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Change your thinking, change your life.
No one talks to you more than you do.
And no one has a greater influence on the story you tell yourself than you.
Tell yourself the right story, and it will change your life.
Tell yourself that no amount of adversity is going to stop you.
Tell yourself that you’ll keep going no matter how hard it gets, or how badly you want to quit.
Reshape the tales you tell yourself.
While story alone won’t get you there, the right one will give you a massive advantage.
Every day is a chance for you to grow, get better and improve. All it takes is a willing attitude and the willingness to work hard and stretch yourself.
I surveyed some great resources in August in my attempts to do just that. I’d like to share a few of them with you here. Below is a quote I’m thinking on, four books I’ve read or am reading, and five articles or services I found helpful.
Each taught me some incredibly valuable lessons. Lessons that made me think, re-evaluate points of view, and better that I would be otherwise. Hopefully they do the same for you.
“People tend to focus disproportionately on results, while neglecting the day-to-day things that will get them there.”
Big lofty goals are nice, but more is required to make them a reality. To do that takes daily work. Work that isn’t pretty and that’s not always fun. But work that must get done if you’re going to get there.
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa - This is an epic tale of Japan’s most famous warrior. Jocko will be reviewing it on episode 100, and I’m rushing to finish this near thousand page tale in the next few weeks.
Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron - Perhaps one of the most encouraging and inspiring books I’ve read in awhile. Every page is littered with highlighted sentence after highlighted sentence that I read and reread day after day.
Romans 8-16 For You by Tim Keller - I read the first of Keller’s books on Romans earlier this summer and this one was just as good. Few resources on Romans have balanced deep theological truth with easy going style as well as Keller’s. If you want to have a deeper understanding of the theology of the New Testament, get this resource.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount And His Confrontation with the World by D.A Carson - Our community group is reading through the Gospel of Matthew the next several months. Which means I’m on the hunt for awesome resources to help me wring all the Biblical truth and wisdom from it. My mentor mentioned D.A. Carson’s work on the Sermon on the Mount and I can’t wait to dig in.
Marketing about power and with power via Seth Godin - It’s no secret that Seth’s is one of my favorite blogs. I read his stuff every day, and is a large part of why this blog has gone daily in recent months. In this post, Seth discusses the wide ranging difference between two marketing approaches. Which one do you use? Which one best fits your business?
Why I love my paper dictionary via Austin Kleon - I appreciate Austin’s approach to art and its creation. He offers us a glimpse of the blend between digital and analog. The two really can coexist. This post is a perfect example of how.
Both Lincoln and the Confederacy Were Awful via FEE - It seems we’re in the middle of rehashing the Civil War anew of late. While reasoned discussion is never a bad thing, that’s not we’ve been in the middle of these last several weeks. This article is a quick look at what few are willing say: both sides were in the wrong.
MoviePass - Monthly movie subscription service that allows you to see unlimited movies for $10 per month. Hannah and I will definitely be checking this out!
Texas Price Gouger Are Heros via FEE - This might be one of the most important articles I’ve read in the last week. It offers an excellent explanation of exactly why price gouging isn’t such a bad thing after all.
Growth, change, and progress always happens internally before it ever manifests in an external way.
In fact, the distance between when real, true, systemic change takes place inside you, and when it becomes apparent to everyone else is gargantuan.
That’s how you get better though; winning one small internal battle at a time.
Victories over donuts, laziness, and the snooze button may seem tiny and insignificant. And they are when taken individually.
Things rarely happen in isolation though.
Each win you secure over weakness in whatever form is a deposit in an account that’s accruing interest.
Every time you say, “No,” to something you shouldn’t do, you make a deposit in the account. Those deposits are small at first, but blossom over time.
Compound interest is a beautiful thing, and it doesn’t apply to bank accounts only. It applies to every area of your life.
Invest in a handful of daily habits. Habits that seem small when taken in isolation, but yield massive results months, and years down the road.
You get to wake up early and get after it.
You get to go to work and give it your all.
You get to workout, lift heavy things and sweat.
You get to choose good, nutritious foods.
You get to pick your kids up from school.
You get to go home and spend time with your family.
You don't have to, YOU GET TO.
You're reading this, so that means your alive today. You have breath in your lungs and you get another glorious day to love, work hard and cherish.
Don't waste it with a cruddy attitude.
Soon your race will be run. Soon your life will reach its end.
What will you have done with the time you've been given?
Will you squander it and all its glory with a bad mindset?
Or will you focus on all the things you get to do, relishing and marveling at the fact that you and only you get to do them?
There is no easy path to success.
Only the hard road reaches that destination.
Sweat, exhaustion, and tears litter the roadside, but it's not crowded.
It's followed by the special few who daily take the incremental steps needed to improve.
There are no short cuts to the top.
Only the long, painful process of discipline.
That's why there is big business in selling people an easier way. Everyone wants a shortcut. No one wants to sign up for years of toil and sweat.
But that's exactly what it takes to become the person you want to be: years and years of work, sweat, and persistence.
Relish the hard road.
If you're on it, it means you're taking responsibility for your life and doing your darnedest to make it count.
If your not, it's time to turn down that path. To start putting in the work necessary to get 1% better each day.
You have everything you need to walk that path, so what are you waiting for?
Get going.