Today I am sharing my experience at various mastermind groups in early January. It’s common this time of year to take inventory of previous years and plan for the future, and that’s what I’ve been ...
Today I am sharing my experience at various mastermind groups in early January. It’s common this time of year to take inventory of previous years and plan for the future, and that’s what I’ve been led to do. This happened after I’d taken a hiatus from publishing anything for a long time due to a focus on helping with some personal hardships of people very close to me. Cancer is a terrible illness as anyone who has gone through it, or who has supported someone through it can attest to. The hardship isn’t over yet, but I Found that by attending mastermind groups again it has made me realize that we miss out on when we don’t do our primary work.
In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes: Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.” I’ve heard this quote and sentiment attributed to others, including Wayne Dyer. It seems to be a universal yearning for creative people, but often something gets in the way. Steven Pressfield calls this resistance in his book turning pro.
Something that had a big impact for me was the realization that as a man in my 30s I’ve got maybe 30 or 40 energetic years left that’s roughly 11 thousand to 15,000 days so if I spend those days wisely, then my body of work can impact many other people into perpetuity, for my children. I have vague memories of my great grandparents on my mom side, and I don’t even know the name of my great great grandparents. I think what a gift it would be for me study their knowledge from a lifetimes of adversity, success, and failure.
I was recently reminded of Gary Keller‘s book, the one thing. What is the one thing by doing it that all other things become easy or unnecessary?
For me, it’s building a new habit centred around my health. Portion size is more important than exercise. Deliberately choosing my fuel will allow my engine to run efficiently and for a long time. With that in mind, my one thing was the form, a health habit with three rules.
1. Brush teeth after every meal. a clean mouth will make me less likely to grab whatever is convenient to eat.
2. no food after 8 PM. Intermittent fasting is beneficial and this is how I will start.
3. To bed and at the same time every day. For me, this means some melatonin and a book so I can fall asleep by 10 PM. my alarm will take advantage of my recent jetlagged schedule to get me up every day at 4 AM. I need a nap Midday, then I’ll take it.
I hope that by sharing this, I have helped you think about how you will show up in the world, and I encourage you to strive not to die with your music still inside you.
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