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 insights and stories
to kickstart your day.
And don't forget, 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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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.