Good morning and
welcome to Morning Cereal.
Okay, good morning and
welcome back to a new week.
It's Monday.
I hope you had a great weekend and today
is special because
there's a second bowl of sweet
cereal yumminess, right?
First it's Kiss and Makeup Day, which is
a day that encourages
reconciliation, even if
it's just with your alarm clock, right?
And today also happens to
be National Banana Split Day.
So let's just be real
here for one second, right?
Does anyone actually still
make and eat banana splits?
Now I have had one in my entire life and
really it wasn't that great.
The ice cream was fantastic and the ice
cream is more than enough, right?
There's no need to add the bananas to it.
Well, I digress.
There is a national day for it.
So if you love banana splits or you are a
banana split, today's your day.
All right, I'm off my
banana split soapbox.
Here is a quote from Claudia Schiffer who
said, "I try to
extract something positive
from every situation, even if it's just
learning not to make
the same mistake twice."
So Claudia is providing us with a
reminder that even in imperfect or
challenging moments,
there's an opportunity to grow.
Or she's saying I should
try for another banana split.
Well, today's news facts and birthdays
are for August 25th.
We're going to start back
all the way back in 1609.
That's when Galileo, he demonstrated the
first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
Then on this date in 1960, the AFL, well,
they began placing players' names on the
back of their jersey.
I'm sure they didn't envision people
putting "He hate me" back there.
Well, moving on to 2001 on this date, the
number one movie at the box office in the
United States was "American Pie 2."
Well happy birthday to you.
Today is your birthday.
You share a birthday with the actress
with on-screen sparkle Blake Lively.
She's 36 today.
Model and rebound girlfriend, if you know
a movie I'm talking about.
Claudia Schiffer, she's 55.
The infamous lawyer and whistleblower
Michael Cohen, he's 59 today.
The achy-breaky dad, Billy
Ray Cyrus, he's 64 today.
Ruby maker Tim Burton, he's 67 today.
Rock icon Gene Simmons, he's 74 today.
And the late 007, Sean Connery, was born
on this date in 1930.
Now the number one song on this date back
in 1988 was "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns
and Roses.
Finally, a rock song.
I mean, are there no rock songs anymore?
Either way, "Sweet Child of Mine" has one
of the, if not, the
most recognizable guitar
riff intros of all time, period.
Look it up, listen to it.
Nobody knows the air guitar to it.
All right, totally
holds up after 35 years.
Well, check it out on
Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok.
Well, just like those riffs find harmony,
so does effective leadership, right?
Let's explore the beginning of chapter
six leading into
synergistic communication.
In "Covey's," the seven
habits of highly effective people.
Now chapter six opens
with a nod to synergy.
Quote, "Synergy is better
than my way or your way.
It's our way," says Covey.
Now at the beginning of this chapter,
Covey quotes President
George H.W. Bush saying,
"Communication starts with listening.
Leadership starts with listening."
That captures the
essence of this chapter.
Synergy isn't just one person's voice.
It's creating something
fresh from collective input.
Now Covey framed synergy as the result of
valuing differences.
It's not compromise, it's co-creation.
And Covey invites us to see problems as
opportunities for
collaboration because, quote, "The whole
is greater than the sum
of its parts," end quote.
Now when genuine empathy meets
open-mindedness, innovation ignites.
Now this introduction to habit six also
warns against entrenched thinking.
Covey says synergy dissolves either or
choices and it transforms
them into and or both options,
right?
It shifts the mindset from scarcity to
abundance, trusting that the best
solution may lie beyond
the obvious choices.
So here Covey lays the groundwork for the
next section, which is
synergistic communication.
And this goes beyond mutual benefit.
It's about forgoing
dialogue that makes both...
It's about forging dialogue that makes
both parties
stronger, not just satisfied.
All right, here's your takeaway.
Synergy begins when we listen deeply,
value differences, and
co-create outcomes that neither
side could produce alone.
All right, well, today, make
up and make out if you like.
Maybe share a banana split or something
and listen your way towards new ideas.
Thank you so much for starting your
Monday morning with Morning Serial.
Come back tomorrow for
more insight and fun.
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 seaningless.com, where you can
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podcasts, the Mr. and Mrs.
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.