Good morning and
welcome to Morning Serial.
Okay, good morning and welcome to Friday.
We made it and it's not just any Friday,
it's Friday the 13th.
The day that makes black cats nervous and
hotel elevators skip the 13th floor.
Hey, here's a fun fact for you.
Historians trace the superstition of
Friday the 13th all the way
back to the Knights Templar.
They were arrested on
Friday, October 13th and 1307.
And ever since, that date's been getting
the side eye from these superstitious
people and also the
horror movie fans alike.
But hey, instead of hiding under the
covers, embrace the weirdness of the day.
It's International Axe Throwing Day.
But just be sure you're throwing axes at
a target, not at people.
We don't need some sort of horror film
happening today, okay?
Well, you want something a little bit
more chill than that?
Pull weeds for
National Weed Your Garden Day.
My kids can do that.
You guys hear me?
Or maybe just retreat into your inner
introvert, which I love.
It's National Hermit Week after all.
Now, before hiding your face from
humanity, here's a little
twin-powered motivation for you.
Mary Kate Olsen said, "Believe in
yourself and your abilities, no matter
what anyone else tells you."
And it's a great reminder that even when
we retreat from the world, we don't need
to retreat from ourselves.
Well, today's news, facts,
and birthdays are for June 13th.
We're going to start back in 1922, and
this is a world record I
hope you don't ever beat.
But the longest recorded attack of
hiccups began on this date in 1922.
Charlie Osborne, he got the hiccups and
he had them for another 68 years.
Sadly, just 11 months after they stopped,
68 years after they
started, he passed away.
Well, in 1966, this was a big day for
law, Miranda versus Arizona.
Well, that ruled that suspects must be
read their rights, right?
The Miranda rights.
You have the right to remain silent.
Well, in 1983 on this date, Pioneer 10,
it became the first human-made object to
leave our solar system.
That's crazy if you think about it.
If you're keeping tabs, Pioneer 10 is
currently headed towards the star
Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus,
and that's about 20.4
billion kilometers away.
Now, fun fact again here, I tried to put
that into miles and I
cannot figure out how to do it.
So comment below if you have an idea how
many miles, 20 billion kilometers is.
Moving on to 1995 on this date, Bjork,
maybe she's your favorite singer,
and if so, you probably know this.
This is the date she released her second
pop solo album, Host.
Finally, in 2005 on this date, Michael
Jackson was acquitted of molestation
charges in Santa Maria, California.
All right. Well, happy birthday to you.
Today is your special day, right?
You share it with actress from Thor and
two broke girls, Kat Dennings.
She's 39 today and an actor best known as
Captain America, Chris Evans.
He's 44 today and fashion designers and
former actresses, Mary
Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen.
They both, you guessed
it, are the same age.
They're 38 years old today and
everybody's favorite neighbor.
He's an actor and comedian.
He's from Home Improvement
and Toy Story, Tim Allen.
He's 71 today.
And the number one song in this date in
1988 was One More Try by George Michael.
Now, I know you know this song or at
least a version of it because it's been
covered by over 395 artists
since its release in 1984.
Now, this heartfelt ballad, it topped the
charts with its soulful vulnerability,
which was in stark contrast to George
Michael's dance pop hits
that he had previously, right?
Well, the song One More Try, it reached
number one on all the
Billboard Hot 100 charts,
and it's a great song about emotional
hurt and hesitation to
enter into a new relationship.
Man, I love a good heartfelt ballad.
Well, I know you see this transition
coming too, and I love a
good book review as well.
And we are in Stephen R. Covey's Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People,
and today is a big day.
We're starting to explore
Covey's habit number three,
and we're introducing the principles of
personal management here.
And Covey's opening quote for this
chapter is from the German writer Goethe,
who said, quote, "Things which matter
most must never be at the mercy of things
which matter least," end quote.
So today we're diving into habit three,
which is put first things first.
But before we even define it, Covey asks
us to pause and reflect with two simple
yet powerful questions.
Here's the first one.
What one thing could you do that you're
not doing right now,
that if you did it on a regular basis,
would make a tremendous positive
difference in your personal life?
Okay. And then the second question that
Covey's asking us is,
what's the one thing in your business or
in your professional life that would
bring similar results?
So these aren't just rhetorical.
They're what I'm going to call today
clarity grenades, okay?
Blowing up distractions and making room
for what actually matters.
But Covey warns us, right, this is not
just jumping into prioritizing tasks,
putting first things first.
That's not what habit three is about.
He wants to make sure that we're doing
the deeper work of who you are.
That's what habit one
was all about, right?
Remember, be proactive and finding out
what you value most.
That's what habit two is.
Begin with the end in mind.
In Covey's word, quote, "You can't be
successful with other people if you
haven't paid the price of success with
yourself," end quote.
Habit one is about choice, the ability to
act rather than be acted upon.
It's the root of personal responsibility.
Then habit two is about vision, the
blueprint that gives
meaning to our choices.
It's where your personal mission
statement lives, okay?
Only after establishing these can you
fully live and move on to habit three,
which is about discipline and execution.
Covey defines it simply as, quote,
"Organize and execute
around priorities," end quote.
So habit three is the practical
fulfillment of habits one and two.
Covey says habit three is, quote, "The
second creation, the physical creation."
It's the fulfillment, the actualization,
and the natural emergence of
habits one and two, end quote.
So it's time management, not in terms of
schedules and checklists, but in terms of
values and conscience.
Covey differentiates between urgent and
important here, right?
Urging us to focus on activities that are
important but not urgent.
So these would include things like
relationships,
planning, and personal growth.
Those are important. You're not urgently
working on relationships. They're
important to work on.
So as Covey puts it, quote, "The key is
not to prioritize what's on your
schedule, but to
schedule your priorities."
Okay, here's your takeaway.
Habit three is where
your life starts to align.
It's not just about saying no to
distractions, but about saying a
resounding yes to what matters most.
It's where you stop being busy and start
being effective on your terms, guided by
your mission and rooted in purpose.
Okay, well, that's all
for today's morning cereal.
So whether you're lobbing axes and not at
people, pulling weeds or hiding from the
world on this Friday the 13th, don't
forget you're capable of great things.
Thanks so much for tuning in. And if
you're enjoying morning cereal, tell a
friend or family member to check it out.
Hey, have a great weekend. Join us next
week for more fun and inspiration and
have a fantastic day.
You can find more episodes and videos by
visiting our YouTube channel and the
website at Sean English and at Sean
English dot 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. We'll see you tomorrow.