Good morning and
welcome to Morning Serial.
Okay, good morning
and welcome to Thursday.
Well, this is Morning Serial's first
episode on location and
we're here at the beautiful
University of Oregon for the Nike Outdoor
National Track Meet.
And that's the stadium right behind me
where it's going to happen tomorrow.
Well, if your morning started off with
tripping over an empty
Amazon box while you're fumbling
for your coffee, well, congrats!
You're right on brand for June 19th.
It's International Box Day.
So go ahead and embrace the cardboard
chaos and get those
Amazon boxes into the recycle
bin.
Well, it's also World Sauntering Day.
It's a reminder to take life
at a nice chill pace today.
And there might be some people sauntering
behind me at some point tonight too.
And of course it's June 10th, so it's a
significant day in American
history, marking the end of
slavery and occasion for reflection and
celebration and progress.
Well, today we kickstart our day with a
quote from Zoe Saldana
who said, "It's okay to say
this is what I want and go after it."
And it's a reminder for us to stop
settling, speak up and
make a go for the life that we
really want.
All right, well, today's news, facts and
birthdays are for June 19th.
So we're going to start off today with a
fun fact from right
here at the University
of Oregon.
And this is in fact the only mascot in
the United States that
is modeled after a Disney
character, Donald Duck, right?
But it's not Donald Duck, it is
officially the duck.
And they have an agreement with Disney to
use the likeness of Donald Duck.
So fun little fact there for you.
Well, our first fact
from today is from 1865.
And that's when the Union troops arrived
in Galveston, Texas, delivering the news
of the Emancipation Proclamation.
And that was marking Juneteenth.
Then moving on to 1978, that's when
Garfield, the lasagna
loving cat, well, it debuted in
comic strips.
Then moving up to 1981, Superman II.
On this date, it topped the US box office
and my birthday cake.
Then in 1987, The Untouchables starring
Kevin Costner and Sean
Connery, well, it was released.
And lastly, on this date in 1991,
Colombian drug lord Pablo
Escobar, well, he surrendered
to the police.
Well, happy birthday to you.
If today is your birthday, you share a
birthday with the rapper
who likes to give a little
speed to the great
white shark on Shark Week.
That's Macklemore.
He's 41 today.
Then the actress from Guardian of the
Galaxies and Avatar, Zoe Saldana.
She's 46.
And singer and
choreographer, Paul Abdul, she's 62.
And lastly, actress
from Romancing the Stone.
You remember that movie, right?
I think an alligator ate
the stone at one point.
Well, Kathleen
Turner, she turned 70 today.
And the number one song on this date back
in 1980 was Funkytown
by Lips Incorporated.
Now, this song was a disco-fueled jam
that still inspires
spontaneous dance moves in
kitchens and cul-de-sacs, right?
Well, the song defined the early 80s club
culture and it
remains a certified earworm
to this day.
And you know what else is funky?
Steven R. Kobe's The 7
Habits of Highly Effective People.
And I'll admit that was a bit of a
stretch, but today we're
continuing through with habit
three and diving into the sub-chapter,
what it takes to say no.
And Kobe argues that learning to say no
is a central part of
living in a principle-centered
life.
It's not about being disagreeable or
rigid, but it's about
knowing what truly matters
to you and protecting that time.
Kobe reminds us that, quote, "You have to
decide what your
highest priorities are and
have the courage,
pleasantly, smilingly, right?
Nonapologetically to
say no to other things.
And the way you do that is by having a
bigger yes burning inside," end quote.
So habit three is about
putting first things first.
That means choosing activities that align
with your deepest
values and long-term vision
rather than reacting to external
pressures or fleeting urgencies, right?
Kobe connects this habit three directly
to the first two habits.
Habit one, being proactive, it's about
taking responsibility for your life.
And habit two, beginning with the end in
mind, it's about
defining what truly matters.
Without those two foundations, habit
three becomes just another to-do list.
So you remember, Kobe shared two
essential questions to
help guide our focus.
The first one being, what one thing could
you do that you aren't
doing now that if you
did it on a regular basis would make a
tremendous positive
difference in your personal life?
And the second one was, what one thing in
your business or
professional life would bring
similar results?
Okay?
So these questions are designed to push
us into quadrant two,
thinking, focusing on important,
but not urgent priorities.
Saying no then becomes
an act of self-leadership.
It's not about guilt or rejection.
It's about choosing the best yes.
And in doing so, you build
credibility with yourself.
You honor your own time and
you live more intentionally.
Okay, so here's your takeaway.
Don't let your calendar be a to-do list
of everyone else's priorities.
Say no with grace because you have a
deeper yes that drives your choices.
That's not selfish, that's self-respect.
All right.
So whether you're celebrating freedom,
dancing to disco, or just
sauntering around like some
of these people during the show,
remember, today is yours to prioritize.
Thanks for kicking off
your morning with us.
We'll see you here tomorrow.
And as always, have a fantastic day.
Don't forget to follow and subscribe to
the Morning Serial
Podcast on the One Life Live
It channel.
You can find more episodes and videos by
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and at Shawningless.com, where you can
also follow our other
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English podcast and
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And these other podcasts will 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.