthday with Cindy Lauper,

the pop icon, an

unapologic time after timer.

Well, she's 71 today.

Then three-time

Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep.

She's 75 today.

Author of The Da Vinci

Code, great book, Dan Brown.

He's 60 today.

And the legal clerk and

real life environmental hero.

You remember this movie, Erin Brockovich?

Well, she's 64 today.

And former MTV host

turned morning show guy.

Do you remember when Carson was on the

MTV VJ contest with

that odd guy, Jesse Camp?

Super odd guy.

Either way, Carson Daly, he's 51 today.

And lastly, the actor best known for his

role on Scrubs, to me

at least, and Making Us

Laugh and Cry simultaneously, Donald

Faisan, he's 50 today.

Well, the number one song on this date

back in 1995 was

Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio.

Now, I know you all know this song, and

this track didn't just top the charts.

It was everywhere in 1995, including in

my Chevy Blazer, where

I had two 15-inch JBLs

bumping in the back.

Pretty sure I have some

hearing loss from that.

Well, the song sampled Stevie Wonder's

Pastime Paradise, and it

was featured on the Dangerous

Minds soundtrack, and it turned Coolio

into a household name.

I mean, we all know

this song verbatim, right?

As I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death.

All right, well, I take a look at my life

and I realize that it's time for our book

review.

And we are in Stephen R. Covey's Seven

Habits of Highly

Effective People, and in the sub

chapter Becoming a

Quadrant II Self-Manager.

And Covey challenges us to move beyond

reactive living and step into

purposeful, principle-centered

time management.

This is where effectiveness is born, and

it's not from doing

more things faster, but

from doing the right things with

intention and integrity.

So as we've learned in Quadrant II, Covey

defines it as including

tasks that are important,

but not urgent, right?

Like building relationships, planning,

self-care, and personal growth.

And these are activities that move the

needle in our lives, yet

they often get neglected

in the rush of daily

emergencies, which is Quadrant I.

Or time wasters, right?

That's Quadrant III and IV.

So becoming a Quadrant II Self-Manager

means making a deliberate shift from

being schedule-driven

to being mission-driven, okay?

Covey emphasizes the use of a weekly

planning system that

aligns with your values, your

roles, and your long-term goals.

He suggests identifying

your key roles, right?

We've talked about this a little bit,

such as a parent, a

leader, a friend, or a creator,

and then setting weekly goals

for each one of those roles.

So this ensures that your actions are

balanced and grounded in

what matters most to you.

Not just what screams the loudness, okay?

Covey says, "The key is not to prioritize

what's on your

schedule, but to schedule your

priorities."

I know we keep repeating

that, but that's a great quote.

Now that distinction is crucial, okay?

Quadrant II Self-Management is proactive.

It's about exercising your personal

leadership before the

whirlwind of the week takes over.

And Covey also encourages

regular reflection, okay?

So that course corrections can be made

before you get too far off track, okay?

Another key insight from this section is

that trust in relationships

grows when you consistently

show up for what matters.

When you live in Quadrant II, you're not

just managing your time,

you're building credibility

with yourself and with others.

And that's the true reward of

self-management, not just

efficiency, but integrity.

Covey is clear here.

This approach takes discipline.

It requires saying no to the urgent but

unimportant, and saying yes to what

aligns with your mission.

But once Quadrant II becomes a habit,

it's transformational for your life.

Okay, here's the takeaway.

Learning a Quadrant II Self-Manager isn't

about perfect time control.

It's about living with

vision, balance, and purpose.

By planning weekly around your core roles

and your values, you take control of your

life's direction, one

intentional choice at a time.

All right, so whether you're smooching

your sweetie or dipping

an onion ring in ranch

or ketchup is how I would prefer, I

guess, remember to own your

yes by getting comfortable

with saying no.

Hey, thanks for spending

your Monday morning with us.

Morning cereal will be back tomorrow with

more pop culture

sprinkles and a little bit

of life's wisdom.

So until then, go and be the best version

of yourself and have a fantastic day.

Don't forget to follow and subscribe to

the Morning Cereal

podcast on the One Life Live

It channel.

You can find more episodes and videos by

visiting our YouTube

channel and the website

at seanenglish.com, where you can also

follow our other podcast,

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

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.