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 2, Chapter 2, 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 dive into Part 2, Chapter 2 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.

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 morning cereal

Okay, good morning and welcome to Monday.

Well, you've made it through hopefully

what was a restful weekend for you,

and now it's time to

tackle a new week ahead of us.

But maybe first, let's

just start with a coffee.

Well, it's May 19th and

the calendar is serving up

what I might suggest is a

delightful mix of observances.

Today is National Devil Foods Cake Day,

and I guess that's the

opposite of angel food cake.

That was my late grandfather's favor,

and it's one of mine too.

Well, it's also National Mayray Day.

National Mayray Day, and

it's not just fun to say,

it's encouraging

everyone to step outside,

soak up that spring

sunshine on a Monday morning.

And for those of you who

appreciate the unsung heroes

of the music world,

it's National Roadie Day,

honoring the hardworking individuals

who keep the show on the road.

Well, moving on to our quote of the day,

it's from Michael Shea, and Michael Shea

isn't exactly known for his

Hallmark style inspiration,

but here's a quote from him that,

"While delivered with

humor carries a deeper truth

that those of us

looking for some inspiration

can appreciate."

Here it is, Michael Shea said,

"If you're not

failing, you're not trying.

And if you're not

trying, what are you doing?"

End quote.

Well, I know it's a bit

cheeky, but the message sticks,

right?

Growth doesn't happen

in the comfort zone.

It's a solid Monday mantra.

Push forward, mess up a

little, but keep moving forward.

All right, well, today's

news, facts, and birthdays

are for May 19th.

And over the weekend in 1980, this

is the weekend that Mount

St. Helens in Washington

state erupted.

Then moving on to 1962, on

this date, Marilyn Monroe,

she performed her iconic

rendition of "Happy Birthday"

to President John F.

Kennedy at Madison Square Garden.

And then finally on this date in 2018,

this is the date that

Prince Harry married

Meghan Markle in a

ceremony at St. George's Chapel

at Windsor Castle.

All right, here's the top

story from over the weekend,

something that we should all be aware of.

Wall Street Journal

reported that Moody's downgraded

the US credit rating

amid tariff concerns.

So Moody's investor service has

downgraded the US credit

rating, citing concerns

over the economic impact of all

these newly imposed tariffs and the

continued deficit spending.

I wish I could go into

this much deeper because this

is a big deal and a major

change from historical US debt

ratings.

Well, let's move on to birthdays.

Happy birthday to you if

today is your birthday.

These two birthdays took

place over the weekend, comedian

and writer, known for her work on

"Saturday Night Live"

and "30 Rock."

Tina Fey, she's 55.

And country singer

George Strait, he turned 73.

Then birthdays for this day include

YouTube personality, singer

and just all around kind

of crazy person, JoJo Siwa.

She's 22 today.

Then DJ and electronic music producer,

and also, by the way,

a traditional Halloween costume in my

household, Marshmello.

He's 33 today.

Then Grammy-winning

pop singer, Sam Smith.

He's 33 today.

Then comedian and co-anchor of "Saturday

Night Live's" weekend

update, Michael Shea.

He's 41 today.

And then the last one, hall

of fame basketball player,

renowned for his intensity and his

versatility on the court.

He came straight out of

high school, Kevin Garnett.

He's 48.

Well, the number one song

on this date back in 1987

was "With or Without You" by U2.

Now, the song "With or Without You"

was written during a rough patch in

Bono's personal life.

He was torn between the

demands of fame and the stability

of his marriage, apparently.

And it's a tension that

inspired the song's emotionally

conflicted lyrics.

At one point, Bono didn't even think

the song was good enough to release,

but producers pushed for it.

And it became U2's first number one hit

on the Billboard Hot 100.

And it stayed there

for three weeks in 1987.

And despite, or maybe

because of, its raw vulnerability,

it's now considered

one of the greatest rock

ballads of all time, even

earning a spot on Rolling Stone's

list of the 500 greatest songs.

While continuing our walk

through the seven habits

of highly effective

people by Stephen R. Covey,

today we are unpacking the sub-chapter,

making and keeping commitments.

And one of the more

quietly powerful concepts

in part two of chapter one.

This section challenges us to examine

not just what we promise,

but what those promises actually mean

in shaping our character.

And Covey starts by

emphasizing the deep relationship

between personal integrity

and habit building, right?

He writes, quote, integrity is the value

we place on ourselves, end quote.

In other words, every commitment we make,

especially the small, easy to break ones,

is a mirror of how

much we trust ourselves.

Most of us are pretty good

at keeping our word to others,

but Covey turns the focus inward.

Do you keep promises to yourself?

He argues that

personal development is rooted

not in sudden transformation,

but in a steady

accumulation of self trust.

Every time we make and keep a commitment,

even something as

small as waking up on time

or finishing the project

that we said we'd finish,

we make a deposit into what Covey calls

our personal integrity account.

And these small

deposits build credibility,

both internally and with others.

But on the flip side,

breaking commitments,

especially repeatedly begins to erode

not just how others see

us, but how we see ourselves.

Covey doesn't shy away from the

consequences stating,

quote, if you start to think

that you're not dependable,

you will begin to act that way.

You will fail to make commitments

or you'll make them casually

with no real intent to

follow through, end quote.

So how do we break this cycle?

Covey offers a practical solution here.

He says, start small,

make realistic commitments,

ones you know you can keep.

This builds momentum.

Then as your confidence

grows, so can your commitments.

And Covey also emphasizes

the importance of awareness.

Don't say yes to just

please others or out of guilt.

A false promise is worse

than a delayed maybe, right?

Instead, act deliberately, keep your word

and course correct when needed.

Here's the takeaway.

Integrity isn't built overnight.

It's built moment by

moment, commitment by commitment.

If you want to feel more confident,

more capable and more grounded,

start by being someone you can count on.

Because once you believe

your own words, others will too.

All right, that's your

Monday morning cereal,

a bowl of history, news,

nostalgia, some inspiration.

And let me just thank you

for starting your week with us.

Join us again tomorrow for

More episodes

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What is Morning Cereal?