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 1, Chapter 1,  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 1, Chapter 1 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. 

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, if you're watching this on YouTube,

you've noticed that

I'm back in three-quarter

zips because old man winter decided to

have one last fling down here in Texas.

Now I know if you happen to live north of

Texas, you're not

feeling our pain because

I get it.

Winter routinely lasts

well into the spring.

I grew up in Colorado, I get it.

But let me just tell you,

we are so weak down here.

We need that warm weather

back and we need it now.

We're going to lose

our stuff again, people.

Okay, well, now that I got that out of my

system, that aside,

today is National Motherhood

and Beauty Day.

So we can and we definitely should

celebrate our beautiful

wives and our mothers.

And we can do it with

some beer and coffee cake.

And that's not just a random pairing.

No, no, no, no.

It's like a game show, right?

Let's tell them what they won.

Well, Bob, it's also National Beer and

National Coffee Cake Day.

Well, how can this Monday get any better?

Well, how about a quote from the

character John Nash, who

said, "Perhaps it is good

to have a beautiful mind, but an even

greater gift is to

discover a beautiful heart."

You know the movie?

That's from the movie A Beautiful Mind.

Okay, today's news facts and

birthdays are for April 7th.

There's not many of them, so don't blink

or you might miss them.

The first one here is back in 1963.

That's when Jack Nicholas at the tender

age of just 23, he won his

first Masters Tournament.

Then skipping all the way up to 2016, and

my wife will love

this one, that's when the

longest ever captured Python was found in

the Penang Island of Malaysia.

That Python measured 26 feet in length.

Well, happy birthday to you

if today is your birthday.

You share a birthday

with actor Jackie Chan.

He's 71 today.

And actor Russell Crowe, he's 61 today.

Well, the number one song on this date

back in 1985 was One

More Night by Phil Collins.

Now, this is one of my favorite Phil

Collins songs, and it was

Phil Collins' second number

one hit following his song Against All

Odds, Take a Look at Me Now.

And I'm pretty sure this song was on

repeat after all of my

junior high and high school

breakups.

And of course, I mean that

in the most innocent way.

Come on, people.

Well, let's jump into our book review.

As you know, we're reading through

Stephen Covey's The Seven

Habits of Highly Effective

People.

And in this first chapter entitled Inside

Out, yesterday, Covey

discussed the differences

between character traits, which focuses

on character qualities

like integrity, temperaments,

patience, modesty, versus personality

ethic, which Covey

believes is persuasive in today's

culture and it teaches more

superficial, quick type fixes.

Now, remember, two days ago on Friday, we

had talked about

Covey and his wife and the

relationship with their son, right?

And he and his wife were concerned about

their son's ability or

maybe his lack thereof to

be successful at school

or on the athletic field.

Well, Covey and his wife decided that

instead of telling their

son what to do, instead of

looking at their son with the perception

that he was failing,

they obviously didn't

say this, but that was the perception.

That was the picture their actions and

their words were painting

to him and to themselves.

Instead, Covey and his wife decided to

focus their efforts on

themselves, quote, "not

on our techniques, but on our deepest

motives and our

perception of him," end quote.

They also made an effort to see their

son, quote, "in his own

uniqueness and saw within

him layers and layers of potential that

would be realized at his

own pace and his own speed,"

end quote.

So, they made the decision to get out of

their son's way, stopping

trying to lead him, stopping

comparing him, and stopping trying to

judge him all the time.

And instead, to take on a role that

affirmed him, that just

simply enjoyed him and valued

him so that he could develop his own

internal sources of security.

And at the same time, they also tried to

sever the strings of

their own self-worth that were

dependent on what would be considered

their son's socially

acceptable successes.

And Covey believes that the support and

the belief that he and

his wife provided their

son helped lead him, their son, to their

son's own feelings of,

I'm quote, "fundamentally

capable," and this inner confidence or

character trait eventually

led their son to socially

impressive accomplishments.

This experience was Covey's real life

experiment and introduction to the,

quote, "vital difference

between the personality ethic and the

character ethic of success," end quote.

Now, tomorrow, we're going to continue

unpacking these fundamental

concepts that I found incredibly

interesting.

So, come back for that tomorrow.

I don't know where you're at this morning

or where you're at this

week, but keep your heads

up, people.

It's going to be a great week.

Hey, thanks for joining us

today and 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 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.