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 1, Chapter 1 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 partial review of Part 1, Chapter 1 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. 

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 cereal

Okay, good morning and welcome to Friday.

Well, congrats on making

it through another week.

And I gotta tell you,

it's been a tougher week

than usual in my household.

And if you've had a tough week as well,

then a big congratulations to you as well

for making it to Friday.

Some weeks are just

more trying than others.

Well, I mean, thank goodness it's

International Care Day.

I'm feeling better already.

That makes everything

better, I guess, right?

Somehow?

Well, my kids will love this.

Well, kids everywhere, really,

because it's also

National Picky Eaters Day.

So enjoy today because tomorrow, kids,

you're gonna need to

eat your vegetables again,

but you need to eat your carrots today.

Well, let's jump into a

quote today from Bill Gates

who said, quote, "It's

fine to celebrate success,

but it's more important to heed the

lessons of failure."

End quote.

Good point and thanks, Bill.

Well, today's news, facts,

and birthdays are for April 4th.

Starting back in 1968,

that's when civil rights

activist Martin Luther King,

he was assassinated on this date.

Then in 1973 on this

date, the World Trade Center,

it opened up in New York City.

And at the time, they were

the world's tallest buildings,

each at 110 stories.

Then in 1975 on this date,

Bill Gates and Paul Allen,

they founded a little software company

called Microsoft.

Then on this date, actor Heath Ledger,

he was born in 1979.

Well, happy birthday to you

if today is your birthday.

You share a birthday with Tony Stark.

I mean, I'm sorry,

actor Robert Downey Jr.

He turned 60 today.

And the number one song

on this date back in 1986

was "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco.

And this song, as you

probably would have guessed,

is inspired by the classical composer,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

And this song is actually

the first and the last song

by a German artist to hit number one

on the Billboard top 100.

And it was Falco's only

number one hit as well.

And I went back and read the lyrics

and shockingly, they aren't very deep.

They talk about the

composer liking to drink.

He had lots of debt

apparently, and he liked women.

And everyone apparently

shouted, "Rock me Amadeus."

That's about it.

Catchy though.

Okay, well, let's head into

this Friday and this weekend

with a review from Stephen R. Covey's

"The Seven Habits of

Highly Effective People."

And in this first

chapter entitled "Inside Out,"

yesterday Covey started talking about how

if we want to change

a difficult situation,

that we first should

look to change ourselves

and our perceptions.

Covey has sub

chapters within his chapters

and the first one is entitled

"The Personality and Character Ethics."

And what Covey

unpacks is very interesting

in this sub chapter.

During his studies, he

found success literature

or self-health books

in the last 50 years.

And really it's the last 75

since this book was written.

He found them to be filled with social

image consciousness,

techniques and quick

fixes that he looked at

as social band-aids to help solve

problems temporarily.

However, before that period of time,

so the previous 150

years, self-health books,

Covey found that the

success literature focused

on character ethic, which were the

foundations of success.

And they were things like, quote,

"Integrity, humility, fidelity,

temperance, courage,

justice, patience,

industry, simplicity, modesty

and the golden rule," end quote.

Now there's a major

difference between the two

and we are living in the

time where people have valued

the personality ethic more.

Focusing our perception of

success on our own public image,

quote, "Lubricating the

processes of human interaction,"

end quote, "with

attitudes, skills and techniques,

focusing on, quote, "Positive mental

attitudes," end quote.

And living by sayings like,

"Your attitude determines your altitude."

These are cheap, temporary fixes

that merely offer lip service

and teach a positive attitude

is all that is necessary for success.

However, Covey says

that prior to World War I,

society taught and

valued the character ethic,

which quote, "Taught that

there are basic principles

of effective living and

that people can only experience

true success and

enduring happiness as they learn

and integrate these principles

into their basic character," end quote.

Now that's good stuff and

we'll continue to dive in

even deeper tomorrow.

Now, remember these character trait words

as you go through your day today,

as you go through this weekend, right?

Integrity, humility, fidelity,

temperance, courage,

justice, patience,

industry, simplicity, modesty

and the golden rule,

all good things to live by

and to remember top of mind.

Hey, thanks for joining us today.

Have a great weekend.

We'll see you back here on Monday and

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

visiting our YouTube channel and the

website at seaningless

and at seaningless.com, where you can

also follow our other

podcast, the Mr. and Mrs.

Inglis 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.