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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
people and welcome to Monday.
I hope you had a great weekend
frantically shopping Amazon for those
last second Christmas
presents and attending those Christmas
parties and using the
holidays as an excuse to just
eat, drink, whatever you want to do.
I know I'm doing that
but hey don't worry.
We will lose the weight in January.
No problem.
Alright, well on a more inspiring note,
our quote this morning
is from a woman who had
her 36th birthday over the weekend.
You might know her, Taylor Swift.
She once said quote, "You're not going to
be everyone's cup of
tea and that's okay."
End quote.
The truth is you can't please everyone
and that's perfectly fine.
Get comfortable in that fact.
Instead, focus on genuine connections
rather than universal approval.
Okay, here are your four moments that
matter for December 15th.
On this day in history in 2001, the
Leaning Tower of Pisa
reopened after 11 years and
$27 million of very careful engineering.
Still leaning and this is
me doing my part to help.
Today's special day is the fact that
today is Bill of Rights
Day and I just go ahead
and throw in Wear Your Pearls Day as
well, which means today
is your chance to be both
patriotic and glamorous before 9 a.m.
The number one song on this date back in
1984, my favorite,
Last Christmas by Wham.
Now I just said it, this may well be my
favorite Christmas song, but it's
definitely my favorite
80s Christmas song.
Well, happy birthday to you
if today is your birthday.
You share a birthday with actress from
Downton Abbey, Michelle Dockery.
She's 44 today.
Miami Vice himself and
Dakota Johnson's dad, Don Johnson.
He's 76 today.
All right.
Well, it is book review time for Monday.
We are beginning chapter 13 today in Mel
Robbins, The Let Them Theory.
And Mel Robbins begins this section with
a striking truth as
she usually does, saying,
"Great friendships don't just happen.
They're created."
End quote.
Now she walks us into the intentional
side of adult
relationships, challenging the assumption
that closeness develops naturally.
Instead she argues, "Meaningful
friendships are the result of
deliberate choices, consistent
energy and shared vulnerability."
Robbins explains that many adults feel
lonely, not because
they're unlovable, but because
they're passive.
She writes, "We wait for friendships to
find us instead of
building the friendships that
we want."
End quote.
Now this chapter is a
call to action for you.
If you crave deeper, healthier
friendships, you have to participate.
Mel lays out the foundation for creating
friendships that last.
Honesty, reciprocity and aligned values,
not perfection, not
constant availability, not
endless agreement.
Robbins says, "The best friendships are
the ones where both people
feel safe being themselves."
End quote.
Now one of her most freeing insights is
that adult friendships
thrive when everyone feels
emotionally unpressured.
No guilt trips, no silence scoring, no
expectations disguised as obligations.
Mel writes, "When friendship becomes
work, it stops feeling like friendship."
End quote.
Mel also addresses the natural hesitation
many people feel
about reaching out, which
is the fear of seeming needy or awkward.
She dismantles this by reminding us that
connection is a universal human craving.
"Everyone is waiting for
someone else to go first."
By initiating plans, checking in or
asking deeper questions,
we actually give others
the belonging that
they've been hoping for.
Another crucial point here that she makes
is that quality
matters more than quantity.
In childhood, friendships
are often built on proximity.
We talked about that, right?
In adulthood, they're built on choice.
Robbins encourages readers to invest in
people whose presence
consistently feels grounding
to them.
That's energizing and
it's emotionally honest.
Ultimately, this
chapter is about empowerment.
You're not at the mercy of fate when it
comes to friendships.
You can create the kind of connection
that feels supportive,
that's mutual and wholehearted.
All right, here is your Monday takeaway.
Great friendships aren't found.
They're formed through intention,
honesty, and showing
up as your true self.
All right, this is
going to be a great week.
Be the brave version of yourself out
there this week and
start the week building the
relationships that matter.
All right, thanks for starting your week
with Morning Serial.
We will see you back here tomorrow.
Until then, 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
visiting our YouTube
channel and the website at Shawn
English and at ShawnEnglish.com, where
you can also follow our
other podcast, the Mr.
and Mrs. English podcast
and the Life Happens podcast.
These other podcasts will dive deeper
into everyday issues,
self-improvement, well-being,
business and finance, and we
welcome special guests too.
Join us.
It will be a good time, I promise.
Thanks again for listening.
Have a fantastic day and
we'll see you tomorrow.