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Month: January 2024

Picture Perfect

Published on January 3, 2024

Imagine reading a book titled, Picture Perfect.

And it was about a guy or gal who grew up in a picture perfect neighborhood with picture perfect parents who had a picture perfect education and got a picture perfect career who then married the picture perfect spouse and then settled into the picture perfect fairytale life with a big house, fast cars, luxury clothes, fancy parties, and lots of travel.

…No conflict, no challenges, no adversities, no resistance, no plot twists.

Just a straight line from birth to happily ever after.

This type of story would bore readers to tears.

It’s wildly un-relatable and in complete contradiction to the human condition.

…Which is to face a seemingly never-ending onslaught of conflict, challenge, adversity, resistance, and plot twists.

Why? …Because we’re imperfect creatures living with other imperfect creatures who are all trying to figure it out as we go in an imperfect world. Chaos is bound to ensue.

But, it also keeps things interesting.

The most captivating stories are the ones that follow humans who have overcome the most incredible odds. The ones who have faced the most adversity and yet found a way through. The ones who got punched over and over again with one challenge after the next… who still got back up to fight.

Remember this as you compare your daydreams to your reality.

You’re not unlucky; you’re not a failure; you’re not a lost cause—you’re thickening the plot.

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

The Almighty Checkmark

Published on January 3, 2024

Generally speaking, I know what I need to do.

And I like to think I have a pretty good memory.

But let me tell you, I forget a whole lot less when I have a checklist.

Plus… I really like to cross things off my checklist.

And if I’m being totally honest… I’m the type who will write things onto my checklist AFTER I’ve done them JUST so I can cross them out. Yeah, I said it. Fight me.

Because of this self-awareness, I created Kaizen sheets for myself.

They’re one page documents that list everything I need to do with space to add things as they come up. I have one for work, one for personal growth, and I make custom ones for my employees.

If it’s important enough to be remembered, it’s important enough to be written down.

Don’t rely on willpower and memory to bring your goals to life—rely on fool-proof paper and ink, clear-minded task priority, and the almighty checkmark.

Holiday Hangover

Published on January 1, 2024

I have holiday hangover.

Mostly from eating more than usual and working out less than usual.

And it has me feeling self-conscious and crappy.

At a previous time in my life, I would channel all that energy into one mega intense workout to try and make up for the holiday dip.

But now, I try to do the opposite. I try not to run from it… I try to *really* feel that crappy feeling… And I try to convert it into a more sustainable source of energy. A source of energy that carries me through a month’s worth of workouts rather than one or two really intense ones.

Just like you can’t eat one healthy meal to make up for a week’s worth of crap, you can’t do one mega workout to make up for a week’s worth of inactivity.

In fact, from my experience, it tends to work proportionally in the opposite direction. One week of inactivity is made up with one month of consistent workouts. One month of crappy eating is made up with one quarter (of a year) of healthy eating.

Dont let this disappoint you.

To feel disappointment would mean you expect health and fitness to yo-yo… one week off, one week on; one month off, one month on; one year off, one year on… which would be a mistake. The goal should be 95% on and 5% off—ish. As in, 2-4 weeks per year of being off and the rest in routine, building healthy habits, and riding the wave of your momentum.

In short: Let the holiday hangover fuel you—not just for tomorrow—but for a chunk of this new year.

Four Years Of Daily Writing

Published on January 1, 2024

On this day, four years ago, I wrote a Facebook post that had one quote, a few paragraphs of personal insight and a label at the end that simply said “(1/365).”

It was an idea I had from the day before, on that New Year’s Eve, that it was time to start sharing with people what I thought—enough sharing only the words of other people via quotes.

So I took a quote that resonated with me, did exactly that, and posted it publicly for accountability with that little countdown tag at the end.

I didn’t really know what I was doing at first. I didn’t have a crystal clear long term vision… I didn’t have a specific action plan… I just had an idea, kept it simple, and ran with it.

…And here I am, STILL running with it four years later.

Since then, my writing process has evolved, my delivery process has upgraded, and my systems have been refined.

…As is to be expected with anything you start and work on day-in and day-out.

And so this post is a reminder that, while it’s tempting to want to get everything perfectly prepared and ready, none of it will get you more prepared and ready than simply starting.

Yes, I’m looking at you my perfectionist friends. It’s go time.

Happy New Year, all :)