Tag Archives: habits

Invest in Knowledge

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“If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the highest return.”

—Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father

A client recently shared with me a book titled Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals by Tom Corley.

From Corley’s years of research into hundreds of rich and poor people, I learned that of the wealthiest people:

  • 88% read for 30 minutes or more each day.
  • 63% listen to audio-books during their commute.
  • 94% read about current events.
  • 50%+ read biographies of successful people.

In contrast, only about one in fifty of those struggling financially engaged in daily self-improvement reading.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you invest the time and resources in your personal and professional development efforts to lead an even more richly rewarding life?

Be at war with your vices

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“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”

-Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father

Image from Quote of the Day

I like bargains and two-for-one sales. This quote is a three-for-one! In Ben Franklin’s time, the word “vices” perhaps meant “behaviors that do not better oneself or another.” Today, I suggest we consider them  “bad habits” instead.

The idea of being a better person points to our ability to learn, grow, and improve as individuals.

Exercise:

What bad habits/vices will you declare war upon? In which relationships will you make a stand for peace? In what ways do you intend to be a better person in this new year?

you are what you eat

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“You are What you Eat.”

Image from eslforeveryone.com

Image from eslforeveryone.com

Most health and fitness experts would agree with the truth of today’s quote. Who would want to live their life as a baloney sandwich? Or a deep-fried Twinkie?

Based on my research, here are the foods that should be on everyone’s shopping list:

Spinach Beets Watermelon
Berries Sweet Potatoes Grapefruit
Salmon Tomatoes Asparagus
Avacado Kale Kelp
Quinoa Beans & Lentils Cabbage
Broccoli Cantalope Eggs
Almonds Artichokes Chia Seeds
Bananas Lemons Dark Chocolate
Nuts & Seeds Garlic Cauliflower
Mushrooms Coconut Watercress
Wild Rice Honey Maple Syrup

EXERCISE:

Consider going on a food safari to bring more of these life-enhancing foods into your kitchen. Even small adjustments to this part of your lifestyle can make a big difference.

 

good habits over good luck

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“I’ll take good habits over good luck.”

—Brendon Burchard, American Motivational Author

Image from bodyforwife.com

Image from bodyforwife.com

Samuel Goldwyn’s famous statement, “The harder I work the luckier I get,” points to our ability to create our own luck, or at least become more successful through our own committed efforts.

Examine your good habits, and those of people you admire, to see what positive and favorable outcomes result.

EXERCISE:

Rate your habits in the following areas on a scale of one to five, with one being poor and five being high. What efforts might be required on your part to be the one that people admire?

Relationship Management Health and Fitness Personal Development
Community Involvement Spiritual Growth Work Ethic
Avocations and Hobbies Financial Freedom Family

Inspect what you expect

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“Inspect what you expect.”

-Paul J. Meyer, Founder of the Personal Development Industry

Image from Flickr by Kate Ter Haar

Image from Flickr by Kate Ter Haar

One of the primary reasons people experience varying degrees of upset in their lives is unfulfilled expectations.

When we believe that something is supposed to happen, such as a friend or colleague making a promise on which they do not follow through, our blood can boil a bit.

If we take coaching from today’s quote, and inspect what we expect, we can often shift our expectations on the fly. This will reduce negative consequences considerably. On many occasions, the added attention we give to such matters increase the odds of our expectations being fulfilled.

EXERCISE:

How would the practice or habit of inspecting what you expect impact your personal or professional worlds for the better?

“In the game of life, it is wise…”

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“In the game of life, it is wise to refrain from keeping score.”

—Author Unknown

Image from empowerenlightenenvision.com

Image from empowerenlightenenvision.com

As a business coach, most clients engage my services to support them in achieving the objectives and results they desire.

On many occasions, as today’s quote recommends, I suggest that they refrain from keeping score.

Consider these few additional quotes related to marriage, friendships, and relationships:

“Marriage is not a contest. Never keep score. God has put the two of you together on the same team, to win.”

“A friend is someone who does things that count, but doesn’t stop to count them.”

“Relationships aren’t for getting things. They are for giving things. Never fall in love to make yourself happy. Fall in love to make the person you fall in love with happy.”

EXERCISE:

Where has the habit of keeping score limited or challenged your personal or professional relationships? Where and with whom is it wiser to be more generous, and refrain from keeping score?

“Procrastination is the art…”

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“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”

—Don Marquis, American humorist, journalist, and author

Image from connectedhotel.com

Image from connectedhotel.com

My father Marvin is a great teacher relative to today’s quote. One of the characteristics he demonstrates quite often, given his age and occasional forgetfulness, is what I call reverse procrastination. He has developed a “do it immediately” approach to many things.

The new habit can be surprising, because he often stops in the middle of one activity and starts another that has just come to mind. If he doesn’t do it when it comes to mind, he is likely to forget to do it at all. The up side of it is that he does remember to go back and finish the first activity!

EXERCISE:

Where do you fit on the procrastination continuum of “do it now,” or “it can wait for whenever”?

What adjustments are needed to make sure you are not simply keeping up with yesterday?

“A bad habit never goes away by itself: it’s always an ‘undo-it-yourself’ project.”

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“A bad habit never goes away by itself: it’s always an ‘undo-it-yourself’ project.”

– Abigail Van Buren, founder of the “Dear Abby” column

Many researchers would say that we are our habits. All we need to do is observe the over 95% failure rate of New Year’s resolutions to see how entrenched they are. Depending on your age, you have 20, 30, 40 or more years of practice engaging in these bad habits – no wonder they seem so resistant to change.

Exercise:

Begin your “undo-it-yourself “project by replacing a bad habit with a good one, using the following 4 steps:

Step 1: Select a bad habit you wish to break which is keeping you from a high-priority goal.
Step 2: Identify the new habit you desire by observing individuals who’ve achieved this goal.
Step 3: List the exact behaviors they consistently engage in and copy their effort as closely as possible for at least 3 weeks
Step 4: Enlist additional social and structural support to ensure your success.

Feel free to get back to me and let me know what you were able to achieve, by replying to this email.

“Do your little bit of good wherever you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

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“Do your little bit of good wherever you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

—Desmond Tutu, South African bishop and opponent of apartheid

I have recently finished reading the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. One of the ideas he points out as a way to generate individual and organizational habits that lead to greater success is to focus on “small wins.”

Too often we glamorize only the big wins – you know, those “superbowl” sized accomplishments that are highlighted in the media – without recognizing all those little steps along the way.

Exercise:

Develop a “little bit of good” journal, scoreboard or notebook to capture all the ways you can and do make the world a better place.

Create a separate section to capture all the little bits of good others do for you.

Imagine the possibilities of seven billion people doing this exercise!

#84: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

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– Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

I like bargains and two-for-one sales. This quote is a three-for-one! In Ben Franklin’s time, the word “vices” perhaps meant “behaviors that do not better oneself or another.” Today, I suggest we consider the word “habits” instead.

The idea of being a better person points to our ability to learn, grow, and improve as individuals.

Exercise:

What habits/vices will you declare war upon? Which relationships in your life are ones where you will make a stand for peace? In what ways do you intend to be a better person next year, versus today?

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