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 3, Habit 4, 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 3, Habit 4 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.

Welcome back to Morning

Serial and welcome to Monday.

It's a new week to make the most of and

this week the kids are

going back to school and

I don't know, does that make us happy?

Does that make us sad?

Are we undecided?

For me to celebrate going back to school,

I wore one of my Jayhawk shirts.

Rock, rock, Jayhawk.

What better time to hit the

mental reset button, right?

Well, let's make sure we're caffeinated

appropriately and luckily

today is here to help with a

little cultural elevation.

First, it's National Hip Hop Day,

commemorating the genre's

birth in the Bronx on this day

back in 1973.

Now growing up in the 80s and the 90s as

I did, hip hop played a

huge role in my musical

education.

Rock, Dre, Eminem, Snoop,

Q, too many to name, right?

But that had to be the

golden age of hip hop.

And if you're craving something a little

more serene, it's also mountain day.

Shout out to my

hometown mountain, Pike's Peak.

All right, well, let's pick up the pace

here to our quote from

Usain Bolt who said, "I

don't think limits."

Now this is kind of a powerful nudge to

toss out the

self-doubt, ditch those imaginary

barriers, right?

And just keep moving forward, even if

it's more of a tired

shuffle than a record-breaking

sprint.

Well, today's news facts and birthdays

are for August 11th.

And it was on this date, the first

televised baseball game in

color on WCBS in New York

City was aired and the Boston Braves beat

the Brooklyn Dodgers eight to one.

Then in 1984, President Ronald Reagan, he

made a little bit of an off the cuff joke

during a microphone test.

Now I don't remember this, I was a little

young to follow this, but here's what he

said, "My fellow Americans," and he was

just kidding here, "I am

pleased to tell you today

that I've signed legislation that will

outlaw Russia forever.

We begin bombing in five minutes."

Now the remark, though intended as a

joke, it sparked

international concern because it

was on a hot mic.

Those politicians, they

often find themselves in it.

Then back in 2012, which was actually

over the weekend, not

on this day, but Jamaican

sprint superstar Usain Bolt, he won the

200 meters at the

London Olympics running 19.32

seconds to become the first person to win

the 100 and the 200

meter double in back to

back Olympics.

That's incredible.

Well, happy birthday to you.

Today is your birthday.

You share a birthday with some big names.

First one, actor and hammer wielding

Avenger, Chris Hemsworth.

He turns 42 today.

I can't even believe that number's right.

Comedian, podcaster, and occasional

controversy magnet,

Joe Rogan, he's 58 today.

The co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak,

he celebrates his 75th

birthday today, and the

late Hulk Hogan, pro wrestling icon from

the 80s and all the way

through the 90s to today,

I'm sure he would have turned 72 today.

The number one song on this date back in

1985 was "Shout" by Tears for Fears.

Now, I personally love this song.

It's very nostalgic for me.

It takes me back to playing with GI Joe

guys in my bedroom as a kid.

But when we're listening to it today and

it comes on my mix, my

kids always yell, "Skip"

from the backseat when it comes on.

Either way, the song became a signature

track for the band and

one of the defining sounds

of mid 80s pop.

And it peaked at number one on the

Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.

And no, I do not skip my car, my music.

All right.

Well, it's time to crack open our

self-improvement cereal

box and pour out some wisdom.

Okay.

We're still in Steve and R. Covey's The

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

And today we're

continuing with habit four.

Think win-win, focusing on the

sub-chapter's systems this time.

All right.

Covey will argue that for win-win to

become more than just a

buzzword, he hates buzzwords.

It has to be supported by systems.

Okay.

What he means by this is organizational

processes, structures, and

incentives must all align

with the win-win paradigm.

It can't just be

something leaders talk about.

It has to be baked into how an

organization actually operates.

Now Covey writes, "You can't talk win-win

and reward win-lose.

You can't value a cooperative spirit and

promote competition."

This insight hits home for anyone who's

worked in a place where the

message on the wall didn't

match the reality on the ground.

Goodness knows I've

worked at places like that.

Now, if systems reward individual heroics

at the expense of

collaboration, you'll breed

silos, backstabbing, and burnout, right?

Covey also points out that our family and

our personal lives

operate with systems too,

even if we don't always recognize them.

Whether it's how we divide up our chores

or how we manage our

finances or resolve disagreements,

those informal systems either support or

they'll sabotage our values.

Okay.

Here's the key takeaway.

You can't expect win-win outcomes from

win-lose frameworks.

If you want genuine cooperation, mutual

respect, and lasting

success, you have to build the

right systems to sustain it.

That means making sure your rewards,

incentives, communication

structures, and culture are

all rowing in the same direction.

So take a look around.

At home, at work, in your community, are

your systems aligned with your values?

Or are you trying to grow

a sunflower in a sandbox?

A win-win mindset starts with your heart,

but it lasts with your

habits and your structures.

And Covey knows how important this is

because he keeps repeating

these chapter after sub-chapter

after sub-chapter, right?

But I think we're starting to get it.

All right.

Well, that's it.

That's this morning's

bowl of morning cereal.

And whether you're shouting, letting it

all out, or climbing

mountains, actual or metaphorical,

make it count.

All right.

Thanks for starting

your week with us today.

Good luck going back to school if that's

where you're headed or

your kids are heading there.

And as always, 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 Shawningless

and at Shawningless.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.