(upbeat music)
Good morning.
And welcome to Morning Cereal.
Okay, good morning and welcome to Friday.
You made it to the end of the week
and just in time for two
fantastic national days.
Are you dying to know?
Well, me too.
Well, let's find out.
They're dying to know day
and happiness happens day.
One's about life's big questions,
the other's about
those tiny moments of joy
that sneak up on us.
Kinda like finding that extra
fry at the bottom of the bag
or the extra pickle on
your chicken sandwich.
You know what I'm talking about?
If you know, you know.
All right, well, I
bet you're dying to know
who today's quote is from
and how it's related to this episode.
Well, I'm gonna tell you right now.
Today's quote is from James Hetfield.
That's the front man
of Metallica who said,
never forget where you came from.
It's a simple reminder that our roots,
although they can be messy,
maybe they were magical for you or
somewhere in between.
Those experiences, they shape who we are.
So give yourself credit,
not just for how far you come,
but for what you've come from.
All right, well, today's
news, facts and birthdays
are for August 8th and
we're gonna start back in 1974.
That's when US President Richard Nixon,
he announced that he would
resign at 12 p.m. the next day.
Then moving up to 1988, the Chicago Cubs,
they hosted the first night
game ever at Wrigley Field,
ending a 74 year
tradition of daytime only games.
Well, that game
unfortunately was rained out,
but hey, it was the thought that counts.
And then finally in 1992 on
this day, you might remember,
that's when singer and
guitarist James Hetfield,
our quote giver, he suffered
second and third degree burns
during a pyrotechnic explosion on stage
at Olympic Stadium
during a Metallica concert.
Well, let's move on
to some happier times.
Happy birthday, if
today is your birthday,
you share a birthday
with singer and songwriter,
Shawn Mendes, he turns 27 today.
Swiss tennis legend,
Roger Federer, he's only 44.
And JC Chazez of NSYNC, he's 49 today.
And finally, Oscar
winning actor, Dustin Hoffman,
he turns 88 today.
Well, the number one song
on this date back in 1978,
we're going way back, was
"Grease" by Frankie Valli.
Now I know you remember this,
and it probably makes you
happy just to think about it,
but with a little help
from Barry Gibb songwriting
and John Travolta's
and Olivia Newton-John's,
while they're hip
shaking and they're dancing
and they're singing,
while the title track
of the movie "Grease",
it topped the charts across the globe.
Man, this soundtrack takes me back,
some great songs on this soundtrack.
Now I know I've said it before,
but I still kind of wish
Sandy would have stayed good, Sandy.
Oh well, life goes on.
"Grease" may be the word,
but Stephen R. Covey is the author.
We are still in habit
four of the seven habits
of highly effective people.
And today's focus is on win-win
performance agreements.
So Covey stresses that creating a culture
of shared success means being intentional
about expectations and
responsibilities, right?
That's where win-win
performance agreements come in.
They're not contracts in
the legal sense, right?
But mutual understandings
built on trust, clarity,
and self-management,
some of those things
we've been talking about.
So again, Covey is talking
about how these agreements,
they include those
five critical elements,
desired results, what do
you want to accomplish,
guidelines, what are the
boundaries and rules, resources,
what support is
available, accountability,
how will we measure
success and consequences,
what happens based on the results.
And Covey notes, quote,
these agreements shift
the paradigm of control.
The focus is on results,
not methods, end quote.
Now that means you're not micromanaging
how someone else gets there.
You're agreeing on
what success looks like
and trusting them to find the best path.
Now, one of Covey's
examples includes a manager
working with an employee
to outline expectations
and leave space for
creativity within there.
Now, the magic of this approach,
it invites ownership, right?
We keep saying that.
People take more pride in their work
when they have had a say in the process.
Now, Covey continues, quote,
when people participate in the
development of agreements,
they feel a greater sense of commitment
and responsibility, end quote.
So think about your own life, right?
Whether it's
collaborating with a teammate
or your co-parenting,
or even planning a vacation with friends,
clarity and a shared understanding,
being part of it,
it makes everything a
little bit smoother.
Okay, here's your takeaway.
Don't assume people know what you want,
even if you think it's obvious.
A win-win performance
agreement opens the door
to transparency,
trust and better outcomes
for everybody involved.
All right, well, that's
a wrap on today's bowl
of morning cereal,
whether you're on a quest for deep truths
or just trying to ignore the fact
that this is the last weekend
before summer break is over.
Well, either way, I hope you find a
little bit of happiness
and a little bit of
clarity on both those accounts.
All right, well, enjoy your weekend.
Thanks for hanging out with us today.
Come back on Monday.
And as always, 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 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'll be a good time, I promise.
Thanks again for listening.
Have a fantastic day.
And we'll see you tomorrow.