WEEK 171: GRATITUDE

Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.    Zig Ziglar

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Are you grateful?

Not just in the good times, but also the times when everything seems to be falling apart.

Now let me tell you why you should practice this more, as it has a compound effect on the level of success you will attain.

To start "thing falling apart" are a natural part of you being on the path of leveling up and reaching new heights. 

You will never encounter this STUCK in your comfort zone. 

Being aware of just this is MEGA!

But you are probably saying, "cool, but what are the TWO Huge benefits of being grateful?"

Patience, grasshopper. 

Before I get into the meat of it, I want you to first think about the ultra successful people in your lives. 

Take a moment to really think.

Are they grateful or are they always comparing themselves to others?

I am going to bet most will land on the side of being more grateful.

But just being thankful alone can't be the reason to their success?

It is not the only reason of course, as these ultra successful people have other mechanisms to ensure their success, but they understand the following TWO huge benefits. 

First, being grateful, especially in tough times, makes you zoom out and take a macro look at your situation.

Yes, it might be hard at the moment (par the course), but having a sense of gratitude reinforces the idea that life is happening FOR you, not TO you.

This distinction is huge, as having the first perspective empowers you, where the second disempowers you.

Logically, you can not create higher levels of success from a disempowering state. 

Second, being grateful moves you away from the external to internal.

Do you know the biggest villain that robs you of your ability to produce and perform at a higher level?

Comparison (can be used in a good way, as well...more on that later).

They have this, and I don't

They can do this, but I can not.

...

As you can see comparing moves you away from you, your capabilities, and your strengths. It makes it easy to play the card. 

Where as being grateful brings you back to the internal.

This is key, as it moves the power back to you and what you can control.

It is quite simple. 

You can not create from a place of disempowerment.

Although you might not be able to see it on the surface, being grateful gives you control and empowers you.

Thus allowing you to level-up and reach higher levels of success. 

Delay No More,

J

WEEK 170: NO PLAN B

There is only Plan A. I hate Plan B.    Arnold Scharwzenegger 

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Are you 100% committed?

No, seriously?

I will tell you being 100% committed unlocks powers you never knew you had. Belief you did not know existed, and these two combined allow you to realize your potential and achieve anything you desire. ANYTHING.

But...

How many times have you said " I am all in, 100%" then a week later you fall off the wagon?

I going to raise my hand here as I have been here, and still sometimes do this (far less now due to systems I have built into my life). 

The result?

S...T...U...C...K

Your immense potential stays just that. Underutilized, untapped, and dormant. 

If you have ever played poker, it is the difference between just bleeding your chips away, or going all in when your intuition strikes (this can happen even if you have a bad hand).

I love the quote today by Arnold as it gives insight to why the majority of humans are not able to realize their incredible potential to achieve whatever they desire. 

Literally, anything you desire (can go into that later, but you can not even imagine the depths of your potential).

Anyhoo, back to the quote from the Arnold.

This is so powerful as this highlights a trap most people (not you though from now on) fall into.

First step in the trap - you say you are 100% committed, but then once pressure and challenge show up and push you out of your comfort zone, you start thinking about Plan B.

Logically you would think this is good as you are preparing for a back-up plan, covering all of your bases. 

However, if you look below the surface let me tell you why this is cutting you off at the knees. 

Others might doubt you and say why you can not do things, and that is ok as you can re-direct that energy (actually this comes from you holding up a mirror and showing others they are not striving for something amazing).

However, when you start thinking about Plan B, then you subconsciously start to DOUBT yourself.

This is dangerous, as doubt works like a wedge in that it only needs a small space before what was once solid, your commitment, can be split in two with only a little pressure. 

And what was once 100% committed no matter what, becomes pretty sure, which becomes maybe, will becomes probably not, which becomes why is this happening...

A pretty nasty downward spiral, where it is quite difficult to pull yourself out once caught in the current. 

That is why even entertaining Plan B is the most dangerous thing you can do.

But here is the secret, for all the great things our minds can do it's natural programming is built for safety, ie comfort.

This awareness already gives you a huge advantage.

It is not you or your will power or any other external circumstance. It is how your brain is wired.

The key is then to move past the challenge, pressure, and think towards how to move the needle forward with Plan A.

A reminder that pressure, challenge are all indicators you are on the right path.

You can do this by asking 3 empowering questions:

1. What can I learn from this?

Literally every experience is teaching you something, whether you take the lesson is up to you.

2. Why will this work?

You have probably crushed other achievements and done some incredible things, yet you can easily FORGET in the midst of a new challenge. 

You just need the mechanisms to remind you of who you really are and what you are capable of.

3. What 3 actions can I take NOW to move Plan A forward?

Take out a piece of paper, sit and answer these three questions.

This will keep you mind focused on Plan A.

But most importantly go implement, as doing all the work and not taking the action is the same as not doing any of the work as it gives you the same result...being STUCK.

Alright, you have the keys to how to be 100% committed.

Delay no More...J

WEEK 169: SIMPLE IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION

That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.     Steve Jobs

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Unplugging...from your work, workouts, and routine is necessary to perform at a high level.  

If you are not scheduling periodic times to unplug, you need to start.

I will tell you it is where some of my greatest insights have come from and no different this time around as I have some to share with you.

Again, if you are not doing it start! Don't take my word for it as other high performing individuals agree. Checkout the book Anti-Fragile about the benefits of breaking from routine. 

Now, you might be asking how many insights I had as I put X in the headline today.

It was not a typo and going to tell you straight away that it actually comes down to ONE major insight.

To be clear, I did not just read one book or listen to one piece of media, but this ONE thread kept surfacing through all of it. 

On the surface all those different books, articles, and videos would seem quite different, but in the end they connected to this ONE idea.

It is like the Lord of the Rings, where the 3 rings were for the elves, 7 for the dwarves, and 9 for men...but all ruled by the ONE.

Well, what is the ONE piece of advice?

Leonardo da Vinci said it best when "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." 

Now, if you did not know Da Vinci was not only a great painter and sculptor, but also an inventor, architect, scientist, writer, paleontologist...

The man was a brilliant mind and he used this quote to succeed in so many areas. 

Today I am going to share with you how his quote can lead you to performing better, producing more, and achieving your greatest goals. 

Now let me ask you, have you ever been caught in the details to the point you do not take action? Thus stalling your progress.

(I am raising my hand)

This lesson came up in my life a couple of weeks past when I was having a conversation with someone about their health.

We have been talking about their health for the past 6 months together off and on and the conversation usually went something like this.

(friend) How did you get the results you did in 40 days?

I want that, can you tell me?

(me) Sure.

Then my friend would proceed to ask...

What about carbs?

What about fats?

What about macros?

What about Keto?

What about...

Literally the conversation would encompass every tag word in the health industry.

And it is not their fault actually as that is what the health industry is paying a lot of money for you to think about.

The conversation gets to a point where finally I ask, do you really want to know?

They say yes and then I tell them to focus on 4 simple things.

Just focus on these 4 things and you will see an improvement.

Yet...

Without fail they will bring up something they read from a popular magazine or something they heard from a friend.

And I shake my head at this point because I know they are getting lost in the details.

Now, here in lies something about the amazing brain we have on top of our shoulders. 

Did you know your brain is the best search mechanism on the planet. 

Better than the most advanced rocket interception systems. 

Now because of that, it will naturally look at ALL the different angles and possibilities to find a solution to what you ask it. 

However, this does not serve you when you are presented with a simple solution to a question you want to know an answer to.

You tell yourself it can not be that simple, can it?

Now this goes back to Leo, and his quote for today.

Simple is the ultimate sophistication.

I have learned mastering the basics, the foundational, and simple is the key to major progress. 

Simple seems simple, yet it is so powerful.

Now here is the thing, even though something is simple it takes work to get your thinking to this point.

Steve Jobs believed the same thing (that is why I chose his quote for today).

That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

Powerful with a capital P.

Work towards mastering the simple and you can move mountains!

100% agree.

What is that you want?

How do you achieve it?

Identify the basics, the simple and master it!

Delay no More...J