Good morning.
And welcome to morning cereal
Alright, good morning
and welcome to Monday.
And for those of you keeping track,
it's the 153rd day of the year.
We only have 212 days remaining.
But let's just talk
about today in particular.
Today is National Rotisserie Chicken Day.
Yummy and yes please.
It's also National Rocky Road Day.
Double yummy and yes please.
Even though I'd prefer this chocolate
and marshmallow ice
cream without the nuts.
I don't know, where do you stand on that?
Controversial, I know, I know.
Well, it's also
National I Love My Dentist Day.
I think that's kind of controversial too.
Kind of hard to do that.
I've got lots of painful memories there.
Well, here's a good one for you.
It's National Leave the Office Early Day.
So it's encouraging a
healthy work-life balance.
Now, I'm of the age where
a healthy work-life balance
was actually frowned upon
when I started my career.
Well, someone that turns
frowns upside down however,
our quote today is from Wayne Brady.
Who said quote, "You never
know what you're capable of
"until you try something new."
End quote.
Now, Wayne's reminding us not to
underestimate ourselves.
Whether you're starting
a new job, a new hobby,
or just trying to
conquer this Monday morning.
Give it a go.
You might just surprise yourself.
Well, today's news, facts
and birthdays are for June 2nd.
We're gonna start back in 1941
and that's when
baseball legend Lou Gehrig,
he passed away from ALS at the age of 37.
Then on this date in 1953,
Queen Elizabeth II, she was
crowned at Westminster Abbey.
Then skipping up to 1966, that's when
NASA's Surveyor won.
Well, it landed on the moon
and it transmitted
some pretty cool pictures
back to the earth.
Then all the way in 1997,
and you might remember
this one on this date,
Timothy McVeigh, he was convicted
for the Oklahoma City bombing.
Then staying with that
slightly morbid news fact here,
in 2016 on this date, the
autopsy results from Prince,
they finally came in.
They showed that he died
of a fentanyl overdose.
Well, tough transition to birthdays,
but happy birthday to you
if today is your birthday.
And it's gonna be a good one
because you share it
with a lot of people.
Awkwafina, actress and rapper who blends
super funny comedy with
her cutting edge style,
she's 37 today.
Abby Wambach, Olympic
soccer gold medalist, she's 45.
Funny man, Wayne Brady, right?
Improv genius, he's 53 today.
Then Dana Carvey, he needs no intro.
Comedian and actor famous
for SNL in Wayne's world,
he's 70.
And lastly, Stacey Keach,
he's the actor that's
known for his voiceover roles
and his acting roles in
drama and crime series.
He's 84 today.
Well, the number one song
on this date back in 1994
was "I Swear" by All 4 One.
And this was a
quintessential 90s love ballad.
It not only dominated the charts,
but it also dominated weddings and proms
throughout the 90s.
And ever since, if someone squares to you
by the moon and the stars in the sky,
then you know it's
legit, definitely legit.
Well, let's turn to some legit
self-improvement here.
We're in the book review
segment of "Morning Serial,"
and we're reading
through Stephen R. Covey's
"The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People."
And we're in the
sub-chapter at the center,
when again, we're
finding Covey challenging us
to examine the true
foundations of our lives, okay?
Covey suggests that
each of us has this center,
a core from which we make our decisions,
we draw strength from it,
and we interpret the
world around us from it.
Now, this center, it might be family,
it might be work, it
might be money or pleasure,
could even be our enemies.
But Covey cautions us
that centering our lives
on these external things
that can leave us
feeling unstable and reactive.
Covey says, quote, "Whatever
is at the center of your life
will be the source of your security,
guidance, wisdom, and power," end quote.
That's a powerful insight here, right?
If our center is constantly shifting
or based on things beyond our control,
like a job title or
someone else's approval,
then we are much more
likely to feel anxious
or defensive or directionless.
Now, these reactive tendencies,
they can keep us stuck in cycles of
stress and self-doubt.
So Covey contrasts these unstable centers
with a principle-centered life, okay?
Remember principles like honesty,
integrity, fairness,
and human dignity.
These are timeless
and they're unchanging.
And Covey says they're like a compass
that always points true north,
even when storms and
setbacks hit our lives.
Covey says, quote,
"Principles don't change,
they're deep fundamental truths
that have universal
application," end quote.
When we center our
lives on these principles,
we gain a kind of inner
stability that's hard to shake.
And Covey also points out
that many people get stuck
in a problem-centered mindset.
When problems become our focus,
we lose sight of the bigger picture.
Our decisions become
reactive instead of proactive.
And we let life's
turbulence pull us off course.
Moving to a
principle-centered life, Covey says,
is about shifting from this reactive mode
to one of a deliberate choice
where you don't just respond
to life, you're leading it.
Okay, here's the takeaway.
Covey's message in this
sub-chapter at the center
is that life's
greatest security and power
come not from
external success or approval,
but from internal clarity.
When you identify the
principles, you wanna guide you.
You build a foundation
that can weather any storm.
It's not about eliminating problems
or controlling the future.
It's about creating a life
where your actions are aligned
with your deepest values.
And that alignment, Covey says,
is what makes you truly effective.
All right, well, as we start this week,
let's embrace the values that guide us.
And we should also leave the
office a little early today
to enjoy some rotisserie chicken,
followed by some rocky
road ice cream, right?
Whether or not you eat the
nuts or not, that's up to you.
Hey, thanks for starting
your week with morning cereal.
We'll be back here again tomorrow morning
with insights and stories.
So come back for that.
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.