Sunday, I love Sundays. Gratitude seems to flow into my life on Sundays. I love attending church and feeling the Spirit of the Lord there. I love being around others who are also feeling that Spirit. I love learning and strengthening myself and my knowledge and testimony of God. I love watching my wife in action. She is the President of the Primary and she is amazing. Little kids follow her and love her and she never ceases to amaze me!
Today was a bit of a challenge at the same time as well though. I had to work really hard to jump start my life back to a track of gratitude ant appreciation after life gave me a beating yesterday. Down to the last minute of the day though, I'm still working on this.
Law of Momentum - its easier to keep the car rolling than it is to get it rolling from a dead stop when you are pushing it.
I enjoyed some Family Time and games with my girls, I admit I didn't have very much energy and wanted to be lazy but my wonderful daughters persisted and soon I was on the floor playing Uno Moo with them and laughing and giggling. It's wonderful to realize that when you are really struggling to get that big heavy weight you are pushing rolling again that God will send in 2 little girls to give it a huge push!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Day Eleven
I'm just going to say today is a day that I regret not doing my gratitude journal.
"When you let down your guard and don't continually appreciate the good things in your life, life will remind you how rough it can be when it wants."
Today didn't have to be bad, but it seems like I didn't handle challenges well, and little arguments escalated quickly and moments that should have been nice got ruined by a reaction.
I didn't create my day, I reacted to my day. That's a huge lesson to learn. To see the differences between creation and reaction. Look at your life...do you react or create?
"When you let down your guard and don't continually appreciate the good things in your life, life will remind you how rough it can be when it wants."
Today didn't have to be bad, but it seems like I didn't handle challenges well, and little arguments escalated quickly and moments that should have been nice got ruined by a reaction.
I didn't create my day, I reacted to my day. That's a huge lesson to learn. To see the differences between creation and reaction. Look at your life...do you react or create?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Day Ten
Had a daytime power hour because my day started very early. I had the opportunity to interview a wonderful client in Michigan today and am very excited to work with him. I know he will be changing his life by making these decisions. I would say that was a great way to start the day with a bit of Financial and Mental Power, and obviously gratitude from the great conversation.
"Wealthy conversations lead to wealth!"
I followed up that interview with some Soul Purpose scripture study and prayer, then I did I bit of Physical stretching in my office because last night I played some church basketball and unfortunately we only had 4 guys for the start then a 5th showed up but we got our butts kicked. I started off the game with a nice black eye, and then after trying to keep up the entire night, my old man knees are feeling it this morning. So a bit of real slow stretching while listening to some audio material and sipping Orange Juice was quite relaxing...
"Wealthy conversations lead to wealth!"
I followed up that interview with some Soul Purpose scripture study and prayer, then I did I bit of Physical stretching in my office because last night I played some church basketball and unfortunately we only had 4 guys for the start then a 5th showed up but we got our butts kicked. I started off the game with a nice black eye, and then after trying to keep up the entire night, my old man knees are feeling it this morning. So a bit of real slow stretching while listening to some audio material and sipping Orange Juice was quite relaxing...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Day Nine
Thursday. Today started off great. I had mentioned yesterday in my entry that I wanted to have more meaning and power to my prayers so I decided to start today's Power Hour with prayer, as I probably should have always been doing, and wow it's made a difference.
Soul Purpose - so like I said, I started with Prayer, and it was a prayer filled with gratitude, since I have so much to be grateful for.
Gratitude - After I finished expressing my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for all he's blessed me with, it made it easy to record things in my journal. One change that happened for me today though was in the way I was wording things. I've been recording the things that had happened recently to me that I was grateful for, and like I mentioned yesterday if you are in need of something or are found wanting, then express gratitude like you already have it. So that's what I did, I wrote in my journal as if it were at sometime in the future. I've done this before, in fact I trained a room full of people on this concept once. I had them each write a letter to themselves from one year in the future describing what that future looks like. Then if your mind believes that the future is bright and exactly what you've hoped for, you will attract right in that direction. I will apply this principle daily in my gratitude journal from now on.
Soul Purpose - so yes back to this for my scripture study. Alma 23, the people who had been converted to God and had turned away from their evil ways and murderings, were so grateful for the joy they had found in God that they didn't want to risk ever going back to those evil ways, so they buried their weapons and swore to never kill again even if others came to kill them they figured it better to die and go to God in righteousness...when I recognize things I'm grateful for, how committed am I to the changes that I'm going through and protecting my new found state?
Financial - I set some goals actually last night and today of what I wanted to accomplish at work today and before lunch I had most of them accomplished. I'm finding it very useful to use this time to create an "action list" if you will. In fact one of the major benefits of this entire process is the fact that by listing what I'm accomplishing in each of these areas I feel like I've accomplished more because I'm just seeing it clearer now.
Mental - Cash Flow vs Net Worth. I'm actually going to spend a good chunk of time and meditation on this one today. I need to get in my thoughts about how I'm using and applying this principle in my life.
Social - This was probably one of the most rewarding parts of my day today. I got to wake up early and go with my first grader Harley to her school for a special "Dudes and Kids" day. It started at 8:00 and school started at 8:45, they had doughnuts and milk, and Harley got to pick out her favorite book and bring a blanket and her and I got to stretch out in the gymnasium and read the book together why we had our treat. When we walked in they gave her a raffle ticket and they raffled off some prizes. I could tell she was really anxious, hoping to win a prize, but her ticket was never called. I put my arm around her to comfort her and then when we were walking down to her classroom she looked up at me and said, "Dad, its OK that I didn't win anything. I'm already a winner, I won time with my Daddy!" Yes, she's a major cheese ball, but she the sweetest little cheese ball in the world and she totally made my day!
Physical - I just stretched today and I'm eating smarter today, no soda or sugars because I've got basketball tonight, and I'd like to try to last a little more than 5 minutes before I need to be subbed out. Plus I've taken a few extra trips up and down the stairs at the office today...hey every little bit counts!
Soul Purpose - so like I said, I started with Prayer, and it was a prayer filled with gratitude, since I have so much to be grateful for.
Gratitude - After I finished expressing my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for all he's blessed me with, it made it easy to record things in my journal. One change that happened for me today though was in the way I was wording things. I've been recording the things that had happened recently to me that I was grateful for, and like I mentioned yesterday if you are in need of something or are found wanting, then express gratitude like you already have it. So that's what I did, I wrote in my journal as if it were at sometime in the future. I've done this before, in fact I trained a room full of people on this concept once. I had them each write a letter to themselves from one year in the future describing what that future looks like. Then if your mind believes that the future is bright and exactly what you've hoped for, you will attract right in that direction. I will apply this principle daily in my gratitude journal from now on.
Soul Purpose - so yes back to this for my scripture study. Alma 23, the people who had been converted to God and had turned away from their evil ways and murderings, were so grateful for the joy they had found in God that they didn't want to risk ever going back to those evil ways, so they buried their weapons and swore to never kill again even if others came to kill them they figured it better to die and go to God in righteousness...when I recognize things I'm grateful for, how committed am I to the changes that I'm going through and protecting my new found state?
Financial - I set some goals actually last night and today of what I wanted to accomplish at work today and before lunch I had most of them accomplished. I'm finding it very useful to use this time to create an "action list" if you will. In fact one of the major benefits of this entire process is the fact that by listing what I'm accomplishing in each of these areas I feel like I've accomplished more because I'm just seeing it clearer now.
Mental - Cash Flow vs Net Worth. I'm actually going to spend a good chunk of time and meditation on this one today. I need to get in my thoughts about how I'm using and applying this principle in my life.
Social - This was probably one of the most rewarding parts of my day today. I got to wake up early and go with my first grader Harley to her school for a special "Dudes and Kids" day. It started at 8:00 and school started at 8:45, they had doughnuts and milk, and Harley got to pick out her favorite book and bring a blanket and her and I got to stretch out in the gymnasium and read the book together why we had our treat. When we walked in they gave her a raffle ticket and they raffled off some prizes. I could tell she was really anxious, hoping to win a prize, but her ticket was never called. I put my arm around her to comfort her and then when we were walking down to her classroom she looked up at me and said, "Dad, its OK that I didn't win anything. I'm already a winner, I won time with my Daddy!" Yes, she's a major cheese ball, but she the sweetest little cheese ball in the world and she totally made my day!
Physical - I just stretched today and I'm eating smarter today, no soda or sugars because I've got basketball tonight, and I'd like to try to last a little more than 5 minutes before I need to be subbed out. Plus I've taken a few extra trips up and down the stairs at the office today...hey every little bit counts!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Day Eight
Alright this post is showing up late in the day because my internet was down all day at work, but today was a great power hour. I mixed things up a little bit and went to another level in some areas, so here it is:
Gratitude - my gratitude journal is the area where I'm probably noticing the biggest difference. I'm looking forward to writing in this section every day and it has truly made me more grateful and thus much slower to frustration, anger, etc. I feel like a happier person when I remember what I'm grateful for and how much there is to be grateful for. Also, if you need or want something in your life like more time, money, love, appreciation, work, etc. then express gratitude for those things and more will be attracted to you.
Physical - I've moved up from simple stretching to squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and some aerobic activity to get my heart pumping a little more. Feeling better and looking forward to basketball tomorrow.
Soul Purpose - Alma 21-22, my scripture study is becoming strong and better, and I love learning from them. The area I need to improve on though is my prayers. I feel like they need to be more heartfelt and more meditative to not just talk and go through the motions of prayer, but have real conversations with my Father in Heaven and take the time to listen to him as well.
Financial - from my increase of knowledge in this area with my work I am able to help others, and today I spent some time preparing some letters for my sister to help her address some financial matters that she's needed help with.
Social - I spent some time composing a few notes of gratitude and encouragement through Facebook today, that felt good. It's always a wonderful experience to tell someone you appreciate them, especially when its a bit out of the blue.
Mental - I actually spent a lot of time in this area today, over an hour in fact. I was studying the concept of Cash flow vs Net worth. I finally got clear on why cash flow and how that principle works, the importance of velocity of money, that movement is more important than accumulation. Now, the part I'm still working on is how do I apply that principle with what I am doing. That's probably where my Mental track will go tomorrow, stay tuned.
ps thanks for the comment from "anonymous". I do feel more accountable already!
Gratitude - my gratitude journal is the area where I'm probably noticing the biggest difference. I'm looking forward to writing in this section every day and it has truly made me more grateful and thus much slower to frustration, anger, etc. I feel like a happier person when I remember what I'm grateful for and how much there is to be grateful for. Also, if you need or want something in your life like more time, money, love, appreciation, work, etc. then express gratitude for those things and more will be attracted to you.
Physical - I've moved up from simple stretching to squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and some aerobic activity to get my heart pumping a little more. Feeling better and looking forward to basketball tomorrow.
Soul Purpose - Alma 21-22, my scripture study is becoming strong and better, and I love learning from them. The area I need to improve on though is my prayers. I feel like they need to be more heartfelt and more meditative to not just talk and go through the motions of prayer, but have real conversations with my Father in Heaven and take the time to listen to him as well.
Financial - from my increase of knowledge in this area with my work I am able to help others, and today I spent some time preparing some letters for my sister to help her address some financial matters that she's needed help with.
Social - I spent some time composing a few notes of gratitude and encouragement through Facebook today, that felt good. It's always a wonderful experience to tell someone you appreciate them, especially when its a bit out of the blue.
Mental - I actually spent a lot of time in this area today, over an hour in fact. I was studying the concept of Cash flow vs Net worth. I finally got clear on why cash flow and how that principle works, the importance of velocity of money, that movement is more important than accumulation. Now, the part I'm still working on is how do I apply that principle with what I am doing. That's probably where my Mental track will go tomorrow, stay tuned.
ps thanks for the comment from "anonymous". I do feel more accountable already!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Day Seven
Here we are 1 full week complete. And today's power hour was actually pretty decent. I would say that I have made some progress. I'm noticing more and more the differences between when I do the power hour and when I don't, and probably even more so the differences between when I do a good power hour and a weak one. There have been a few times when I would say I rushed through some areas, or took a bit of an easy route with a certain track of wealth, and knowing that this is about building a balanced wealth in all areas of my life is encouraging me to work harder at having a thorough effort.
Gratitude - biggest area of revelation here is that when I spend time recording things in my gratitude journal I truly am more grateful throughout the day. I notice this more on the contrast then the growth. When I didn't make much of an effort on the gratitude journal last Saturday I really was a very grateful person. I almost felt like a bit of a grump the whole day, and even had an argument with my wife that was completely my fault. (yes dear I actually published that statement, go ahead and post it on your facebook for all your friends to see...love you!)
Physical - stretching / yoga. I've noticed a good change in this area over the last week. Even though it hasn't been a huge physical effort with working out, I feel healthier and feel like I have more energy, which I think I can attribute to this entire experience as a whole as well.
Mental - meditation. I've always been one who is very aware of my thoughts and I think that helps me a lot. To apologize quickly, or hold my tongue, or be able to assimilate a situation quickly, and have a bit more wisdom in what I do. I've really enjoyed taking a little more time to hear myself think.
Soul Purpose - Alma 20, King Lamoni's father sees the change in his son and is angry at first with him and Ammon, but then when he witnesses the passion for what is right and important to them and the desire they have to protect one another, the King wants to know what they know...lesson: people respect passion, and our passion will attract people to us who will be supportive.
Financial - I created a to do list for work today and focused on the attitude and drive I wanted to have at work. This was a bit of spiritual creation time for my day, and since it is toward the end of the day that I am recording this, I can tell you it definitely paid off today. Good things were attracted into my day.
Social - my wife and I have the opportunity to serve today a wonderful family in our neighborhood, she has been watching their girls for them all day and I'm going to go help them with some technical issues on their computer when I get home. It's wonderful to have good friends and be able to call on them and know they feel comfortable calling on you whenever their is a need.
week one down...or maybe I should say up!
Gratitude - biggest area of revelation here is that when I spend time recording things in my gratitude journal I truly am more grateful throughout the day. I notice this more on the contrast then the growth. When I didn't make much of an effort on the gratitude journal last Saturday I really was a very grateful person. I almost felt like a bit of a grump the whole day, and even had an argument with my wife that was completely my fault. (yes dear I actually published that statement, go ahead and post it on your facebook for all your friends to see...love you!)
Physical - stretching / yoga. I've noticed a good change in this area over the last week. Even though it hasn't been a huge physical effort with working out, I feel healthier and feel like I have more energy, which I think I can attribute to this entire experience as a whole as well.
Mental - meditation. I've always been one who is very aware of my thoughts and I think that helps me a lot. To apologize quickly, or hold my tongue, or be able to assimilate a situation quickly, and have a bit more wisdom in what I do. I've really enjoyed taking a little more time to hear myself think.
Soul Purpose - Alma 20, King Lamoni's father sees the change in his son and is angry at first with him and Ammon, but then when he witnesses the passion for what is right and important to them and the desire they have to protect one another, the King wants to know what they know...lesson: people respect passion, and our passion will attract people to us who will be supportive.
Financial - I created a to do list for work today and focused on the attitude and drive I wanted to have at work. This was a bit of spiritual creation time for my day, and since it is toward the end of the day that I am recording this, I can tell you it definitely paid off today. Good things were attracted into my day.
Social - my wife and I have the opportunity to serve today a wonderful family in our neighborhood, she has been watching their girls for them all day and I'm going to go help them with some technical issues on their computer when I get home. It's wonderful to have good friends and be able to call on them and know they feel comfortable calling on you whenever their is a need.
week one down...or maybe I should say up!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Day Six
Monday...holiday, no school for my daughter, forgot to set my alarm and thus, no early morning power hour...but after I got to work I did it there. So a bit late but still a good hour. In fact to cover an item here...I had a conversation with someone whom I know practices the power hour principle and she told me that she does her power hours at night just before bed. I've discussed that idea with a couple of people and can see the pros and cons of the idea. I know I would certainly prefer to do it at night, it would be easier, but for some reason, and this is just me personally, I feel like I should do it in the morning. Start the day off right. That may be in major part to the fact that I right now have a hard time liking mornings, that my major struggle is waking up and getting out of bed, and I have a strong desire to overcome that and be able to feel like I've accomplished so much more with my day. There have been a few times in my life when I got up before the sun came up, or worked all night for a job and watched the sun come up when I got off work. And there is something really empowering about watching the sun come up. Maybe because its such a rare occurrence for me, its like seeing a comet or an eclipse. But whatever the reason, that's what I'm looking for, is a feeling of empowerment, not an easy way around a challenge...
So, Power Hour today happened this afternoon. And even though it happened later than I had originally planned it still turned out to be pretty powerful for me.
Gratitude - I filled my journal with the theme of my wife today. I have a wonderful wife and many things to be grateful for when it comes to describing her. Today was definitely one of my larger entries in the gratitude journal, I was never at a loss of words when writing.
Physical - even though in my office, I was able to do some stretching, and some push ups, squats and a few other exercises which felt great actually, got my blood pumping real good. While I was doing that I listened to the mental...I think I might go hit the gym tonight too, get my wind capacity up for basketball on Thursday.
Mental - Garrett's audio on Producer vs Consumer. I know I'm listening to this over and over, but by doing so I'm starting to find those areas where I am a consumer and the areas where I am a producer and hopefully by being more aware of my condition can start creating the one I want.
Soul Purpose - Alma 19 - Ammon and the King were filled with joy to the overcoming of their physical strength. This is what Ammon desired was for the people he was serving and teaching to receive an overwhelming amount of joy and then he was filled with joy as well. Great lesson.
Financial - I put together a nice budget tool on excel that my wife and I have used for 2 years now, but we have neglected it recently with finances being difficult the previous 6 months. I decided it's time to set this thing up again and put it on autopilot so I can focus on income and producing rather than debt and bills.
Social - I made a list of things I can do to serve my family, to show them the ways that I appreciate them and make sure my time is better used and more productive when I am with them rather than just being "around" and counting that as "time spent" with them.
So a little bit of a repentant power hour, but still a great result that leaves me feeling empowered.
So, Power Hour today happened this afternoon. And even though it happened later than I had originally planned it still turned out to be pretty powerful for me.
Gratitude - I filled my journal with the theme of my wife today. I have a wonderful wife and many things to be grateful for when it comes to describing her. Today was definitely one of my larger entries in the gratitude journal, I was never at a loss of words when writing.
Physical - even though in my office, I was able to do some stretching, and some push ups, squats and a few other exercises which felt great actually, got my blood pumping real good. While I was doing that I listened to the mental...I think I might go hit the gym tonight too, get my wind capacity up for basketball on Thursday.
Mental - Garrett's audio on Producer vs Consumer. I know I'm listening to this over and over, but by doing so I'm starting to find those areas where I am a consumer and the areas where I am a producer and hopefully by being more aware of my condition can start creating the one I want.
Soul Purpose - Alma 19 - Ammon and the King were filled with joy to the overcoming of their physical strength. This is what Ammon desired was for the people he was serving and teaching to receive an overwhelming amount of joy and then he was filled with joy as well. Great lesson.
Financial - I put together a nice budget tool on excel that my wife and I have used for 2 years now, but we have neglected it recently with finances being difficult the previous 6 months. I decided it's time to set this thing up again and put it on autopilot so I can focus on income and producing rather than debt and bills.
Social - I made a list of things I can do to serve my family, to show them the ways that I appreciate them and make sure my time is better used and more productive when I am with them rather than just being "around" and counting that as "time spent" with them.
So a little bit of a repentant power hour, but still a great result that leaves me feeling empowered.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Day Five
Well today is Sunday and again I have to admit that it didn't happen quite as it should have. No early morning 6:00 am today...but I always love Sunday mornings anyways. On Sundays I always seem to wake with Gratitude in my heart. I love Sundays and I really look forward to going to Church. Even though our church isn't until 1:00 pm now. I'm sure this is a major portion of my Soul Purpose, obviously. Time to learn about God and associate with wonderful people is always a energizer for me. So it's never difficult for me to reflect on what makes me grateful on a Sunday morning.
Along with that Soul Purpose, I spent some time reading a bit from the manuals today in preparation for classes and scripture study and prayer.
Mental - included meditation and having some nice music in the background all morning, that was thanks to my wife, she put that on.
Social - I love having the mindset and I learned this a few months ago, to go to church with the intent to serve others not just focus on what you can get from it. This really goes along with Garrett's Producer vs Consumer principle. And I just realized that I do understand that in one area of my life and that's at church....haha breakthrough. :)
Yes the rest of the areas I slacked on, but I'll just try to ride that breakthrough high just mentioned for now...
Along with that Soul Purpose, I spent some time reading a bit from the manuals today in preparation for classes and scripture study and prayer.
Mental - included meditation and having some nice music in the background all morning, that was thanks to my wife, she put that on.
Social - I love having the mindset and I learned this a few months ago, to go to church with the intent to serve others not just focus on what you can get from it. This really goes along with Garrett's Producer vs Consumer principle. And I just realized that I do understand that in one area of my life and that's at church....haha breakthrough. :)
Yes the rest of the areas I slacked on, but I'll just try to ride that breakthrough high just mentioned for now...
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Day Four
Okay so I have to confess that I didn't do so well today. It's Saturday and sleeping in and spending a lazy morning in bed with my girls when they come in and want to snuggle between Mom and Dad and play games on the iPhone is a very attractive thing to me. So even though I didn't get up at 6:00 am to do my power hour I did actually accomplish a few things related to it.
(disclaimer: this next part is a bit of an excuse) But for educational purposes I'll explain. Garrett says that even if you don't do a full hour, do something. Everyday still do something, keep the momentum going and build up to what you can. So I'm taking a little bit of confidence in the fact that I did something but am a bit disappointed in myself that I wussed out. I'm telling you the one thing I will probably learn the most from this experience is being able to get my butt up in the morning. Goal: look forward to waking up like my girls, they come running in the room and say I can see the sun coming up its morning, let's get up.
So what did I do? Well first off a bit of a combination for my Gratitude and Social in that I spent about 2 hours first thing this morning just enjoying my time with my little girls. We snuggled and watched Saturday morning cartoons, and had breakfast. Sometimes the best part is just watching their faces as they giggle at the weird cartoons they play on Saturday mornings now.
Soul Purpose - I did have some prayer time and review my scriptures this morning as well, probably not as deep as it could have been with cartoons running in the background.
Mental - I spent some real time today meditating on my dream map. Trying to identify what I want in life and what my Soul Purpose really is. This seems like such a daunting task. When I really start putting my mind to it I only seem to get bits and pieces of he revelation, so I'm still working on that puzzle.
Financial and Physical - yeah nothing really happened on this one other than my heart got pumping a bit watching the Jazz game tonight, great win by the way.
(disclaimer: this next part is a bit of an excuse) But for educational purposes I'll explain. Garrett says that even if you don't do a full hour, do something. Everyday still do something, keep the momentum going and build up to what you can. So I'm taking a little bit of confidence in the fact that I did something but am a bit disappointed in myself that I wussed out. I'm telling you the one thing I will probably learn the most from this experience is being able to get my butt up in the morning. Goal: look forward to waking up like my girls, they come running in the room and say I can see the sun coming up its morning, let's get up.
So what did I do? Well first off a bit of a combination for my Gratitude and Social in that I spent about 2 hours first thing this morning just enjoying my time with my little girls. We snuggled and watched Saturday morning cartoons, and had breakfast. Sometimes the best part is just watching their faces as they giggle at the weird cartoons they play on Saturday mornings now.
Soul Purpose - I did have some prayer time and review my scriptures this morning as well, probably not as deep as it could have been with cartoons running in the background.
Mental - I spent some real time today meditating on my dream map. Trying to identify what I want in life and what my Soul Purpose really is. This seems like such a daunting task. When I really start putting my mind to it I only seem to get bits and pieces of he revelation, so I'm still working on that puzzle.
Financial and Physical - yeah nothing really happened on this one other than my heart got pumping a bit watching the Jazz game tonight, great win by the way.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day Three
Well the getting up early still isn't easy for me. There is a giant mental battle every morning when that alarm goes off, it's dark outside and in the room, its cold, and everyone in the house is sleep breathing....oh how I just want to join right back in with them. But the voice in my head keeps saying, "your life depends on it, your life depends on it, get up!" So I do.
Gratitude - Its amazing as soon as I get downstairs and start writing in my gratitude journal my mind seems to wake up very quickly. I've noticed that I can walk around my home in the dark and not have to really wake up or think, but writing requires thinking and I notice my mind wake up instantly...I think I'm on to something here. The first thing I wrote down that I'm grateful for though is my warm, cozy bed. :)
Physical - last night I played basket ball at the church and while it felt good to really exercise again and regardless of the fact that our team won and we are now 2-0 I had a sad realization...I'm the old, out of shape guy that's getting the "pity complements" from the younger guys on the team. I think that brought out some drive in me. I remember in high school when I played varsity soccer for a couple years, I knew I barely made the team, I was a big guy built for football more than soccer so to have speed, agility and stamina to keep up with the other guys on the field I had to work a lot harder. I remember after long hard practices where we just conditioned our guts out, I would stay another 30 minutes and run the suicides a couple more times. I had to do a little more to prove to myself and others I could compete...I felt that desire again last night. Don't be surprised if this section starts including something to fulfill that need.
Soul Purpose - Alma 18, Ammon teaching king Lamoni about God. Two lessons I learned, one he was a faithful servant, even though amazed by his strength and wisdom he didn't use that against them but used it to give more than he took. And second, he found common ground when discussing beliefs with the King, brought out the truth that was already in the King and expounded upon it.
Mental - listened to Garrett's audio talking about the 5 tracks of wealth and the dream map. Followed by his explanation and reason for the Producer Power Hour. I need to work on my dream map again. This is something I've done many times in the past 5 years, but my mindset is changing, especially on this principle of Producer vs Consumer.
Financial - arranged my agenda for work and prepared for some conversations I'm going to be having today. Also have some work to do regarding scripting.
Social - plans have changed a little bit regarding date night so I had to make some adjustments to the how, but I took a little more time to get clear on the why/what. Then after I got Harley already and off to school this morning, I went and climbed in bed with Kara and Mylie and we played a new game on my phone for about 20 minutes. It's always an enjoyable time to spend snuggling in bed and just talking with Mylie. She's hilarious in the mornings...good start, on we go.
Gratitude - Its amazing as soon as I get downstairs and start writing in my gratitude journal my mind seems to wake up very quickly. I've noticed that I can walk around my home in the dark and not have to really wake up or think, but writing requires thinking and I notice my mind wake up instantly...I think I'm on to something here. The first thing I wrote down that I'm grateful for though is my warm, cozy bed. :)
Physical - last night I played basket ball at the church and while it felt good to really exercise again and regardless of the fact that our team won and we are now 2-0 I had a sad realization...I'm the old, out of shape guy that's getting the "pity complements" from the younger guys on the team. I think that brought out some drive in me. I remember in high school when I played varsity soccer for a couple years, I knew I barely made the team, I was a big guy built for football more than soccer so to have speed, agility and stamina to keep up with the other guys on the field I had to work a lot harder. I remember after long hard practices where we just conditioned our guts out, I would stay another 30 minutes and run the suicides a couple more times. I had to do a little more to prove to myself and others I could compete...I felt that desire again last night. Don't be surprised if this section starts including something to fulfill that need.
Soul Purpose - Alma 18, Ammon teaching king Lamoni about God. Two lessons I learned, one he was a faithful servant, even though amazed by his strength and wisdom he didn't use that against them but used it to give more than he took. And second, he found common ground when discussing beliefs with the King, brought out the truth that was already in the King and expounded upon it.
Mental - listened to Garrett's audio talking about the 5 tracks of wealth and the dream map. Followed by his explanation and reason for the Producer Power Hour. I need to work on my dream map again. This is something I've done many times in the past 5 years, but my mindset is changing, especially on this principle of Producer vs Consumer.
Financial - arranged my agenda for work and prepared for some conversations I'm going to be having today. Also have some work to do regarding scripting.
Social - plans have changed a little bit regarding date night so I had to make some adjustments to the how, but I took a little more time to get clear on the why/what. Then after I got Harley already and off to school this morning, I went and climbed in bed with Kara and Mylie and we played a new game on my phone for about 20 minutes. It's always an enjoyable time to spend snuggling in bed and just talking with Mylie. She's hilarious in the mornings...good start, on we go.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Day Two
Ok so today was a much bigger challenge to get my Power Hour in than the previous day, and that's is great part to my girls who don't seem to like sleeping in any long period of time. They also seem to have some kind of tag team plan going on who comes into my room every 30-60 minutes during the night needing a drink, or bathroom, or a bad dream, and then a new one, my 3 year old asked me for a sandwich last night about 2:00 in the morning, but I think that was part of her dream cause she quickly fell back to sleep after the request as I left her room trying not to laugh to loud.
Gratitude - I remember once reading, "whatever your greatest challenge is be grateful for those things and then it won't be such a challenge anymore. You won't dread it but look forward to it." So most of my gratitude journal today included my daughters and feeling grateful that they feel safe coming to me when they have bad dreams, and grateful that they can't seem to get enough of me during the day so they have to keep waking me up at night! :)
Physical - even though a little sleep deprived, I'm actually feeling not quite as tight today so I did more stretching and a few free standing exercises. I usually have a tendency to go to the gym after weeks of not and work super hard and then I never go back. So I'm glad I'm breaking myself in a little smarter this time and not sprinting of the starting line...on a side note though my physical track will continue tonight as I have another Church ball game, so lets see if I still feel good and loose tomorrow.
Mental - I spent about an hour on this alone today with my drive into work and the 10 minutes in the morning. I listened to Garrett's audio on Producer vs Consumer again. I'm stuck here I think for a while, I haven't felt that huge break through mentally yet. I need to get my head around this and start thinking the right way.
Soul Purpose - studied Alma 17 today, Ammon and the King's flocks. Love that story, but I noticed that when the flocks were scattered that the other servants immediately started fearing but Ammon started rejoicing at the opportunity to raise to a challenge. What a great scarcity vs abundance mindset example.
Financial - Set daily goals and action items for work, and took care of mail and a bill.
Social - made some plans for date night on Friday and family day on Saturday, can't share too many details though, my wife reads this blog (I think) and I want some of it to be a surprise...
Gratitude - I remember once reading, "whatever your greatest challenge is be grateful for those things and then it won't be such a challenge anymore. You won't dread it but look forward to it." So most of my gratitude journal today included my daughters and feeling grateful that they feel safe coming to me when they have bad dreams, and grateful that they can't seem to get enough of me during the day so they have to keep waking me up at night! :)
Physical - even though a little sleep deprived, I'm actually feeling not quite as tight today so I did more stretching and a few free standing exercises. I usually have a tendency to go to the gym after weeks of not and work super hard and then I never go back. So I'm glad I'm breaking myself in a little smarter this time and not sprinting of the starting line...on a side note though my physical track will continue tonight as I have another Church ball game, so lets see if I still feel good and loose tomorrow.
Mental - I spent about an hour on this alone today with my drive into work and the 10 minutes in the morning. I listened to Garrett's audio on Producer vs Consumer again. I'm stuck here I think for a while, I haven't felt that huge break through mentally yet. I need to get my head around this and start thinking the right way.
Soul Purpose - studied Alma 17 today, Ammon and the King's flocks. Love that story, but I noticed that when the flocks were scattered that the other servants immediately started fearing but Ammon started rejoicing at the opportunity to raise to a challenge. What a great scarcity vs abundance mindset example.
Financial - Set daily goals and action items for work, and took care of mail and a bill.
Social - made some plans for date night on Friday and family day on Saturday, can't share too many details though, my wife reads this blog (I think) and I want some of it to be a surprise...
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Day One
Alright here we go...I set my alarm for 6:00 am this morning since I normally get up about 7:30 to get my daughter ready for school. And let me start by saying I am not a morning person....at all. So when that alarm went off I had to use the analogy that Garrett describes in his audio program: "Imagine that I'm a doctor and I just told you you have 53 days to live unless you take this pill for 52 days, would you take the pill? Yes, so think of this activity as if your life depended on it, because in many ways it actually might." So there I am saying to myself, "My life depends on it, my life depends on it." And amazingly it only took me a few minutes to roll my butt out of bed.
I've made a little insert in my journal that I use as a guide each day of how I have structured my Power Hours, it looks like this:
DAILY POWER HOUR - 52 Days like your life depended on it...
10 MINS - Gratitude Gratitude Journal
10 MINS - Physical 10 Minute Trainer, plan meals
10 MINS - Mental Listen to Incantations, Motivational, Vision Board
10 MINS - Soul Purpose Prayer and Scripture Study
10 MINS - Financial Review work day, income, cashflow
10 MINS - Social Write appreciation letters, plan datenight and FHE
Now this is obviously just a guideline, it gives me quick ideas and things I can be doing in each of those areas.
So what did I do today? I started with 10 minutes in my Gratitude Journal (and by the way I am keeping a composition notebook with me so I can record everything I do). I love writing in my Gratitude Journal, this is something Kara and I started about a year a go and did off and on, but I love just saying, "I'm grateful for..." over and over. I can easily fill up a page in 10 minutes and I notice that it makes me act more grateful throughout the day for those things or people I list.
Then on to Physical. This one I have to be honest is going to probably be the toughest one for me. I'm only 32 but I feel very old tired and out of shape. I played basketball last Thursday for church ball for the first time in at least 5 years and I was ashamed how my mind remember what I wanted to do but my body just responded with a loud, "HUH?" Being 6:00 in the morning I felt very sore and slow and tired so I spent this time just stretching as thoroughly as I could. And it felt great but the 10 minutes when too quickly, so I continued this as I moved on to mental.
For the Mental area I listened to Garrett's tracks about the difference between a Producer and a Consumer. This has really hit me recently when studying this. I'm recognizing in so many areas of my life where I need to produce more than I consume and realizing that my mindset is so consumer based right now. I studied recently a book by James Rey and he talked about how God doesn't care if we have lots of nice things, toys and money, but he definitely wants us to be the person that we would have to become to have that stuff. This has been my ponderings for the last 3 months now...I'm getting closer.
Soul Purpose...for this are I spend my time Praying and studying my scriptures. And I read something really powerful recently in John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." I know that God's purpose is to bring about the immortality and Eternal Life of man. And this scripture just showed me that we gain our Eternal Life meaning return to the presence of our Father in Heaven, by knowing him. I follow the references for knowing him and find in Jeremiah 9:3 "be truthful", Hosea 2:20 "betroth ourselves to him, meaning join him and his cause." 1 John 4:7-8 "Love God and others", D&C 101:16 "be comforted know that God is in control"....I love the scriptures.
Financial - I set goals for my work day of what I wanted to accomplish including starting this blog, and I had some bills to pay and balance.
Social - this one kind of came to me this morning. My daughter Harley woke up early and came down and sat next to me on the couch and wrapped up in a blanket while I was studying scriptures. So I got to spend some time with her and talk about her week at school. Found out she needed a CD for music class of her favorite song or 2 to share, so we went up on the computer and made that CD and what-a-know her favorite song is my favorite song right now, "Train - Hey, Soul Sister!"
Great First day, I feel energized and good!
I've made a little insert in my journal that I use as a guide each day of how I have structured my Power Hours, it looks like this:
DAILY POWER HOUR - 52 Days like your life depended on it...
10 MINS - Gratitude Gratitude Journal
10 MINS - Physical 10 Minute Trainer, plan meals
10 MINS - Mental Listen to Incantations, Motivational, Vision Board
10 MINS - Soul Purpose Prayer and Scripture Study
10 MINS - Financial Review work day, income, cashflow
10 MINS - Social Write appreciation letters, plan datenight and FHE
Now this is obviously just a guideline, it gives me quick ideas and things I can be doing in each of those areas.
So what did I do today? I started with 10 minutes in my Gratitude Journal (and by the way I am keeping a composition notebook with me so I can record everything I do). I love writing in my Gratitude Journal, this is something Kara and I started about a year a go and did off and on, but I love just saying, "I'm grateful for..." over and over. I can easily fill up a page in 10 minutes and I notice that it makes me act more grateful throughout the day for those things or people I list.
Then on to Physical. This one I have to be honest is going to probably be the toughest one for me. I'm only 32 but I feel very old tired and out of shape. I played basketball last Thursday for church ball for the first time in at least 5 years and I was ashamed how my mind remember what I wanted to do but my body just responded with a loud, "HUH?" Being 6:00 in the morning I felt very sore and slow and tired so I spent this time just stretching as thoroughly as I could. And it felt great but the 10 minutes when too quickly, so I continued this as I moved on to mental.
For the Mental area I listened to Garrett's tracks about the difference between a Producer and a Consumer. This has really hit me recently when studying this. I'm recognizing in so many areas of my life where I need to produce more than I consume and realizing that my mindset is so consumer based right now. I studied recently a book by James Rey and he talked about how God doesn't care if we have lots of nice things, toys and money, but he definitely wants us to be the person that we would have to become to have that stuff. This has been my ponderings for the last 3 months now...I'm getting closer.
Soul Purpose...for this are I spend my time Praying and studying my scriptures. And I read something really powerful recently in John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." I know that God's purpose is to bring about the immortality and Eternal Life of man. And this scripture just showed me that we gain our Eternal Life meaning return to the presence of our Father in Heaven, by knowing him. I follow the references for knowing him and find in Jeremiah 9:3 "be truthful", Hosea 2:20 "betroth ourselves to him, meaning join him and his cause." 1 John 4:7-8 "Love God and others", D&C 101:16 "be comforted know that God is in control"....I love the scriptures.
Financial - I set goals for my work day of what I wanted to accomplish including starting this blog, and I had some bills to pay and balance.
Social - this one kind of came to me this morning. My daughter Harley woke up early and came down and sat next to me on the couch and wrapped up in a blanket while I was studying scriptures. So I got to spend some time with her and talk about her week at school. Found out she needed a CD for music class of her favorite song or 2 to share, so we went up on the computer and made that CD and what-a-know her favorite song is my favorite song right now, "Train - Hey, Soul Sister!"
Great First day, I feel energized and good!
What is this Power Hour Challege?
I guess I should be more specific. It's called the Producer Power Hour and its a challenge to have these Power Hours 52 days in a row to see how it will change your life. A friend and business associate and mentor of mine named Garrett B. Gunderson (website) has created this tool. You can learn more about the Producer Power Hour at ProducerPowerHour.com.
The idea is this, that we all desire to be happy and wealthy in all areas of life which Garrett has categorized into the "5 Tracks of Wealth": Financial, Physical, Mental, Social, and Soul Purpose. The purpose of the Power Hour is to spend 1 hour every day visiting each of these 5 areas for at least 10 minutes, and start this hour with 10 minutes of Gratitude. This doesn't have to be only an hour activity though, Garrett talks about a time when he found himself waking up at 3:45 in the morning to do a 3 hour Power Hour. The desire here is to create a clearer understanding in our minds of really who we are and what we are on this earth for ("Soul Purpose"), and then to use all of our abilities and gifts to their fullest to experience true joy and happiness in this life rather than putting it off to a distant day that may never come if we continue to put it off.
Why 52 days? According to Garrett's explanation in his audio program from Nightingale Conant entitled "New Rules to Get Rich", it takes 21 days to form a habit and 30 days to break an old habit so that's 51 and he just likes to throw in 1 to grow on...so thus the 52 Day Challenge.
I figure the best way to really help hold myself accountable to this challenge is to post my progress and thoughts each day before the world. So welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy what you find, and would love to share in your comments and experiences as well!
~Jeremiah
The idea is this, that we all desire to be happy and wealthy in all areas of life which Garrett has categorized into the "5 Tracks of Wealth": Financial, Physical, Mental, Social, and Soul Purpose. The purpose of the Power Hour is to spend 1 hour every day visiting each of these 5 areas for at least 10 minutes, and start this hour with 10 minutes of Gratitude. This doesn't have to be only an hour activity though, Garrett talks about a time when he found himself waking up at 3:45 in the morning to do a 3 hour Power Hour. The desire here is to create a clearer understanding in our minds of really who we are and what we are on this earth for ("Soul Purpose"), and then to use all of our abilities and gifts to their fullest to experience true joy and happiness in this life rather than putting it off to a distant day that may never come if we continue to put it off.
Why 52 days? According to Garrett's explanation in his audio program from Nightingale Conant entitled "New Rules to Get Rich", it takes 21 days to form a habit and 30 days to break an old habit so that's 51 and he just likes to throw in 1 to grow on...so thus the 52 Day Challenge.
I figure the best way to really help hold myself accountable to this challenge is to post my progress and thoughts each day before the world. So welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy what you find, and would love to share in your comments and experiences as well!
~Jeremiah
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
