While reading 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,' I made an enormous breakthrough in my purpose statement!

The past few weeks, I've been absolutely wracked with trying to find my purpose. Purpose, in this case, is what I was set to do on this earth specifically. 

I was reading through a portion of the book talking about service and being a gofer (someone who goes for something) and very effective people's attitude. He gave an excellent example of a business situation where multiple people under a boss would constantly speak behind his back without trying to find solutions. One man saw the flaws in his boss that the others were talking about, but instead of engaging in the conversation, he decided to be pro-active and serve his boss's needs with an additional report and his thoughts on solutions. He got the same treatment at first and didn't get any appreciation or recognition for what he did. However, after he did this consistently, his boss started to look forward to the additional work and started asking his thoughts on what should be done. He filled a spot for his boss and focused more on his efforts in other areas. This man eventually got more responsibility and was put in charge of many of his previous peers. 

I got an absolute thrill from this story, and it almost brought a tear to my eye. That was precisely what I think my purpose is. Serving, but not just serving, serving effectively. After thinking about it for several hours, I realized that I want to become a Joseph, not a Pharoah. Whether in the house of Potiphar, in jail, or as Pharoah's right-hand man, I am created to be an effective servant, and it is my duty to serve to the best of my ability. 

I do not doubt that my purpose statement will change and morph as time goes on, but I know it is the start of the right track. 

Key Takeaways:

1) Through reading a story, I found my purpose statement

2) I am created to be not just a servant, but an effective servant

3) I discovered I don't want to become Pharoah; I am more than happy becoming a Joseph 

Will power use a usable entity and cannot be lived on alone.

At the beginning of this year, I weighed nearly 300lbs and tried many different diets to get into shape. Many of the plans I tried worked for a short period of time, but eventually, I gave into my desires and gained back my weight plus a few pounds for my effort. 

I eventually found a plan that worked and got me to lose 100lbs over 8 months, and the thing that made the difference between this one vs. the other's was how they talked about willpower and how it works. I would try to stick to the plan only through willpower alone, deciding at the moment to eat my food or not. What made this diet different was explaining how willpower really worked and planning so that it doesn't affect you.

Our will power is renewable; we get a fresh tank every day. When we deplete our will power, it's harder to say no to our desire for instant gratification. You want to take the decision making out of the equation; you want to make it easier to do the right thing than that which you happen to feel like. 

In the plan, I used it to write down and plan your food a day in advance. Every night I would prep my meal for the following day and only eat it and nothing else. This made it easy to eat right, as I didn't have to decide at the moment when I was hungry. I already knew what I was going to eat, and it was ready for me.  

Key takeaways:

1) Will power is renewable and gets used from focus

2) will power into account when planning something hard

3) Set yourself up so that you don't have to decide at the moment

Write down your ideas to clear your mind.

I've found that oftentimes when I try to be super focused in one area, my mind will go to different things other than that which I'm trying to concentrate on. One of the most helpful tips I've adapted and found works really well for better focus is writing down what your mind tries to go to. 

I originally heard that if you've got a song stuck in your head and cannot get it out if you listen to that song, it will often release you from that loop. I applied it to my thoughts that interrupt my train of thought and found it actually works quite well. By writing down the ideas that are constantly going around my head, I am basically telling myself that I acknowledge the idea and filed it away for later research. 

Trying to push the idea away only makes it harder to keep off your mind as your subconscious is afraid you will forget it and views it as important. I've also heard a similar practice when meditating; if you acknowledge your thoughts, then let them go, your brain will sweep them away and allow you to focus on your breathing. 

Key takeaways:

1) Write down your ideas to clear your mind for focus

2) Writing down your thoughts, acknowledges them, and files them away for later

3) Pushing the idea away only makes you want to think about it more

I just started reading 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' by Steven Covey.

He speaks about the P/PC balance where you need to balance your production and your production capacity to allow them to work together. He gives the analogy of the golden goose a fable as a visual picture of what this looks like.

A farmer found a golden egg laid by one of his geese; after his initial shock and evaluation, he sold it and thought that was the end of it. However, the next morning he found another egg of solid gold, laid by the same goose. Morning after morning, this bird laid one golden egg, and the farmer quickly became rich. However, he became impatient with only getting one egg a day. He cut the goose open in an attempt to get all the eggs at once. Only to find that the goose had no eggs and now wouldn't produce anymore.

Product in p/pc would be the golden egg, and production capability would be the goose. You can't focus your efforts on only the result alone without running into problems with your production capacity to continue to produce it. On the other hand, you can't only focus on your production process; if not, you end up becoming the person who runs 3 hours a day bragging that they are adding 10 years to their life, not realizing they are spending the 10 years on running. 

Key takeaways:

1) You need to balance product & production capability balance or P/PC

2) Focusing only on your final product you will ruin what it took to get that product

3) Focusing only on your production capability works in a loop, spending more time on the system that the value that it could produce

Learn to spend your time on one subject at a time

I'm currently reading through the book 'The One Thing' by Gary Keller, where he speaks of only focusing on one task at a time. 

When we attempt to multitask two things at once, we do poorly at best and fail utterly at worst. We aren't designed to have our focus on two different things at once. 

In the book, Gary Keller says that the word multi-tasking originally came about when computers could do multiple tasks on the same processing unit. However, the term multitasking wasn't the right word for what it actually did. The computer couldn't actually do two tasks simultaneously; it would switch between two, giving the illusion of being able to work on two at the same time.

He talks about how there is always one most important thing to do, never two. He gives the example of his business where he had a meeting with his team, and they put together a list of 100 things that would put them on the map in their industry. The next day they narrowed this list down to 10 things, and finally, 1 single thing that they all agreed would work. That was writing an expert's handbook to the industry they were in. Because of that, they moved up to become one of the top names in the industry.

By focusing on one task at a time, we can move forward on our goals. We are not able to divide our focus into several areas and expect any half-decent results.

Looking at my own life, I've found I make amazing strides when I have no more than one big area I focus my complete efforts on.

Key takeaways:

1) When we divide our focus, we get poor results at best and complete failure at worst

2) Learning to focus your efforts on one area at a time will allow you to make greater strides

3) Multi-tasking is a myth and one that needs to be dispelled

Being so young, there isn't a whole lot of credibility I can use to get opportunities to serve and work for others.

However, one of the things I can work on, which will be more beneficial in the long run, is my reputation. 

I just finished reading Rabbi Daniel Lapin's book 'Thou Shall Prosper,' and if I had to sum it up in two words, it would be "Reputation matters." 

He says that building your credibility by being consistent and keeping to your word will build trust and will open more doors to you being in the right place at the right time. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." Learning from a younger age to be faithful in all that I've been entrusted is difficult, but I know will pay great dividends!

'Your reputation proceeds you.'

I've learned that apart from being consistent in what I do, I need to be aware of what I say. I've found myself in many situations where I don't think about what I am saying I will do and then forget it. That denigrates my word, and I may not feel the ramifications immediately, but my word starts not to mean anything if I consistently do that.

It's forced me to plan that task into my schedule and set time aside for it specifically. I want to be known as someone reliable to his word. It's also helped me evaluate new tasks and not putting too much on my plate as I know it will mean I have to say no to something else. 

Key takeaways:

1) You don't have the experience, but you do have your reputation

2) Being consistent in your word and actions shows you to be reliable and trustworthy

3) Your reputation proceeds you

4) You have to plan out your commitments 

"Don't raise your child to be a good boy; raise him to be a good man." 

I heard this quote first from Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and it's one that's resonated with me greatly, and I've found it applies really well to my personal growth and learning.

There is no limit to the amount of information out there, and finding the right stuff is where it gets difficult.  I've found that through my own journey, the books I've struggled with the most to understand have been the most profitable. This is the primary reason why I wouldn't say I like books written specifically for teenagers. I find the concepts and ideas fundamental and not super helpful in the overall long term. I go about deciding to read a book written for my age category by asking one question. Would I read this if I was 60? If the answer is no, I probably won't read it. 

I am growing to become a good man, not a good boy. Reading material directed toward becoming a good man will have the side effect of making me a good young man. If it's not a timeless lesson, then it's not typically worth building. 

Key takeaways:

1) Grow to become a good man, not a good boy.

2) Learning from books that center around young growth will give you just that

3) Ask "Is this a book I would read at 60?" to determine if it's a good one to read

4) You want to learn timeless lessons, not new ones

Be ambiguous about your notes.

Something I love doing is jotting down ideas for future recollection. However, I've found that the more specific I am, the more I get confused by it and eventually throw them out.

When making these videos, I typically will write down ideas throughout the day of possible subjects to speak about. If I get too specific, my imagination gets caught up with the details I wrote, and I find it hard to talk about that subject. However, when I am ambiguous with the note, I find that my imagination runs free, and I can remember better why I wrote that down. Or I will come up with another spin-off idea on which to talk about.

This doesn't work too well to remember things with accuracy, but it's excellent for creative thinking! 

Key takeaways:

1) Be ambiguous about your idea notes

2) Without specifics, your mind gets to run free with new concepts and ideas

3) You do loose accuracy but make up in creative thinking

Train for just beyond your goal

An interesting concept I heard recently was looking past your goal and setting your eyes on something higher. 

The analogy that fits perfectly with this is that of a short distance runner training for a competition. If you are making a fast dash toward the finish line and your goal is to get to the finish line, you will, but your body will start to decelerate as you approach it and come to a walking pace as you pass by. This is why athletes train to run several meters beyond the finish line. That way, their body only starts to decelerate after they pass the end. They don't lose any momentum by slowing down to the destination. 

Applying this to what I see around me if you plan or train for an event and in your training do it harder than necessary, you now can perform that with more ease and accuracy. 

In 'The Talent Code,' the author Daniel Coyle talks about how Brazil produces the best soccer players. In the study, they found that the players played an unusual game that resembled soccer. It consisted of playing in a small enclosed space with a heavy ball that required more force to kick. The athletes grew very good at moving the ball to the desired location with amazing accuracy by playing this game. When they started playing soccer, it was easier than their native sport with fewer restrictions that didn't take long to grow to.

Key Takeaways:

1) Train for just beyond your goal 

2) Working harder at the training will make the ending task easier to perform

3) Challenge yourself for growth

We aren't robots; we have emotions!

When I was around 12 years old, I started listening to pretty much non-stop Dave Ramsey, and a good portion of it went over my head. I found it very interesting through all those hours was how often people tried to modify the plan put forth by Dave Ramsey and inevitably failing in the process.

The most common change people would try to make is 'optimizing' how they paid off their debt. In his baby-steps, Dave Ramsey outlines how you setup your debts from smallest to largest amounts owed. Logically, we would want to pay off the one with the largest interest first, not to have to pay as much overall. However, the reason behind paying the small one-off is psychological; the excitement and power we feel when we get one of saying, 5 debt accounts paid off is higher than seeing 10% paid off. 

We try and optimize our life as if we were robots, not humans with emotions. What makes sense on paper may not be the best in real life. As a teenager and still living with my parents, it makes more financial sense not to pay rent, but the emotional growth I'm getting from doing is worth more to me than the money I would have been able to save. 

Key takeaways:

1) We try to optimize our life as if we were robots without emotions

2) What makes sense on paper may not be the best course of action in real life

3) We forget to take into account the physiological growth that takes place