Good morning and
welcome to Morning Cereal.
Okay, good morning and welcome to a
Tuesday, which is way
better than a Monday, right?
Well, grab a coffee and head on out to
the bottom of your
driveway because today we're
going to salute some
of the unsung heroes.
It's Global Garbage Man Day.
So give them a thumbs up or
maybe a donut or something.
I don't know.
And hopefully your next garbage
collection day isn't too long.
Mine's not till Thursday, so I'll be
waiting out here a while.
I may end up eating that donut after all.
Well, speaking of tasty pastries, it's
also National Apple Strudel Day.
And finally, let's not forget it's
National Mascot Day.
Do you know the name of your high school
or your college mascot?
I'm going to give a big shout out to Big
J. I mean, nothing
says school spirit like
sweating in a giant foam costume, right?
Well, today's quote is from someone who
is familiar with sweating it out.
Venus Williams said, quote, "You have to
believe in yourself
when no one else does.
That makes you a winner right there."
End quote.
And maybe that quote will serve up just
the right amount of
inspiration that you needed
this morning.
You see what I did there?
Did you catch it?
Well, block out the
doubters and get after it, people.
Today's news, facts, and
birthdays are for June 17th.
So we're going to start back in 1885.
That's when the Statue of Liberty, she
arrived in the New York
Harbor aboard the French
ship.
I'm not even going to try to say it.
Then moving up to 1980, the Blues
Brothers movie starring
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
Well, it premiered in
Chicago on this date.
Then in 1997, on this date, the very
first Harry Potter book
was published in the UK.
And here's a little known fact that maybe
you did or you didn't know.
But when the book was published in the
UK, it was named Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone.
But in the United States, it was called
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Well, finally on this date back in 2018,
the movie The
Incredibles 2, it set a box office
record for an animated release earning
$180 million during its opening weekend.
Well, it only held onto that record for
one year because in
the next year, the remake
of The Lion King beat that record.
Well, happy birthday to you
if today is your birthday.
You share a birthday with Poulter winning
rapper, Kendrick Lamar.
He's 37 today.
Tennis legend, Venus Williams.
She's 44 today.
And lastly, singer and
songwriter, Barry Manilow.
He's still going strong at 81.
Well, the number one song on this date
back in 1991 was More
Than Words by Xtreme.
Now, this ballad was a soft, more
acoustic departure from the
band's more hard rock image.
And I guarantee if you grew up in the 80s
and the 90s, chances
are that you sang this
song in the shower.
And it probably sounded pretty good.
Well, More Than Words climbed the charts
with its bare bones
honesty and its harmonies.
And it was the band's
only number one hit.
Although that record, Porno Graffiti, it
had some really great songs on it.
I mean, Wholehearted?
Come on.
Well, bear with me a few more words for
you in today's book
review segment as we continue
with Stephen R. Covey's The Seven Habits
of Highly Effective People.
And we're still in habit
three, putting first things first.
Today specifically, we're looking into
the sub-chapter, Four
Generations of Time Management,
which is a challenge to rethink how we
value our time and our energy.
And Covey, having studied time
management, says that he
would sum up the evolution of
generations of time management theory
into one single phrase.
And here it is.
That phrase would be, "Organize and
execute around priorities."
Now, Covey defines this generational
progression starting with
the first generation, where
people used simple tools like sticky
notes, alarm clocks, and reminder lists.
These were tools that helped us react,
but it didn't really help us plan.
So we move on to the second generation,
which introduced
calendars and appointment books,
which gave us a way to look ahead, but
still without a clear
compass for what actually
mattered.
Then we moved into the third generation,
which added prioritization.
Think about day planners, efficiency
apps, and
time-blocking strategies, right?
These tools, they helped us organize
tasks and set goals,
but often they prioritize
speed over substance.
So Covey would argue that we need
something deeper, a shift
to the fourth generation,
which is about
effectiveness, not just efficiency.
So it's the move from time management to
self-management, from
reacting to leading.
First generation is based on values,
principles, and long-term thinking.
It places a premium on these quadrant two
activities, which we're going to go over
tomorrow.
Those are the things that are important,
but not urgent, such as
relationship building,
long-term planning, and personal growth.
Covey writes, "The key is not to
prioritize what's on your
schedule, but to schedule your
priorities."
In other words, if it's not aligned with
your mission or your
values, why is it taking
up your time?
So Covey emphasizes the power of
proactive, weekly planning, focused not
around your calendar,
but around your roles and your goals that
we've been talking about.
You're not just an employee,
or you're not just a parent.
You're also a friend, right?
You're a learner, you're a creator.
Covey encourages us to align our weekly
schedule with these roles
and reflect on how to serve
each one of them in a meaningful way.
What's the result of all this?
It's a leadership-based life.
You stop letting your inbox or your daily
chaos run the show of
your life, and instead,
you're acting with clarity and a purpose.
As Covey explains, "The essence of the
fourth generation time
management is to organize
and execute around priorities."
Okay, so here's your takeaway.
It's not just about getting things done.
It's about getting the right things done.
Ask yourself, "What is the one thing I
could do in my personal
life that would have the
greatest positive impact?"
The answer to that belongs not in your
to-do list, but at the
very top of your life.
That wraps up your
Tuesday bowl of morning cereal.
Whether you're dancing in a really hot
mascot suit or defending
your last bite of an apple
strudel, make it count.
Thanks for joining us today.
We'll be back here tomorrow with more
nostalgic nuggets and
inspiration to kickstart your
day.
Until then, 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 seanenglish.com, where you can also
follow our other podcast,
the Mr. and Mrs. English
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.
Good morning, Venus Williams said, quote,
you have to believe in
yourself when no one else does.
That makes you a winner
right there, end quote.
And maybe that quote will
serve up just the right amount
of inspiration that
you needed this morning.
You see what I did there?
Did you catch it?
A big shout out to Big J.
The number one song on
this date back in 1991
was "More Than Words" by Xtreme.
Chances are that you
sang this song in the shower
and it probably sounded pretty good.
Mark Ovi's "The Seven Habits
of Highly Effective People"
organize and execute
around priorities, end quote.
The key is not to
prioritize what's on your schedule,
but to schedule your
priorities, end quote.
So here's your takeaway.
It's not just about getting things done.
It's about getting the right things done.
Have a fantastic day.