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 James Clear, Atomic Habits. Atomic Habits shows how tiny, consistent improvements in daily habits—focused on systems rather than goals—compound over time to produce remarkable personal and professional results.
In This Episode:
  • Daily inspirational quote to spark your motivation
  • Fun Morning Cereal trivia question of the day
  • A dive into the Chapter 3 Atomic Habits
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:
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Avery.
 
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 your morning cereal.

Okay, good morning and welcome to Friday.

You did it, we all did it.

Man, maybe it was a long

week, but either way you made it.

And fittingly, today is

International Whiskey Day,

as long as you're of a

certain age, 21 specifically.

But it is a day to

appreciate the craftsmanship,

the history, and let's be honest,

that Friday night

pour its coping mechanism

while it pairs really

nicely with those spreadsheets

and deadlines and those

parenting of teenagers

that we all handle.

Well, now it is time to answer

yesterday's trivia question,

Mercury, the smallest planet

in our solar system is Mercury.

It was Pluto when I

went to school, but sadly,

now it is just

classified as a dwarf planet.

Sorry Pluto.

Well, now it is time

for the essential vitamins

in your morning cereal, today's quote.

And it is from birthday girl

turning 38 today, Jessie J,

who said in a song, quote,

"Don't lose who you are in the blur of

the stars," end quote.

Now your morning decode,

embrace your personal journey.

It's a reminder that success, shining,

shouldn't cost you your identity,

and it's okay to have

struggles along the way.

All right, well, let's go

ahead and hear from the experts.

Now it is time to pour in some atomic

habits by James Clear.

And today we are

diving into the four laws

of behavior change, which

is essentially James Clear

handing us the cheat codes

to becoming the kind of person

who actually follows through on things.

You know, like flossing

daily or not checking email

at 10 47 PM, some of those

New Year's Eve resolutions

that we just never get to.

All right, here, Clear

explains that habits are built

through a simple but a powerful loop.

Remember the cue, the craving, the

response, and the reward.

And to change behavior effectively,

you don't rely on willpower, okay?

You redesigned the entire system.

His four laws are to make it

obvious, make it attractive,

make it easy, and make it satisfying.

So first, make it obvious.

Clear says this, quote,

"You do not rise to the level

"of your goals, you fall to

the level of your systems,"

so the translation

here is your environment

is either helping you or

it's quietly sabotaging you.

You wanna read more, put the book

where your phone usually sits.

All right, here we go.

Second, make it attractive.

We're more likely to do things

that feel rewarding in the moment.

So Clear suggests habit

stacking or pairing something

you want to do with

something that you need to do,

like only listening to

your favorite podcast

while working out.

Suddenly, leg day has a

little bit of a soundtrack to it,

right, all right.

Third, make it easy.

This one hits home for all of us, right?

We like easy things.

He says this, quote, "The

most effective form of learning

"is practice, not planning," end quote.

So in other words, stop

overthinking and lower the barrier.

You wanna start running,

just put your shoes on.

That counts, right?

Well, finally, make it satisfying.

Humans repeat what feels good.

Even small wins matter.

Clear emphasizes immediate rewards

because long-term

goals don't always motivate

in the moment.

And what's powerful here is that success.

It's not about massive change.

It's about small

adjustments, repeated daily, right?

These laws work quietly but relentlessly,

shaping who you become.

All right, your Friday takeaway is this.

If you want better results,

don't focus on bigger goals.

Build better systems.

All right, friends,

whether you're chasing big goals

or just trying to remember

where you left your coffee cup,

go attack today with some energy.

But first, the prize from

the bottom of the cereal box,

the morning cereal

trivia question of the day,

what chef's kitchen is on

display at the Smithsonian?

All right, hey, thanks for

listening to morning cereal.

We will see you back here on Monday

for the answer to the trivia question

and more sugar for your soul.

Have a great weekend.

Enjoy the sweet 16 and the elite eight.

And until then, 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 seaningless and at seaningless.com,

where you can also

follow our other podcasts,

the Mr. and Mrs. English podcast

and the Life Happens podcast.

On 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.