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 4 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 Monday.

I hope you had a great weekend.

It is still March Madness time.

Is your team still in it?

Mine is not, but I hope yours is.

Well, either way,

it's another manic Monday

that has arrived and your alarm clock

probably feels like it's a little bit

of a personal betrayal

for you this morning.

But all is good today

because today is national.

I am in control day,

which is either empowering

or it's deeply ironic

depending on how your morning

has gone so far.

Either way, today is

all about taking ownership

of your choices, even the ones involving

hitting the snooze

button four times, right?

And now the answer to

Friday's trivia question,

Julia Child, the chef's

kitchen that is on display

at the Smithsonian is Julia Child's.

Now it's time for the essential vitamins

in your morning cereal, today's quote.

And it is from birthday

legend turning 58 today,

one of my favorites,

Celine Dion, who said quote,

"Don't be so familiar

and so much into routine

that you don't know when

you've changed," end quote.

All right, your

morning decode here, Celine,

basically if your life

feels like it's on autopilot,

it might be time to check if

you're still the driver, right?

Our rigid life routine

makes you stop paying attention

to your internal state,

potentially missing the moment

that you've outgrown

your old self, right?

One life, live it people.

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 beginning

part two and chapter four

with today's segment coming

from chapter four's intro,

the man who didn't look right, okay?

And yes, it sounds like the

start of a true crime podcast,

but it's actually about the

science of habit perception.

Now, admittedly, I've been

watching way too much Dateline,

but here we go.

To open, Clear tells us

the story of a paramedic

who instantly sensed

something was off with a patient

and before any obvious

symptoms had appeared.

Now that gut instinct, it wasn't magic,

it was pattern recognition

built from his experience.

Now, Clear explains that our brains

are constantly scanning for these cues,

even subconsciously saying, quote,

"The human brain is a prediction

machine," end quote.

Now, over time,

habits shape what we notice

and what we ignore.

So this matters because

your identity and habits

influence your perception of reality.

A smoker notices cigarette breaks,

a runner notices trails,

a business owner notices opportunity.

Your habits don't

just shape your actions,

they actually shape your awareness.

And Clear also

highlights how small habits

reinforce identity, saying, quote,

"Every action you take is a

vote for the type of person

you wish to become," end quote, right?

That means each tiny

decision you're making,

whether to scroll or to

start, it all adds up.

The deeper message here is that change

isn't just behavioral, it's perceptual.

When your habits shift,

your worldview also shifts.

And suddenly, the

things that once felt hard

become more natural to you.

So this chapter, it sets

the stage for understanding

that habits just aren't routines,

they're lenses through

which you see your world.

All right, here it is.

Your Monday takeaway is

this, change your habits

and you'll literally

change what you notice,

and ultimately who you become.

All right, friends, take

control of your Monday,

like it owes you money, right?

But first, the prize from

the bottom of the cereal box,

morning cereal trivia

question of the day,

how many valves does a trumpet have?

All right, hey, thanks for

listening to morning cereal.

We will see you back here tomorrow

for the answer to the trivia question

and more sugar for the soul.

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 seanenglis and at seanenglis.com,

where you can also

follow our other podcast,

the Mr. and Mrs. English podcast

and the Life Happens podcast.

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 will be

a good time, I promise.

Thanks again for

listening, have a fantastic day,

and we'll see you tomorrow.