Every Single Day: Recent Episodes
Bradley Charbonneau
Author Bradley Charbonneau narrates his best-selling book "Every Single Day." It's all right here in this podcast, shared weekly!
10 years ago, there’s no way I would have dreamed I’m doing what I’m doing now. Where will you be in another decade? When should start? When should you take the first step towards that goal? Oh wait, I know! I know! Yeah, I’m so predictable: today. “I’m so predictable.” That’s actually a habit joke: […]
Reviews are the most powerful element when it comes to building attention for my books.
Did I happen to mention anywhere that all of this is a whole lot easier if you have a passion for learning?
What if my goal were not to write 14 books but to write every single day? Not to run a marathon but to jog every day. Not to lose 10 pounds but to drink a liter more of water every day. What if practice didn’t make perfect but practice is perfect ? What if the […]
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.? -- Albert Schweitzer
A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.? -- Colin Powell?
My audiobook distributor, Findaway Voices, has a new service for audiobooks that allows me to give away a limited number of my audiobooks for free. All you need to do is go to this link and get me the best email address where I can send you a code and we’ll be on our way: […]
When you’re that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can’t really tell whether you have created the momentum or it’s creating you.? — Annie Lennox
I spent many years slogging away and getting nowhere. Then I spent some more years slogging away harder and getting somewhere. Then I spent less energy and less time and got beyond where I thought I could ever go: anywhere.? Bradley Charbonneau
When you're inspired, you activate dormant forces, and the abundance you seek in any form comes streaming into your life.?
If you’re playing to an audience and it’s not you, they might go away. Then they might come back. But then they might go away again. If your audience is you, you know where you are. At least, probably.
We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.
You can’t force inspiration. But you can force motivation which can lead to inspiration.
I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it. -- Niccolo Machiavelli
One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying. – Joan of Arc
Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. — Wayne GretskyIf you don’t water the plants until tomorrow, they’ll survive.
If you don’t feed the dog until the weekend, he’ll probably live. He’ll even wag his tail and love you next week (if he survived the weekend of course).
If you don’t take a stab at giving your dream a chance, if you keep putting it off until things are just right, until this project is completed and that task is taken care of … if you talk about your dream with friends as if you’re going to start any day now, but never do … if you go into long conversations with strangers on airplanes about your thoroughly researched plans for your dream future but you get off the plane and never speak of it … if you think that “someday” will come … if you wish and want and plead and pray, but take no action … if you keep it all bottled up inside and never let it out … if you think someone will come along one day and ask if you’re ready to begin day one of your dream … if you’re waiting … if you’re pretending … if you’re living the life you know is not the truest version of you … if you don’t take the first step, if you don’t give your dream a chance, at least a peek outside of its tightly-closed prison cell … if you don’t start.
Don’t wait to be successful at some future point. Have a successful relationship with the present moment and be fully present in whatever you are doing. That is success. — Eckhart TolleI see this book as a conversation. A relaxed, usually calm conversation between you and me. Between the me of the past, present, and future and the you of the past, present, and future. Yeah, that’s going to be six people. We might want to set up a conference call.
What do you believe is possible? What do you believe is impossible? What do you believe is possible for you? What do you believe is impossible for you? The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination. — Tommy Lasorda
Do you believe that your dream, your passion, your goal, your whatever-you-want-to-call it, is possible or impossible?
I no longer see possible and impossible as black and white, yes or no, zeros and ones. There is a third path. A method, a mindset, that finds another way around impossible and yet slides by the possible. It’s not necessarily better or worse, smarter, better, but it’s from another perspective, from a new perspective.
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. — Henry Ford
The only requirement you need to read, finish, and act on what this book has to offer is that you’re open to it. You’re open to new ideas, new perspectives, directions, and methods. Maybe you’re open to a new mindset, a new way of thinking, new habits, new challenges, and new failures.
The problem is that most of us live in Day Zero.What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.? where we start from. — T. S. Eliot
I wanted to number this part of the book Part 0. But the book formatting software wouldn’t let me. That’s because zero doesn’t exist for most people. It hasn’t really started yet. Nothing begins with Day Zero. There is Day One and then the rest. But it’s true, Day Zero doesn’t actually exist. Day Zero is an idea, a thought, a potential.
Give someone who has faith in you a placebo and call it a hair growing pill, anti-nausea pill or whatever, and you will be amazed at how many respond to your therapy. — Bernie Siegel
There were two pills on the original cover of this book.
I’m a big believer in the power of the placebo, which is the power of the mind. My point with the pills on the cover is to make it seem like I have a “prescription” for change where I’m going to give you a magic pill and your dreams will come true.
He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”— JOEL A. BARKER
- prologue: a preface or introductory part of a discourse,poem, or novel
- precaution: a measure taken in advance to avert possibleevil or to secure good results
- procrastinate: to defer action; delay; to put off till anotherday or time;
Normally at the beginning of a book, there’s a prologue. Nope, not here. “Precaution” is much more appropriate.
Procrastination is going to have to wait until Part 2. (That’s a little word humor there. It’s OK, you’ll get used to it.)
Research has shown that it takes 31 days of conscious effort to make or break a habit. That means, if one practices something consistently for 31 days, on the 32nd day it does become a habit. Information has been internalised into behavioural change, which is called transformation. — Shiv Khera
Wow. I sort of can’t believe I’m doing this. Sitting down to write the foreword of Bradley’s book. I’m honored, truly, but I still sort of can’t believe I’m doing this. Part of me can’t believe there’s a book at all. There wasn’t going to be one, I was pretty sure of that.
And if you’d known Bradley back in 2012, like I did, you wouldn’t believe it either. If you’d asked me back then, I’d say there probably wasn’t going to be a real live book. Certainly not a sixth book. Not one like this.
I couldn’t help it. I had to record the audiobook.Ach, all that reading? What, 192 pages? Overrated. Get the dog, head outside, put in your earbuds, and let me take you from Day Zero to Day One. It’s quite a journey, but don’t worry, I know where to go. Ready?
I spent 20+ years on this book. Then the last year writing it. It’s one of those “blood, sweat, and tears” books that pulls together the wisdom of many failures and finally success.
My goal is to save you from some of the many, many failures and get to the successes faster.
The book is available on Amazon, but I’ve decided to release the audiobook version as a podcast because I’m such an avid podcast listener and I want to give back to the community.
Also, I’ve received such fabulous feedback from the book that I just want it to land in the hands–or ears–of more and more people in hopes that my journey might help theirs.
I hope you enjoy “Every Single Day.” I’ll post a new chapter every week.
Here we go. Ready?
Yep, fame and fortune. Those are nice. But they're not the real reasons to write a book.
I might entice you to join the book writing party with raging rivers of flowing cash.
But I'm going to get you to stay at the party--even host the party--when you see what's really behind my motives to write a book.
Use the coupon code " THUNDER " to get 25% off the DIY book publishing course:
- Publish Every step you'll need--and more--to get your book published
Use the coupon code " GETITDONE2020 " to get 40% off:
- Boost your Brand with a Book (training) Launching Oct. 26
In full color: [ https://youtu.be/odhRgGnoasM ]
Further below is the video I did for the "rational, logical" or "mind" reasons to write a book.
Logical, rational, career, smart reasons to write a book:
It gets easier the deeper you go.
Oh, I mean harder.
No, wait, easier.
You'll see.
[ https://youtu.be/HhuBm1AVd4c ]
The dentist asked, "How often do you brush your teeth?"
What he's really asking is, "How seriously do you take each small steps leading to your future?"
How's that bucket list coming along? How about the "Big Dream Life" you fantasized about? Or still do? And still will?
Hey, I'm not knocking you. I spent a good decade (that's TEN YEARS if you're counting) "dreaming" of being an author before I took steps to become an author. Then I started writing Every Single Day.
Ask me how often I work towards keeping up the title "author" on the etched glass of my office?*
Nope, it's not every other Tuesday.
It's Every Single Day.
Daily too much?
Guess what: Thursday comes around every week?
I know, so cool.
The 17th of the month comes around each month, too.
So crazy.
What's your schedule for creating your future personality?
[ https://youtu.be/HhuBm1AVd4c ]
Then dial it in.
Just like a radio.
Ever noticed how there are radio waves all around but we need that box of instruments to connect? Yep, kinda like that.
If you're going to have an attitude, it might as well be a good one that annoys people.
It's still time to create.
In fact, it might be even more important.
[ https://youtu.be/E-b4h9xE0wo ]
You may create content, but is it catchy?
Do your clients want to know more? Do they click, like, or buy?
What makes content "catchy" or sticky or worthy of sharing, acting on, or buying?
Learn more at: Creating Catchy Content.
[ Wanna see that happen as it happened? https://youtu.be/6oHtKVbQmMY ]
“An unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones.”
W. Somerset Maugham
To create new habits, it’s easiest if we create a ritual or a trigger to know we’re going to get started.
Every time I walk into the woods:
-
My mind becomes more clear
-
My ideas grow bolder
-
My fears spill into the ground
-
My dreams soar among the trees
-
The birds tell me what to do next
That’s just a few steps into the woods.
My dad used to have a piece of chocolate after dinner. He really enjoyed it. In fact, it got to the point where if we didn’t have any chocolate in the house and dinner was over, he would get antsy.
Dinner meant it was almost chocolate time.
Yep, the “bad” ones are harder to kick than new (good!) ones are to create.
Still, find the trigger, create a ritual, go a little nutty with it.
Watch professional athletes and their rituals. Each time that Steph Curry makes a 3-pointer, he taps his chest and points upwards. It’s his ritual or even prayer or thank you for making the shot.
Yet, we can do the same before something happens.
I walk into the forest.
What do you do?
What could you do?
Where might be your “creative space” where you’ll let your ideas arrive without having to go through security or customs?
Let’s make up a simple one just for example’s sake here. Say you want just a bit of clarity in your life. It could be for anything, short-term decisions such as what to make for dinner all the way to some help with your next career choice.
Create a daily ritual, a physical symbol, a motion, even a whispered mantra to let you know, “Hey, here we go. It’s about to get real around here.” Then give yourself the time to do the thing.
It could be as simple and quick as:
-
Brushing your teeth with your eyes closed and letting the humming brush shake loose your next fabulous idea. Twice a day. Boom.
-
Taking just two tiny little extra minutes after your shower to sit down, in the bathroom, on the toilet if there’s nowhere else (PRO TIP: close the lid first), and with some deep and slow breathing, shed the dread of your upcoming day and gather the strength to go on the offensive. (Ooh, “shed the dread,” I like that! See, I’m “being creative” here sharing tips on how to let creativity in!)
-
While on a walk, even if it’s a short as around the block or to the mailbox, take out the earbuds, put your phone in your pocket, and just listen. What do you hear? Birds? Cars? Dogs? Filter everything else out and hear what you want to focus on.
There you have it, 3 extremely non-scientific but possibly powerful triggers to get you started to tap into your deeper knowledge, your quick-witted charm, and a bit of the unknown.
Relish it. Do it daily. Follow the trigger.
• Possible: wait for perfection to arrive magically
• Impossible: change yesterday’s trigger
• Repossible: trigger daily clarity
"My whole persona is different than it was 2 hours ago."
We're getting stuff done.
How about you? Need some help? Here are 10 days to get you towards clarity: Every Single Day Playbook.
Here's a video version of today's podcast:
[ https://youtu.be/9Zx247b6cdY ]
How you do anything is how you do everything.
So, how are you doing on the "anything" stuff?
This was a voicemail I left my mom but hey, it's good for everyone to hear.
How do you treat the person rolling around The Snack Cart? Or in other words, who are you truly?
A little Every Single Day humor.
A mini transformation of 10 days: The Every Single Day Playbook. You can get it here: http://playbook.repossible.com.
[ https://youtu.be/dpsjEMv20_o ]
How do you define work? How do you define play?
Video version here: https://youtu.be/IFERuhtlstc
Spring has Sprung. Listen for the Woodpecker.
Either I spend too much time in nature--or not enough.
I'm in the woods and I hear birds, singing, and a woodpecker.
Take some time out of your day and listen to the sounds around you.
Every Single Day was trash day.
After a few weeks, guess what? You get used to it.
"Wow, I don't know what to do."
Do what I know how to do: create.
Every Single Day.
There's no snooze button on the natural world.
You can see the video version of this podcast here:
[ https://repossible.teachable.com/courses/tt/lectures/14836217 ]
Just because it's practice, doesn't mean it's "allowed" to be terrible.
At least not intentionally.
I promise I won't write "Every Single Quarter," but 4 times a year is a good time for a bigger splash.
This stems from Mike Kim's "Brand You" podcast episode titled, "How to create your annual marketing strategy."
10 years ago, there's no way I would have dreamed I'm doing what I'm doing now.
Where will you be in another decade?
When should start? When should you take the first step towards that goal?
Oh wait, I know! I know!
Yeah, I'm so predictable: today.
"I'm so predictable."
That's actually a habit joke: creation on a constant basis makes you able to leap out of your confining shell precisely because you're creating on a regular basis.
Let's see. Big words:
- Meditate
- Create
- Play
In my world, there aren't too many more important words than these.
I talk with Louise Wo of "The Recess Life" this week and she digs deep into--and rises far above--the world of play.
Grab her free list of "Seven easy ways to add more play into your life."
If you create every single day, I can guarantee that you will go from nothing to something.
Video version below.
Collaborations, networking, out-and-about. But what about Me Time?
Don't underestimate the need for downtime.
"If you do not take any action, you can pretty much guarantee there won't be any reaction at any point in the future."
Patience
"Just because you haven't done it yet."
"He's got 17 books out. When I met him, he had none."
"What can I do when this career comes to an end?"
Because we can't stop creating.
Well, I can't anyway.
Creating is deeper. It's joy. It's life.
I can't not do it.
Change your game.
Do you get an award? Do you get an award for brushing your teeth?
No, but you get to keep your teeth.
7 years, 2 continents, 2 companies, 17 books, 5 podcasts, 11 audiobooks, and 1 transformed human being.
Live from "My Office," I shout it out that I've hit 7 years of writing Every Single Day.
Oh wait, is it Thursday already?
What's working for you on a weekly basis? What do you do, consistently every _____day?
Why that day? Why Mondays? Why Thursdays? Rhyme or reason?
Let's talk.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.? -- Benjamin Franklin
?This is not over. ?
In fact, it's just beginning.
Or when the "front office" isn't communicating well with the factory floor?
It's especially tough when you are both the:
- Front office and the
- Factory floor
How can you keep it together? What's the foundation that will keep it all stable? Which threads hold the fabric
If this book, if even one chapter, helped you in any way, please remember that a simple, honest note from you about how this book helped you in a public review on the Amazon site might mean that this book will get into the hands of those who will also benefit from it.
There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.? -- Jiddu Krishnamurti?
What if my goal were not to write 14 books but to write every single day?
Not to run a marathon but to jog every day.
Not to lose 10 pounds but to drink a liter more of water every day.
What if practice didn't make perfect but practice is perfect ?
What if the goal were the daily habit?
Here are a few links to help you get rolling.
Write Every Day for 10 Days
Writing prompts, pretty pictures, directly into your email inbox. It’s just 10 Days! Easy peasy, right? Spoiler alert: it might lead to more days than 10. [https://goo.gl/g89xhz]?
Start a Blog Challenge
Ready to start writing Every Single Day but you have no website, no nada? Got past those 10 Days and are ready to go further? [https://goo.gl/9FJr98]
Earbuds
I get a lot of requests for my favorite audiobook earbuds. Light, Bluetooth (no tangled cables), and with two means of holding those things in your ears, these are my go-to earbuds I use Every Single Day. Oh, they also have a microphone and work with your phone calls. [https://goo.gl/6N82DP]?
"I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Every Single Day."
The scale turns around at some point. In the beginning, you have to push. Later, you are pulled.
Here's a snippet from a forum I posted in back in 2015. Pretty much a lifetime ago.
It's important to remember where we came from, how far we've come along, and where we're headed.
Now we're up front, we're leading the pack, but it's not a race, it's an open road and up ahead? The unknown.
-- Bradley Charbonneau
We, dear parents, dear adults, are the ones who probably need the spark.
Dear Every Single Day listeners. I interrupt this podcast with a message from our sponsor: Spark.
Out of my Every Single Day writing habit many things have been created: books, courses, podcasts, etc. Much of it has been co-created. Many of those co-creations have been with family. Younger family.
I'm now busy with two books with my two nieces (links to the books here: Drama and Escaping the Light).
I'm re-inspired for Spark and wanted to take this opportunity to let you Every Single Day listeners into my world of Spark and the accompanying course, Spark Campfire.
Enjoy the introductory chapter of Spark: Embers.
Get busy living, or get busy dying.? -- Stephen King (from his short story, “Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption”)
The secret to happiness is freedom … and the secret to freedom is courage. -- Thucydides?
When people send you a story that has changed their lives, they are sending you a story that is filled with grace. They're saying this changed my life. When you read it, it changed your life.? -- Caroline Myss?
You hear that often after people have put in hours or months or a lifetime of hard work to get where they are. The “10 Years + 1 Overnight = Overnight Success” stories. ESD is also no silver bullet, it’s not a quick fix, and it’s certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme. ?
Most of the time, the things that really change the world exist for something fundamentally selfish and then the world-changing ends up being a side-effect of that.? -- Andrew Mason?
When you create, you can refer to what you have created.
Oh wait, but if you haven't created anything...
Yet...
Get out there. In the cold. Put on your jacket. Do your thing.
Every. Single. Day.
Here's the episode from Spark Campfire.
In case that URL doesn't come through in your podcast description, here's the link:
[ https://repossible.teachable.com/courses/spark/lectures/9929805 ]
I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done. -- Lucille Ball?
I’ve transformed my life and I’d like to help you transform yours--but only if you really, really, really want to. ?
There’s just that “if” in there. But you’ve got that, right? We’re in Part 7, if you don’t have it yet, you still have a few chapters to reign it in. But seriously, if you’re here reading Part 7, I’d venture to say that you do really, really, really want to.
A dear friend passed away. He created Every Single Day. I'm pretty sure that's what kept him happy, alive, and positive until just beyond his 105th birthday.
Here's the audio from a few minutes from part of my upcoming course (Spark Campfire) in which I talk about Tony. I recorded the video the day before he died.
I hope he'll help me by inspiring others to create on a daily basis.
To see the video and learn more about Spark Campfire, you can see the course curriculum (and the "Preview") here.
Yeah, I had to look it up, too. ?
Peroration: a long speech characterized by lofty and often pompous language; the concluding part of a speech or discourse, in which the speaker or writer recapitulates the principal points and urges them with greater earnestness and force?
If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.? -- Heraclitus?
My audiobook distributor, Findaway Voices, has a new service for audiobooks that allows me to give away a limited number of my audiobooks for free.
All you need to do is go to this link and get me the best email address where I can send you a code and we'll be on our way:
esd.passthesourcream.com
Since I don't want to put a list of free codes right here, you're going to need to ask me for them. Manually. Then I'll email a code to you. It's as manual as that. Yep, we're going old school. Click the link above.
Let me know what you think!
If you have your code and you came back here to get the link to redeem it, it's here:
https://authors-direct.com/redeem/
I know, I know. If you don't happen to read Dutch, that's an odd title. It means, "Put your finger up" but we'll understand it better in English as "Raise your hand."
I'm posting this bit of audio (which is a draft of my talk I'm giving this week called "The Power of Asking--and the Fear Behind Why We Don't Do It") to one of those times when we silently asked a question (which, ahem, means we weren't asking it at all) and it was answered.
In the case I'm thinking of, John Muldoon answers my question, "When am I going to start writing and become a writer?" by setting up a daily writing habit for an experimental 30 days. A challenge I accepted (and continue to this day--I'm on day 2,352).
Every Single Day began on November 1, 2012 as a 30-day experiment to get me back into the writing habit.
Because I asked (albeit rather silently), he answered.
What are you holding back from asking?
When a story is flying along, and I'm so into it that my 'real' world goes away, it can feel magical. I cease to be, my desk and computer ceases to be, and I am my character in his world. Psychologists call this a 'flow state,' and it's better than publication, money, awards, fame.? -- Nancy Kress
Every Single Day: I've got that down. But what about Every Single Week, Month, Year, or Lifetime?
What do you how often? Why? How's that working out? I wanna know.
They are analogies as personality types or energy sources within us. We're either The Cruise Ship or The Sailboat. Let's have a quick look at both types.?
When you’re that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can’t really tell whether you have created the momentum or it’s creating you.? -- Annie Lennox
I'm sure I've lived some years over and over, but not all of them.
Also, I haven't had 75 of them. How can we make those up to that date not the same?
Is the same so bad?
How can we make Every Single Year our greatest year yet?
The real energy occurs in each connection between two people, which can bring about exponential returns. -- ?Tom Rath
Maybe you've got the daily thing going on by now. Awesome possum.
But what about weekly, monthly, and annually?
What about something you only do Every Single Life?
I spent many years slogging away and getting nowhere. Then I spent some more years slogging away harder and getting somewhere. Then I spent less energy and less time and got beyond where I thought I could ever go: anywhere.?
Bradley Charbonneau
Strong emotions such as passion and bliss are indications that you're connected to Spirit, or 'inspired,' if you will. When you're inspired, you activate dormant forces, and the abundance you seek in any form comes streaming into your life.?
Dr. Wayne Dyer
If you're playing to an audience and it's not you, they might go away.
Then they might come back.
But then they might go away again.
If your audience is you, you know where you are.
At least, probably.
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.? -- Steve Jobs?
You're at the top of your game. The best in the league. Maybe one of the best players of all time. You have a great night.
But you know it can still be better. How are you going to improve?
Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits. ?-- Twyla Tharp
Creativity in, creativity out.
Half an hour's meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.? -- Saint Francis de Sales (?) What if the doctor scribbled the prescription and instead of “medication” wrote “meditation”?
I’m just going to bust right through the wall of Part 5: Patience and slip in what I consider the greatest tool that has propelled me further than any other tool--and all other tools combined.
Beware the fury of a patient man.? -- John Dryden
If Perseverance was torture, this is just salt in the wound. Or wounds. Yeah, sorry. ?But if Perseverance was like the time when you were on a long bike ride and at some point, you no longer realized you were still pedaling, then this is going to be fun.
The trick is to make it seem like fun or accidental or in any case "not a big deal."
We break this week with our regularly-scheduled Every Single Day chapter to bring in a word from our, ahem, sponsor "Spark: How to write a book with your kids--and why you should."
I've known entrepreneurs who were not great salespeople, or didn't know how to code, or were not particularly charismatic leaders. But I don't know of any entrepreneurs who have achieved any level of success without persistence and determination.? -- Harvey Mackay
There are so many reasons (aka excuses) we shouldn’t do this.
But we have done, we do, we will do.
I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of sht. I try to put the sht in the wastebasket. -- Ernest Hemingway
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. -- Aristotle
If you're waiting around for perfection, take a seat and brew some tea. It's going to be a while.
"Practice, practice, practice. Oh when oh when am I going to get there?"
This squarely falls into the "Simple But Not Easy" category, but it's a mindset shift, a slight change of the angle of perception. It's still doing the same thing, but seeing it in a different light.?
Practice Doesn't Make Perfect. Practice is Perfect.
Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. -- Anton Chekhov To experience the highest levels of meditation, it doesn't matter what chair you're sitting in.
It's OK if the chair isn't your favorite, if your headphones only work through one ear, and you only have half an hour before you have to wake up the kids.
Hope is the belief we might get it done, and faith is the knowledge we will get it done. - Tom Shadyac
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -- Aristotle
"Only brush the teeth you want to keep," says the dentist.
Do you agree with the following statements? * Only pursue your dream on days when you really feel inspired * Don't write when you know it's going to be crap--wait for inspiration to strike. * Only work out when it feels good.
Consistency breeds creativity.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. -- Yogi Berra
If you thought Part 3: Passion was difficult, Part 4 is going to hurt. I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. -- John D. Rockefeller
You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. -- Paulo Coelho You know the old saying, but it digs deep when you learn what you’re truly hiding from.
You can run, but you can’t hide from:
- Your dreams,
- Your passion,
- Yourself.
Just to play fair, here are things you can easily run and hide from:
- What others want (and/or expect) from you,
- Peer pressure,
- Sticking to a diet (or a plan or regimen etc.),
- Most everything else.
Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you make the decision right. -- Phil McGraw
How many decisions do we make on a daily basis? What if we subtracted just one?
But we did it Every Single Day?
That would be 30 fewer decisions per month, 365 fewer per year. Think of the extra time, energy, and focus you will have. Not would have but will have.
Did you catch that? You just made one decision less.
I wake up very early in the morning. I like to start in the dark, and I never work at night, because my brain is evaporated by 4 P.M. -- Alice Sebold
If you haven’t woken up to this productivity tip, you’re asleep at the wheel.
(That’s a little productivity humor from a morning person. The rib-tickling comedy will grow on you. Keep reading.)
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. -- Zig Ziglar You can’t force inspiration. But you can force motivation which can lead to inspiration.
You can push or you can be pulled.
I pretty much forced my son into a four-day intensive basketball camp.
“You’ll like it, I promise,” I told him, knowing how much he loves basketball. He is coordinated and has some talent, but he’s not a big believer in practice. Or physical activity.
“It’s vacation; I want to chill.”
“Chill means doing absolutely nothing in front of a screen,” I replied.
“Exactly,” he said with pride that dad understood.
“It’ll be fun. You want to have some fun.”
“I’m not going.”
“You’ll love it.“
“I’ll hate it.”
“You’re going.”
He wasn’t thrilled to say the least. But he succumbed. And after day three, after eight hours on the court just that one day, we couldn’t get him off.
That’s motivation transforming into inspiration.
Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks. -- Yo-Yo Ma You do it even when you don't think it's helping. You do it when you are pretty certain it’s a complete waste of time. You do it when no one is watching, when no one cares, and you’re not even sure if you still care.
But you do.
So you do it.
I'm coming across more and more ESDers who do what they do Every Single Day because it has become who they are. There are:
- Writers who write Every Single Day,
- Business owners who meditate Every Single Day,
- Athletes who train Every Single Day.
They know they don't need to do it every day. If they missed a day, they are bothered, but it won't break them, but they won't miss two--and they probably even try to make up for the day they missed even though they know it doesn't really matter.
It's a choice. You choose to whine or you choose to improve.
All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. - Henry Miller Remember the rocket? Scary, right? If you’re concerned that you’re going to head off into the wrong trajectory, just stop that thinking right now. Feel better?
It’s much more important to take action, take a step, make the leap.
Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. -- Oprah Winfrey Of the sections of this book, Passion is either the easiest or the hardest.
It’s the easiest if it’s crystal clear what your passion is. It’s also fairly easy if you have no idea: because you can figure it out.
It’s the hardest if you think you know, but you’re doubting.
Either way, it is terribly important. Vitally important.
We’re about to enter the choppy waters of Part 3: Passion. There’s just one more chapter first, I promise. It’s the perfect ending to the Procrastination section: “No, I’m not ready yet! Just one more thing!”
You often hear the heart-torturing stories of someone who has come back from the depths of hell to rise up and go above and beyond where they started.
You spend months thinking about doing something and then you finally do it and it takes only minutes? Loose screw in door hinge? Yeah, you won't have those anymore.
If you're going through hell, keep going. -- Winston Churchill In keeping with the Casual Conversation style of this book, I’m going to occasionally let you in on some of the behind the scenes workings of the machine.
One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying. - Joan of Arc
Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. -- Wayne Gretsky If you don’t water the plants until tomorrow, they’ll survive.
If you don’t feed the dog until the weekend, he’ll probably live. He’ll even wag his tail and love you next week (if he survived the weekend of course).
If you don’t take a stab at giving your dream a chance, if you keep putting it off until things are just right, until this project is completed and that task is taken care of … if you talk about your dream with friends as if you’re going to start any day now, but never do … if you go into long conversations with strangers on airplanes about your thoroughly researched plans for your dream future but you get off the plane and never speak of it … if you think that “someday” will come … if you wish and want and plead and pray, but take no action … if you keep it all bottled up inside and never let it out … if you think someone will come along one day and ask if you’re ready to begin day one of your dream … if you’re waiting … if you’re pretending … if you’re living the life you know is not the truest version of you … if you don’t take the first step, if you don’t give your dream a chance, at least a peek outside of its tightly-closed prison cell … if you don’t start.
Don't wait to be successful at some future point. Have a successful relationship with the present moment and be fully present in whatever you are doing. That is success. -- Eckhart Tolle I see this book as a conversation. A relaxed, usually calm conversation between you and me. Between the me of the past, present, and future and the you of the past, present, and future. Yeah, that’s going to be six people. We might want to set up a conference call.
ESD: Jeff Haws talks with Bradley Charbonneau about Morning Habits, 20Books London, and how the world will be a better place.Basically, I want people to realize the secret, the power of this. -- Bradley CharbonneauAs I re-listen to this, there's so much good and value coming out of Jeff Haws. I hope you enjoy the episode.
If it were easy to write a book, everybody would write a damn book. -- Jeff Haws
What do you believe is possible? What do you believe is impossible? What do you believe is possible for you? What do you believe is impossible for you? The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination. -- Tommy Lasorda
Do you believe that your dream, your passion, your goal, your whatever-you-want-to-call it, is possible or impossible?
I no longer see possible and impossible as black and white, yes or no, zeros and ones. There is a third path. A method, a mindset, that finds another way around impossible and yet slides by the possible. It’s not necessarily better or worse, smarter, better, but it’s from another perspective, from a new perspective.
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. -- Henry Ford
The only requirement you need to read, finish, and act on what this book has to offer is that you’re open to it. You’re open to new ideas, new perspectives, directions, and methods. Maybe you’re open to a new mindset, a new way of thinking, new habits, new challenges, and new failures.
The problem is that most of us live in Day Zero.What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.? where we start from. -- T. S. EliotI wanted to number this part of the book Part 0. But the book formatting software wouldn’t let me. That’s because zero doesn’t exist for most people. It hasn’t really started yet. Nothing begins with Day Zero. There is Day One and then the rest. But it’s true, Day Zero doesn’t actually exist. Day Zero is an idea, a thought, a potential.
Give someone who has faith in you a placebo and call it a hair growing pill, anti-nausea pill or whatever, and you will be amazed at how many respond to your therapy. -- Bernie Siegel There were two pills on the original cover of this book.
I’m a big believer in the power of the placebo, which is the power of the mind. My point with the pills on the cover is to make it seem like I have a “prescription” for change where I’m going to give you a magic pill and your dreams will come true.
He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world." — JOEL A. BARKER