When I look back on my life this far and see where I once was, one thing becomes clear life is a process. I have always been talented enough, even through my accident, to draw from memory or to draw what I see. My skills have even improved over the years of work. I can even see how I could become even better if I worked on this talent/skill. So in today's article, I want to emphasize a point that can help you become better at whatever you do.
I have a book that I read and once reviewed on this channel to help explain my view. This book is SO GOOD THEY CAN'T IGNORE YOU by Cal Newport. In this book, Mr. Newport discusses how one's skill is a better barometer than a passion for finding the life work one will love. This book goes into great detail to explain this idea and what you can do to achieve that. I highly recommend this book, and if you like to see my review on this book, follow the link here BOOK REVIEW.
One summer, when I was a youngster for those three months, I would wake and start my day memorizing a new bible verse. Over time I was able to recite from memory a good deal. Believe me, when I say it wasn't easy as at first, I was reluctant to do it, looking for a way out of it, or sometimes I didn't feel like it at all. My incentive to doing it was the church my family attended at that time its Sunday school was running a contest awarding the student who could memorize the most scripture would win a new bike. That as a driving force helped, and through as it turned out, I realized something compelling even at that young age.
I am sure you may be thinking this post will be something on spirituality or religion, being I mentioned memorizing bible scripture, but you'd be wrong. The thing I'd like to talk about is the power of creating habits. I know we all have habits because they are sometimes easily made, yet it can be hard to break once they become a part of our lives. In this piece, though, I want to focus on how habits can improve our lives and become our best versions.
The key I found in the book Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield another book I'd recommend reading and have done a book review on that you can find here BOOK REVIEW. In the book, Steven Pressfield talks about habits in this way.
"The difference between an amateur and a professional is in their habits. An amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits. We can never free ourselves from habits. The human being is a creature of habit. But we can replace bad habits with good ones. We can trade in the habits of the amateur and the addict for the practice of the professional and the committed artist or entrepreneur."
Even another way to look at habits comes from the author of Atomic Habits, James Clear. I have yet to read this book but have watched a TED talk with James Clear, and he described habits as votes for the type of person you'd like to become.
So in a sense, if you want to be athletically fit, the right votes to achieving that would be eating right and training in some specific way to attain the results you seek. If you wanted to be a writer, reading and writing regularly, if not daily, would be the votes set forth to achieve that.
Furthermore, over time your results may vary due to the level at which you did them. Were you the amateur, or were you the professional? Did you take days off? Did you only do them when you felt like it? Or did you do them regardless, day in and day out, when you felt good and when you didn't?
These minor details are vital to forming habits that produce the best outcomes. And the most rewarding results come with taking a professional mindset and seeing them through. These books discussed here are great reads with tons more ideas on creating habits that help develop you.
My point to sum this all up is that no matter what you are looking to achieve in your life, the essential thing you can do is create habits that will help you move in that direction. And by sticking to them as a professional will further put the odds in your favor, the outcome will be all you desired.
As for that scripture-memorizing contest so many years ago, I am proud to say I won, beating out the pastor's son by sticking to my plan. I didn't get the bike, though, as I opted for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, a big deal back in the day. I hope this article has been helpful to you somehow; thanks for stopping in. God bless, and I will see you on the flip side ...Let's GO!!!
I recently had my 44th birthday, and if you know me and wished me a Happy Birthday, I want to thank you, I appreciate it. I find that getting older is that sometimes things seem to cycle back through, one day seems to blur into the next, and life can seem to take on a dull outlook.
Realizing this happens to lots of people, I sought out a book that has helped me. This book is Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. I read this book a while back in hopes of finding some new ways of being creative. It is a small pocket-sized book with a ton of great ideas. I encourage people to read it and check out my book review from when I first read it here Book review
Today though, I will talk about one aspect from the book: " Schooling yourself" Austin Kleon puts it this way...
"School is one thing. Education is another. The two don't always overlap. Whether you're in school or not, it's always your job to get yourself an education.
You have to be curious about the world in which you live. Look things up—Chase down every reference. Go deeper than anybody else that's how you'll get ahead.
Google everything. I mean everything. Google your dreams, Google your problems. Don't ask a question before you Google it. You'll either find the answer or you'll come up with a better question.
Always be reading. Go to the library. There's magic in being surrounded by books. Get lost in the stacks. Read bibliographies. It's not the book you start with it's the book that book leads you too.
Collect books, even if you don't plan on reading them right away. Nothing is more important than an unread library.
Don't worry about doing research.
Just search."
My point is that sometimes rather than always looking to improve ourselves, we get comfortable and don't question the things we know to help inspire new ideas or school ourselves to the world around us. We need to get curious about life. Sometimes the answer to one question may lead to a solution to a yet to be asked problem.
I am talking about educating yourself and learning how to do that, which starts with curiosity. Austin gives some great ways to get lost in the search, be it Google or a library. Being my 44th year on this planet, I'm going to pledge this year to be excited about being more curious and asking questions. I can say the book reading will continue as I enjoy reading tremendously already. So yeah, Google and I are going to be good friends.
To finalize this, you have one effortless step you can take to improve your overall life and put yourself in a better headspace by jazzing up your curiosity and Schooling yourself. So until the next time, have a blessed day, and I will see on the flip side ...Let's GO!!!
The tension in the room was palpable, as everyone knew Kara was not happy. The Baldwin family had just gotten home from a teacher-parent conference, and the Baldwin parents were not delighted with their lone child Zachary's performance.
His teacher Ms. Adams this was the 5th grade, and as much as Zachary had problems in the previous grades, they had never faced anything like this relayed it to them. Ms. Abrams told the Baldwin parents Jesse and Kara, that Zachary was disruptive in class, not paying attention, and falling behind them.
They talked at the front of the classroom. Ms. Adams then discussed Zachary's most disruptive behavior was his lack of respect for those in authority. Kara was burning up under her collar as she heard these accusations. She had always pressured Jesse to take a more disciplinary role as a father, but his reply was nearly always that he didn't want to become his father, as his father was an abusive one. Kara would then bring up the fact that discipline for your child didn't mean you had to beat them. You needed to showed them the path to what was right and what was wrong, along with behavior that would build one into a competent adult.
Kara rushed through dinner as her frantic movements and haste showed she was still hot about the report on Zachary. Within minutes dinner was ready, and Kara called her family to the table, determined that by the end of the meal, she'd right the Baldwin family ship and take a better route in raising her son.
Plates served before anyone spoke. The clashing of utensils hitting the tableware was the only thing heard in the silence. Looking to Jesse to take the lead, Kara spoke up, but when Jesse didn't focused on his plate of food, keeping his corn from touching his mash potatoes or meatloaf, she leaped.
Kara asked her son Zachary what he had to say about what Ms. Adams told them about his behavior. Zach scooped a large bite of corn and mashed potatoes into his mouth, chewing down sloppily food flying from his mouth. Kara asked again, to which Zach, still chewing, exclaimed, "She's a Bitch, you can't trust what she says!" Kara and now Jesse wide-eyed, shocked at their son's answer, looked at him with disdain. Kara rebuked him, saying, "You watch your language, mister, you know we don't talk like that about our elders or anybody, especially your teacher!"
Kara looked at Jesse as she had risen from her seat, and Jesse barely moved, holding an intense glare at Zachary. She expected more of a reaction from him at that point, hoping he'd back her up in some fashion. Then with his gaze turned back in his plate, dividing his food up, he says, "I think we should ground him until we see some major improvement in his grades and behavior." Now both Kara and Zach looked surprised at Jesse's response.
Of course, Zach didn't see it as fair. Still, in Kara's eyes, the cool, calm, and collected response seemed to be just what was needed, and Kara showed her support with further clarification by saying, "Starting tonight, I agree you are grounded till we see improvement." Kara then looked to her husband, feeling they had just worked as a team in parenting.
