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 4, Habit 7, 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 4, Habit 7 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. 
 
All photo’s utilized in this video are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by Wikimedia Commons license and are free to copy, distribute and transmit.  No photos have been altered.

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 Serial.

Okay, good morning

and welcome to Tuesday.

And if your snooze button is on a hot

streak this morning,

consider this your halftime

pep talk.

Or, if you're like me and you've been up

for quite a while

already getting the kids

off to school and then headed into work,

well, come to think

about it, they should have a

day to celebrate parents like us.

Well, guess what?

They do.

And it's today.

Today is Working Parents Day.

So a round of applause for those of you

juggling everything life

throws at you while managing

your calendar and your inbox.

I definitely feel your pain.

And this morning we have a quote from

Nick Jonas who's going

to keep us moving from one

calendar event to the next.

Nick Jonas said, "Be who you are.

Do your thing and work hard.

The right people will come around."

Translation?

Bring your honest effort.

The fit will find you.

All right, today's news facts and

birthdays are for September 16th.

Starting back in 1620, that's when the

Mayflower departed from

Plymouth, England with 102 pilgrims

and about 30 crew

headed to the New World.

Then on this day in 1869, golf's first

recorded hole in one was scored by Tom

Morris at Prestwick's

eighth hole in Scotland.

Then moving all the way up to 1908,

that's when General Motors

was first founded in Flint,

Michigan, setting the stage for assembly

lines that would help

shape the 20th century.

And here's a fun TV throwback for you.

If you're rewatching 80s

cop shows, this is your week.

Miami Vice premiered

on September 16th, 1984.

And then lastly on this day in 1997,

Apple Computer renamed

co-founder Steve Jobs as

interim CEO.

Well, happy birthday to you

if today is your birthday.

You share a birthday with

singer and actor Nick Jonas.

He's 33 today.

Funny actor and comedian

Amy Poehler, she's 54 today.

Singer and actor Mark

Anthony, he's 57 today.

And the magician, the illusionist David

Copperfield, he's 69 today.

Now the number one song on this date back

in 1985 was "St. Elmo's Fire," "Man in

Motion" by John Parr.

Now this is one of the

greatest songs of all time.

Now I know you've dance-ercised to this,

or at least it's on

your workout playlist.

But what you may not have known was that

"St. Elmo's Fire" was

written after Parr met

a disabled Canadian athlete, Rick Hansen.

Well, the single hit number one on the

Hot 100 became an 80s

power anthem time capsule

of these big drums, bigger choruses, and

even bigger hair, as

the 80s were known for.

Well, fresh off a power ballad about

grit, Kobe's

social-emotional dimension is the

people side of sharpening the saw.

And Kobe is insisting that relationships

are the primary source of life's greatest

joys and stresses.

So renewal here means tending the trust

accounts we keep with others.

One of his core lines, "Trust is the

highest form of human motivation."

That isn't a slogan, it's a strategy.

Low trust

environments produce initiative.

Low trust ones produce compliance at

best, sabotage at worst.

Now, Kobe's approach starts inside out.

Private victories, which are habits one

through three, if you

remember, make public victories,

and those were habits four through six,

that make those possible.

And Kobe urges us to make emotional

deposits, understanding

the individual, attending to

little things, keeping commitments,

clarifying expectations,

and apologizing sincerely when

we're wrong.

Kobe writes, "Apologizing takes a great

deal of character strength."

Why is this?

It's because it trades

your ego for connection.

And that swap, it

compounds interest, right?

Communication is the daily workout.

If you remember, Kobe's habit five was

seek first to

understand, then to be understood.

This is the breathing pattern here.

When we listen empathetically, people

feel seen and problem

solving accelerates.

When you recall, Kobe cautions here

against what he called the four

autobiographical responses,

evaluating, probing, advising, and

interpreting, because they satisfied our

need to speak rather

than their need to be understood.

The fix here is curiosity, reflect

feelings, name concerns,

and only then collaborate.

Finally, Kobe connects his thinking

dimension to win-win thinking.

That was habit four.

And synergy, habit six.

Differences aren't

obstacles, they're raw material.

Principles, fairness, integrity, and

respect, keep the team on

course when personalities

pull in different directions.

So what's the maintenance plan?

Daily deposits, small acts of kindness,

clear expectations,

weekly check-ins, roles, goals,

and regular resets, right?

Forgiveness and fresh starts.

All right, here's the takeaway here.

Treat every conversation like a chance to

grow the trust account.

Compound interest beats quick wins.

All right, working parents, we see you.

We tip our hats to you.

And may your coffee be strong this

morning in your calendar's kind.

Hey, thanks for starting your Tuesday

with morning cereal.

We'll see you back here tomorrow.

And 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 seaningless

and at seaningless.com, where you can

also follow our other

podcasts, the Mr. and Mrs.

English podcast and

the Life Happens podcast.

And 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.