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 Cereal.

Okay, good morning and

welcome to Wednesday.

It's hump day and you know

Mike is excited about that.

Well, if you weren't ready

for the midweek, too late.

It's Time's Up Day, which is a nudge to

stop procrastinating,

get things done, and mend

those fences you've been avoiding.

Not to worry though, you

can finish your coffee first.

I'll allow it.

Here is a little wisdom now from

everyone's homie, Patrick

Mahomes, who said, "Every

experience, good or bad,

you have to learn from."

So today's play, review,

adjust, and run it again.

This time smarter,

bigger, better, faster.

Alright, well today's news, facts, and

birthdays are for September 17th.

We're going to start back in 1787.

That's when the US Constitution was

signed by 39 delegates at the

Constitutional Convention

in Philadelphia.

Then moving all the way up to 1972,

renowned TV series, MASH.

Well, it debuted on CBS and it ran for 11

years, garnering 14

Emmy Awards and 1 Peabody.

Then in 1976, NASA unveiled its first

space shuttle, the Enterprise, in

Palmdale, California.

Then lastly, in 1983, Vanessa Williams

became the first black

Miss America at just 20 years

old.

Well, happy birthday to you.

Today is your birthday.

You share a birthday with your homie, my

homie, Patrick Mahomes.

He's 30 today.

And the Zen master himself, Phil Jackson.

He's 80 today.

Wait, what's this?

This was just handed to me.

It's also

International Country Music Day.

Well, I guess the new kids on the block

are just going to

have to wait another day.

In honor of International Country Music

Day, the number one song

on this date back in 1995

was, "I Like It, I

Love It" by Tim McGraw.

Now, this hard driving number one song

was the lead single from

McGraw's All I Want album,

which became his third number one on the

Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Now, it held that top

spot for five straight weeks.

And if you were in a line dancing bar in

1995 or any time 20 years after that, you

know this song well.

It's actually nice to have a

country song on here today.

I'm going to mix this in

a bit more moving forward.

Now, I know you're liking Kovey's habits

and you want some more of it.

So great timing because today we are

talking about the

sub-chapter Scripting Others.

In Stephen R. Kovey's, the seven habits

of highly effective people.

And in this section, Kovey asks, "What

part are you handing people to play?"

He argues that many of us unintentionally

hand out scripts,

labels, and expectations,

subtle cues that others then fulfill.

The renewal move is to write better

scripts, grounded in

principles and potential.

Here Kovey's story of a school class that

was scripted as "capable is famous."

When teachers were told falsely that

their students were high

IQ bloomers, those students

actually performed better over time.

Why?

Because the teachers'

expectations had changed for them.

More encouragement, richer

questions, extra patience.

Kovey's point here is, "Treat a man as he

is and he will remain as he is.

Treat him as he can and should be and he

will become as he can and should be."

The line he quotes

captures the leverage of belief.

But how do we do this without drifting

into flattery or pressure?

Kovey suggests specific,

character-based affirmations.

Notice integrity and initiative and

kindness over vague praise.

We also clarify roles

and goals collaboratively.

Then communicate trust.

"I believe you can handle this.

I am here to remove

obstacles, not to micromanage."

Accountability doesn't disappear here.

It shifts from policing to partnering.

When someone falls short,

the new script isn't "blame."

It's "What did we learn from this?"

Or "What's our next right step?"

What did we learn from this?

What's our next right step?

And Kovey warns against negative

scripting too, saying

things like, "That's just how

you are," or the "That's

just how you are" shrug.

Those right roles no one wants and

relationships no one enjoys.

Renewal shows up in tiny edits.

The benefit of the doubt question, the

second chance, the

check-in that treats people like

whole humans.

Families can do this at the dinner table

with "What was your

highest point of the day?"

"What was your lowest point of the day?"

Teams can do it in weeklies by

celebrating small wins

and naming values lived.

As with every habit seven dimension,

scripting others ties

back to self-mastery.

The scripts we write for ourselves set

the ceiling for the

ones we write for others.

For instance, if our self-talk is

principle-centered, courage,

respect, and growth will author

better pages for our

partners, our kids, and our coworkers.

Here is your hump day takeaway.

That rhymed.

I like that.

Hand people scripts that

assume growth and signal trust.

Most people rise to the

story they're invited to live.

Times Up Day is your cue.

Send the text.

Make the piece.

Write a better page for

yourself and someone else.

Hey, thanks for spending your morning

with Morning Serial.

We'll see you on the next rotation and as

always, 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

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, 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.