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.