Keep an eye on the road ahead. If you look away too long, you could find yourself off the road and in a difficult predicament.
It may be more interesting to watch the trees go by and see the animals and birds. However, sometimes not paying attention can be a life or death outcome.
Stay alert.
Enjoy every minute of it. We must be present and focused as it is a rare delight.
We don’t know how many days we have left on this spinning globe so it’s best we squeeze every ounce of joy out of our moments together.
This is a fabulous personal characteristic to develop.
It’s a great skill to have. Your spouse will appreciate it, as will your children. As your parents age, they’ll appreciate it more as well.
Develop this skill as soon as you can and continue to build on it through the years.
You hear a few details about a scenario. Maybe you hear it on the radio, see them in the paper or watch a segment on tv. Maybe it’s something you heard in a friend group or from your family.
Then, you fill in the blanks. Then, quickly, you make a judgement. And then you’ve closed that open loop. You have decided the answers to all those uncertain questions in your mind. Job done. Your brain can relax and work on other things.
It is so easy. Many people do this every day. When they hear about a friend in trouble, career changes, health, relationships, finances, companies struggling, or even death, they fill in all the blanks with various ideas from their mind.
Think about this today and how many times you fill in the blanks on any situation.
Then remember that most people are doing the same thing with you. And as you know, once their internal gavel falls, there is little chance of any reversal, even with ample evidence, because you can’t stop the story.
That may be the best description of life’s purpose.
I heard Jimmy Carr say this recently. If that was all you did your whole life, you’d probably be one of the happiest people on the planet.
A second earlier and that car may have hit you. One minute later and you might have been part of the robbery.
Getting to the event one hour early meant you could speak with the keynote speaker in person. Being born in a western country after 1970 meant you have lived way beyond the experience of 99.9% of all humanity that ever existed on Earth.
Timing. Good timing can be invaluable.
Being honest with yourself, what are your current core attributes? Are you athletic? Do you think you’re great with numbers? Would you describe your current self as slim, solid, or obese? Are you funny?
Write down 10-15 descriptive words about your current self. Then, write down 10-15 words you would prefer to be known by. Post these words by your bed. Read them out several times per day.
Keep reading them out several times per day. Notice which words make you flinch or cringe. Then dig down deep into why that is. Figure out how to make future you acceptable to your consciousness.
Enjoy your daily transformation!
Read books, magazines, cereal boxes, newspapers and maps.
Develop the habit of reading. Learn to enjoy it. Non-fiction or fiction. Take your pick.
Learn things and exercise your brain.
What seems impossible in one year could be totally possible in 10 years. Being at the top of your sport, industry, or craft in just one year is highly unlikely. However, if you put 10 grinding and effective years of work in, to training and honing your skills, you certainly could be at the top.
You can build a billion dollar business in 10 years. Go from being 10 years old and dreaming of playing in the NHL, NBA, MLB, or Premier League and in 10 years, at the age of 20, be playing for your favourite team! The Beatles were only together for 10 years and look how well they did!
What if you dedicated the next 10 years to personal growth, systems and structures? What could you accomplish, achieve, create?
10 years…. You could achieve anything.
Was 1920-2000 the best 80 years in history to be alive? One may be able to make an argument for it.
The greatest wealth increase per capita seemed to happen in this period. There were huge social changes and great technological changes too. Voting rights and laws were improved. The tv, radio, airplane, medicine, peace, and the internet all became ubiquitous in this time. So did indoor plumbing and electricity!
There was no 24/7 information access. There was no AI. Jobs and houses were easier to come by in that era.
Perhaps this century is an even better time?! It depends how you look at it.
