Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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Beneficial Habits, Fear, Napoleon Hill, Perfectionism, Procrastintation

Today’s Quote:

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill

Procrastination is the killer of all goals, dreams, and plans. There are many articles online, books, and other sources that discuss the problems associated with procrastination. The two primary reasons I procrastinate are fear and perfectionism.

When I fear to have to do something, like making an unpleasant phone call or having an unpleasant conversation, I procrastinate. When I am working on a large writing project or some other important goal, I procrastinate because I want it to be perfect.

The logic behind both of these reasons is absurd when you think about it. Feeling fear about an unpleasant phone call or conversation–get it over with. Perfectionism? What is my definition of perfect and how do I know that it will be perfect for someone else? The key to doing anything or make progress is simply to do it.

Weightlifting is a hobby of mind. It is more like a lifestyle. I enjoy working out. I enjoy going to the gym. It was not always this way, however. There have been times where I would just blow off the gym for weeks on end. What I discovered when I figured out that fitness was a lifestyle choice was simply to go to the gym, regardless of what I did. You know what happened? It got easier and I actually enjoyed going. In fact, I look forward to going to the gym.

There will always be internal resistance with anything you try. There will always be some fear, some perfectionism, something that will tell you internally, “hey, why don’t we think about this a little more, or why don’t we wait one more day so we can do this at this time instead?” That internal voice will make a shift when you begin seeing the benefits of your fitness choice. I imagine the same will be true for any other beneficial habit you attempt to bring into your life.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Discrimination, Illusion, Learning, Life, spirituality, Stephen King, unfolding

Today’s Quote:

“Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later, it always comes around to where you started again.” Stephen King

It seems to me that we are introduced to a problem now and again to learn from. We learn the lesson. We see another problem and again we learn from it. Interestingly, our problems address certain weaknesses we have. Perhaps we are easily duped. The person who learns to avoid this has begun to master discrimination, or the ability to see the truth for what it is when presented with an illusion.

God continues to present us with problems to help us unfold spiritually. Each problem we solve gets us closer to the realization that there really are no problems per se, only wrinkles in ourselves.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Bruce Lee, Finding Balance, Goals, Stretch ourselves, Too easy, Too hard

Today’s Quote:

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” – Bruce Lee

I think one of the interesting aspects of goal setting is the balance that is required when setting a goal. Set it too far away and we risk losing interest in the goal or frustrating ourselves by trying for something that is above our ability at the moment. On the other side of this scale is setting a goal that is too easy to achieve.

This was the case for me over the last few months. I set a goal of increasing my strength by 20% and reading 3 books. Needless to say, I’ve hit both goals with five weeks to spare.

For the next quarter, I’ll be setting goals that will be a little more challenging. I’ll keep you posted before I set them to keep myself honest!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

concentration, Focus, Goal Setting, Nathan W. Morris, three things

Today’s Quote:

“It’s not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less.” – Nathan W. Morris

I am so bad at this! I’m always over-scheduling what I can get done in a day and realize my mistake when it’s too late. Have you ever done this?

I’ve read quite a few books on planning, managing our time, minimizing our actions when forging new habits, and journaling. The one theme that continues across this spectrum of books is this: focus on less to get more done.

Makes sense right? If you have three really important goals you want to accomplish in the next quarter, we should probably focus on the three things that push us toward accomplishing these goals on a daily basis. This is the choice we have to make and for me, it has always been difficult. I guess I do not like to commit, but perhaps it is more than that. I’ve always been driven to win, to succeed, to compete. Why can’t I do 10 things today? Because it spreads us too thin.

So, I focus on the three goals I have currently. Increasing strength by 20%, finish reading three books and complete the rough draft of my recruiting book by October. This is really easy to do because I’ve already completed two of these goals way in advance (strength and reading). Now it’s the rough draft.

Try this for yourself. Set three things you want to accomplish in the next 90 days. Focus on doing one thing each day that gets you closer to accomplishing them. You’ll be amazed at the results.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Eric Thomas, Process, Ritual, Routine, Series of Habits

Today’s Quote:

“Fall in love with the process and the results will come.” – Eric Thomas

I love this quote because it discusses the simplicity of systemic workflow. Think about how easy it is to do something you do every day at the same time. There is example after example of the simplicity of following protocols, processes, and established best-practices–religiously. Because they work!!

You can substitute routine or ritual for the word “process”. Routines and rituals simplify our lives because we don’t have to reinvent our days. We simply get up and execute. Look at some of the things you do every day without fail. Once you do, you can ask yourself what other things would I like to do daily that can provide me with maximum benefit. Let’s say it’s reading.

Find one time in the day that you believe is your best time to read (maybe an hour before bed). Put it on your calendar, make it a daily repeating event on your calendar app and Wala – you have a new habit in the making. The ritual comes in by adding other habits in and around your reading like:

Evening Routine

• Hygiene (Brush Teeth, Wash Face/Shower)
• Prep Clothes for tomorrow’s workday
• Read
• Retire

You can obviously manipulate this any way you wish. The key is to consistently execute this routine each night at the prescribed time on your calendar. By doing so it will slowly become a habit you never miss. If you read just 1 hour a night, that is 365 hours a year. Imagine what you could read in a year just reading that 1 hour a night.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

change, John C. Maxwell, Ritual, Routine, small changes

Today’s Quote:

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” – John C. Maxwell

For a good chunk of my life, I focused on my “willpower” to make things happen. Over the years, science has discovered that willpower is a faulty mechanism at best. The key to change is to take small steps and automate. To emphasize, I will substitute routine with ritual.

I have rituals for two parts of my day. The first is in the morning. The second is in the evening. I won’t rehash my schedule but will say that you should order your activities so that they make sense to you. Hygiene, journaling, meditation, exercise, etc. Start small. Maybe your ritual is nothing more than:

1) make bed

2) eat breakfast

3) meditate

4) brush teeth and hygiene

5) get dressed head to work.

This is simplistic, but what I am referring to by starting small. You may even want to start smaller than I have above. The key to rituals is focusing on things you do already. Once you have gotten this worked out, just add one thing you’d like to add to your day, whether it is reading a book, meditating, or journaling. It’s up to you.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Achievement, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Progress

Today’s Quote:

“Strive for progress, not perfection.” – Unknown

If you consider yourself a perfectionist, you’re probably very familiar with the bane of perfectionism – procrastination. It’s so easy to delay a project because it just isn’t right or you’re missing one of this or that.

The key to progress is to continue pushing along. If you achieve the goal, you won’t worry about how you got there, you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of actually achieving what you set out to do.

If you make mistakes, turn right when you were supposed to turn left, mark it down as a learning opportunity. Remember, most of the things we strive to achieve, we have never done before. Mistakes and imperfections are part of the journey.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Adapting, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Improvising, Planning, Plans, Quote, Visualizing

Today’s Quote

“Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

As a retired veteran, I can tell you this is absolutely true. I think the reason Eisenhower said this is that in the military, like many other organizations, plans rarely survive reality. They are a template for our actions and future moves but are just that—a template.

When we begin pushing through that plan, people will change, the weather will change, circumstances will change, and opportunities will arrive. None of these things can be foreseen; they just happen. The key to completing any plan is to adapt to changes, modify the plan as needed, and continue moving forward until the mission, project, or goal is completed. We have to plan to really iron out our thoughts and vision, but the execution always requires the ability to improvise when things don’t occur the way we planned them to.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Benjamin Disraeli, Facades, Quote, Truth

Today’s Quote

“Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.” – Benjamin Disraeli

So many people shelter their true feelings, hiding behind a facade they use when in public. Why not be genuine? It is so much easier.

Acting differently than who you really are is the same as lying. Everyone figures out who you really are in time anyway. Be yourself. Those people that are truly your friends will accept you for who you are, the rest don’t care and aren’t worth the trouble.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Acts with ZERO ROI, Efficiency, Maximal Returns, Peter Drucker, Productivity, Wasting Time

Today’s Quote:

“Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” – Peter Drucker

Wow!

Have you ever thought that you could squeeze more into your day by just being more focused and efficient? It is a nice thought, right?

Have you ever created a to do list system that is more complicated than the US tax code? I think this is what Mr. Drucker is talking about.

We all have 24 hours in a day. Some people use their time wisely, while others waste it. I think the real key to productivity is putting your efforts into tasks or projects that will maximize your return on investment (ROI). I can think of a few important things we could do each day that would provide maximal returns.

1. Physical Exercise
2. Reading
3. Writing and Learning
4. Meditating/Contemplating
5. Spending uninterrupted time with loved ones.
6. Attending Church, Temple, Mosque, or some other religious pursuit.

Can you think of any more? All of these provide significant returns for any time you invest. Can you guess what items may not bring the best long-term results?

1. Uncontrolled television viewing.
2. Uncontrolled video game playing.
3. Uncontrolled web surfing/social networking.

Notice I placed uncontrolled in front of each of these. Uncontrolled means that you will do these things in place of other more important tasks, simply because you have ZERO control over your schedule. Television, video games, and social networking rule you.

I hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave